I have an 83 300SD with 163k on the odometer. The problem I have is the engine won't idle after startup. It takes about 2-3 minutes with my foot on the accelerator before it will idle by itself. Also, I have to press the accelerator down about half-way before the engine will start. When I do depress the pedal, the engine starts up right away without any hesitation. When I don't , the engine cranks for about 10 seconds before it starts sputtering and then dies immediately.

Right now I have one bad glow plug, and I was considering buying the kit with 4 plugs and a new relay. I was hoping that the new relay burning the plugs for 3 minutes instead of 30 seconds would solve this problem. I was also considering increasing the idle speed.

My buddy has an 85, and he tells me that all he does in the morning is open the door and reach in and turn the key and the thing starts right up.

Does anybody have any experience with this?