Hi, new to this forum and just bought a 1999 E300DT and i was wondering if you guys would be kind enough to tell me exactly what i should do to keep the car happy and running smoothly. It has 73,000 miles on it, is a one owner car and looks like it has been maintained very well by the guy with all the records available and has always been done at a MB dealer. The biggest thing that jumped out at me on the records were it looks like he has had to have seals replaced a couple of times and also had a check engine light problem pretty early on and also a rear window switch had to be replaced. I will be using the car to commute in (140 miles a day all interstate) to save a little on gas as i now commute in a 2004 avalanche with the 8.1 liter engine in it...about 14 mpg. Any advice on keeping the car running well would be appreciated! Thanks, Christy

Welcome. The most common issue to keep an eye on is the rubber orings that seal the ends of the clear plastic fuel lines connecting the fuel filter housing to the IP. They deterioate with age and allow air to enter the fuel system resulting in hard, or no start conditions. There are also orings beneath the fuel pre-filter, the shut off valve (black plastic solenoid on side of IP), and sealing the 6 delivery valves on top of the IP which can cause the same problems.

Glow plugs (removing them, w/o breaking them) can be a problem.

If any CEL codes or other issues pop up in the future, just post a request for help here and one of us will advise you.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)