My Easter gift to my wife (and myself) is a '83MB 300D ...finally (thank you Mr. Easter Bunny, sir). The car has 211,000 miles and the body is mint . Apart from that I know nothing about Mercedes.I have had several diesel VWs and presently have a 1997 Jetta. I have two issues that I would like some help on: 1) There are no dash lights, which I am assuming to be bulbs burned out. I read on the board in reference to another model that the speedo cable should be let go from the tranny to allow the instrument panel to be pulled out far enough to replace the bulbs. I can pull out the instrument panel about an inch but do nor want to force it any further. Am I on the right track?
2) On cold starts , which are the norm at this time of year in Newfoundland ,the idle is very rough and the engine is noisy. (Is there a trottle advance in the Mercedes). The sales agent where I bought the car tells me the owners manuel -which isn't with the car - recommends
putting a quart of transmission fluid in the tank every 1000 miles to clean the injectors. Is this true ? The roughness goes out of the idle when the engine warms up .Would this suggest an injector problem, a sticky lifter,or something else .
3) I would like to get a manuel on this car; what should I be looking for and where might I find it?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated .
Happy Easter !