Thank you for that information. I found a garage to work in, so I'll do the starter swap this evening and post back the results.

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1983 300SD ~250k

Just a quick follow-up:

SD Blue's directions worked perfectly, although I found that once I got the starter loose, turning the wheels all the way to the RIGHT made it a bit easier to fish the starter out of the bottom.

And I'll just be one more person that says HOLY CRAP, my old starter sure was a piece! A COMPLETE night-and-day difference in starting! As in - I read how other people said it was night-and-day between the old and new starters, but I didn't think it would be that dramatic - but WOW does this new starter FLY compared to the old one. I can see how this is a MUST for anyone in a colder climate. I can't wait to let the engine cool all the way down, and give her a cold start tomorrow (should be in the lower 20's).

The starter is a reman $80 special from Advance Auto. It is the nicer "heavy-duty" version, and it looks identical in size and weight to the old (perhaps ORIGINAL) starter that I pulled out of the car.

So if you are having any sort of cold starting issues (I had been, and was troubleshooting glow plugs, compression, IP and ALDA possible problems), PLEASE do yourself a favor and get a new starter if your current one isn't 100%

Thanks to everyone on the forum...I couldn't have done it without peoples' input!

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1983 300SD ~250k