I've pulled mine before, it's a piece of cake. Make sure you disconnect the battery first, so you don't fry yourself with the starter electrical wires. I had to replace a leaking gasket on the oil/water heat exchanger, but in order to remove that, you have to remove the starter (or you can't reach all the bolts). I did have my intake manifold off when I did this, but I think I removed the starter from below? Can't remember now.

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'98 E300 turbodiesel