It would probably be a waste to put block heaters in cars doing taxi service in Cairo. The bean counters at MB got involved and decided to cut a step out of the assembly process.

There are guys (MB sales reps??) who will swear that they can start their car down to 0 degrees F without a block heater. I am suspect, having had two wagons which ran fairly well, and were maintained well, and would not start below freezing without a lot of coaxing and getting up earlier in the am without a plug. My current wagon only has 160K (the others were over 300K), and it was a tech's car, so it is uneventful in winter now. If I know it is going to be below 20F and don't want to gamble, I plug.

I have found that an eight-hours-cold engine will fire easier than a twelve-hours-cold one. Sometimes I will go out at 11p and run the car for 30 mins if I know the am is going to be frigid. It helps.

ALSO: if your battery is over 5 years old, get a fresh one with the most cranking power you can find. And like it or not, the starters on mine have needed refreshing; age slows their cranking speed. I plan to at least bench test mine at 200K. I put new ones in my previous wagons and it made a difference. Cold diesels need good starting rpms. Clean air and fuel filters, and a valve adjustment covers it. Keep your favorite diesel additive in the tank for gelling.

Which reminds me to put the extra extension cord in the wagon!

__________________
Peter
1985 300TD 4-speed 212K
1992 400E 343K
2001 E320 72K