You will find that it makes a huge difference to use synthetic oil. Expensive, but worth it if you have to walk instead of drive. If you know it will be really cold, a quart or two of 0w30 could make the difference between starting and not.
Flame suit on. . ., fire away.

A portable jump starter battery kit is a good idea - keep it inside at your place so it is warm and can give you ample power if it is cold enough to need it. When I had a diesel rabbit, I used to lug the battery inside on cold nights. But on an '87 benz, removing the battery is going to goof up the radio, and I don't know how easy it is to get it out either.

It was 10F outside this morning and mine started just fine. Good battery, possibly one bad glow plug. A little shaking for the first minute, but she fired right up. She has good compression though, she always fires on the first revolution after the glow plug cycle.

DS
87 300D

Don't do it..
 

I lived in Rockford IL just south of you and a car without some type of block heater during the extreme cold weather days (-65 wind chill) would not start..including my Friends 240D. Once He left it running for 5 days....

I was going to reccomend the BBQ technique, I have used it more than once, but I think that an '87 is going to have that big ol cover on the bottom of the engine to catch oil drips. If the cover is not there, I endorse it wholeheartedly, though it does take some time.

GOOD advice... get the highest (amps) rated booster you can (not the $39 jobs you see routinely at WalMart) and keep it warm (i.e. don't leave it in the trunk overnight). I'd keep it right on the pass. floor, in fact! Nice & warm...

Chris

??? Did I miss something ???

Someone earlier said a mechanically solid MB diesel should start w/o a block heater down to -20 degrees. I think this was a "yeah, sure" comment.

just an added safety precaution.its only common sense and good safety practice to keep a fire extinguisher handy in the garage or nearby if your trying the bbq method.

-12 Celsius overnight and -10 when I left this morning... glowed for about 20 seconds and then it fired up right away. No roughness at all except the first couple seconds. I am using Mobil 1 15W50 synthetic.

Well then if you're right, that "yeah sure" comment is just that, "yeah sure." I once met an '85 300SD owner at the local M-B service shop and he said his car had started many times as low as -20F without the block heater. When he said it I showed signs of disbelief and he told me that he wasn't lying or exaggerating, that he had accurately checked the temperature before he did it. He said he was testing to see how low it can get before it wouldn't start without being plugged in overnight. That was the lowest temperature he got to test it at ... well, that's the lowest it ever gets around here period! I believe the guy fully and you know what, if any of you here don't believe me, just wait till the temperatures start getting really low here and I'll test to see how the lowest temperature at which my car can start without having been plugged in overnight. :D

This is it, when it is -20° and it doesn't start you don't have to wonder why.

Yep, I know for a fact my car will not start at -20F without the block heater. But down to 0F I don't have many problems, just a long glow time. That's why I carry a long extension cord with me to work. And the engine has only 150k miles -- it burns a quart every 1000 mile or so.

*I* didn't say that... I was just clarifying the joke... It would be great to have a diesel who'd start in -20degree weather! Mine never saw lower than the single digits, and even then I never needed to start them at the time.

The only time I've had problems starting gassers in the cold was when there was another problem, bad starter, battery or something else. And believe me if your battery or starter are questionable, then you'll know it at zero degrees F. As for the other diesels in my life, tractors and semis, they'll never start without being plugged in for at least a couple of hours. The MB is a different breed though, so there is hope if it's well maintained.

DS
87 300D

Are there no outlets nearby at all? Is there another building nearby that would let you plug in, especially with a timer, for a small fee?