your on the right path now NEWER diesels start better In 1985 1983 diesels started better I dont start as well as I did either but I'm ok once I get going

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commercial fisherman diesel in my blood in my boats trucks and Dear old Dad has had me drivin them since i got my first license in 1968
1986 300 SDL 427654
1999 Chevy Crew Cab Dually 225423
1986 300 SDL 287000 Dad's
1987 190 Turbo 158000 Mom's (my inheritance)

Plugging them in warms the water and that warms the bore... so when the air goes into the bore it is not cooled as much and that certainly helps with ignition... particularly if everything is not perfect ( like fuel atomization on an old car ) ....

If it was missing, how were you able to get in to start it in the first place?


...could'nt resist

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Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis

I would most definitely start with a valve adjustment and you might want to consider doing a leakdown test. Yes, Diesels will run rough when started cold, but a miss when cold is usually a sign of out of adjustment valve train! There could be other reasons too, but this is where you should start since diesels are compression-ignition engines! Work your way forward from there. I'm inclined to lean toward a valve adjust as a first test since it should not miss on a 60 degree day. Check your glow plugs second. I hope this helps, keep us posted!! Fuel injectors, glow plugs,etc...

My old '87 300TD carried on the same way. I finally figured out it is oil leaking down the valve stems. Warm the block and that oil will leak past the rings and cause no problem, if it is, indeed, a problem.

My 190D starts smooth. I had the injectors flow matched and popped @ 150 bar and that solved alot of issues (smoking, skipping cold and nailing).

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Satan creates nothing: he only ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigaṇ

Well,
this was my first post I believe (a long time ago now).

I think with a little more diesel experience under my belt I've got it narrowed down.

That car's long gone but I have two more that had similar issues and it ended up being injection pump timing.

The chain wears (stretch) and the timing gets retarded. The dealer advanced my 87's timing 3 degrees (on time now) and it starts smoothly now.

I just did the same thing (slight pump advance) on my new 84 that wasn't starting dead smooth and now it fires right up.

Seems to me these old cars with original chains aren't getting proper injection timing. Obviously a new chain would most likely correct the problem. But I didn't want to put money into my rusty old 84 so I just adjusted the pump ahead about 1/16" or a tad more according to the nut's holding the IP on and it's good.

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-E300d '99 350k
-Suburban '93 220k
-TDI Jetta '03 350k
Sold
-F250 '96 7.3
-Dodge Ram 12V
-E320 '95 200k
-E320 Wagon 1994 155k
-300d Turbo '87 187k miles
-E320 1994 200k
-300d Turbo '84 245k (sold to Dan62)
-300d Turbo '84 180k
-300sd '80 300k
-7.3 Powerstroke Diesel 15P Van 500k+ miles
-190d '89 Non Turbo 2.5 5cyl 240k (my first MB)
Tom's Imports of Columbia MO Ruined the IP in changing leaky delivery valve O-Rings - Refused to stand behind his work. Mid-MO MB drivers-AVOID Tom's.