I was always taught that when purchasing a diesel you want to make sure that it does in fact shutdown abruptly, as it is an indication of the tightness of the internal engine components. Has the diesel rattled om when shutdown then it is indicative of a sloppy timing chain and additional worn internal components, with the exception of the older diesels that may have a faulty vacuum shutdown or leak. Those I would just use the manual shutdown and see how long it took the engine to react......The weep hole on your water pump leaked and it is the most common tell-tale sign of water pump failure.... It's a pain but every weekend I pop the hood, check all my fluids then crank it up just to check the belt alignment and the accessories that it drives!

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Currently Driving
2006 E320 CDI
1999 E300 Turbo Diesl
2002 ML500
1995 E320 Station Wagon


MBs I've owned
1997 E320 Assassinated by Pine Tree
1987 300E Wife Killed Engine
1981 300D Stretch Limo Total Loss
1970 250 Coupe 212,000 mi.
1974 450sel 184,000 mi.
1974 240D 377,000 mi.
1977 300D 204, 000 mi.
1979 280se God Only Knows!
1983 240D 130,000 mi.
1972 220D 280,000 mi.
1983 300SD 244,000 mi.

To close this, I put on a new water pump, tstat , tensioner and belt. I previously had an 82C tstat in before and now have a 92C one, so it runs warmer. It now gets toasty inside.I confirmed with my scangauge at 195-197 degrees. It took a little longer than expected, that underbelly shield is a real pain to deal with.

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2005 E320 CDI - Totaled