Alright, so I've read over the posts of yester-year, and kind of know which direction to go in with this issue. I figured I'd post it here, to see if I was missing something (and avoid another expensive trip to the Indy).

My 83 300D runs pretty well in the cold, and has no problems starting in the 17F mornings we've been having lately. The problem? It takes forever for my cabin to fill with luxorious warm air when it's this cold outside. On days where it's 35+, it isn't really too much of a problem, so I'm wondering if this "issue" is just all in my head.

A few facts:
* The car gets up to temperature in this weather, but does so very slowly. It takes about 5 minutes of highway driving @ 70mph for the engine temp to go from frozen to 81c. After it reaches this point, it pretty much stays there with minimal variance (drops to 80c on downhills, but perks right back up to 81 - 82).
* The heat works flawlessly in "warmer" temperatures, and gets the car nice and toasty warm. Still can take a bit of time to heat up, but I kind of expect that from a 25 year old car.
* Once the car gets to operating temperature, the heat starts to build in the cabin. It *seems* to work better for local driving than highway, but that might just be in my head. Highway heat works just fine once it "gets going".

Is this just me expecting too much heat from a 25 year old car, or is this a thermostat / sticky monovalve problem? I'd get both of those things replaced, but I really don't want to work outside in this weather, and would rather not fork out a bunch of money to the Indy right now.

Between the vacuum pump, the poor heat, and now a horribly squeaky belt? Now is the winter of my discontent.

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(Oo{=|=}oO) 1983 MB 300D USA, 212,000mi. 80's yellow/white. "Gunther"
(Oo{=|=}oO) 1984 MB 300D Euro, Turbo Added in Germany, 186,000mi [SOLD] Missing her dearly.
(Oo{=|=}oO) 1984 MB 300D USA Turbodiesel, 269,000mi. [SOLD]

Partially block off your radiator(But not the oil cooler). This helps me get up to operating temps faster in the winter, and I haven't gotten it past 90* yet.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Does your aux water pump work?

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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

As far as I know, it does. I never removed it to check, but after I got off the highway today (it was 7F this morning), the air warmed up a bit in the cabin. The fact that it blows warm on the highway and *warmer* on local roads leads me to believe that it's probably something weird with the monovalve, but I want to make sure, first.

As an addendum, I forgot to mention a weird noise that my car has developed in this cold weather. It's... kind of hard to explain, but here goes. Basically, when the engine is cold (and until it gets up to at least 60f), I can hear what sounds like a piece of rope whipping through the air, only really rapidly. The noise increases in intensity as I accelerate, eventually culminating at what kind of sounds like a tea kettle that has reached full boil. The "tea kettle" noise is on and off for a little bit, until the car reaches operating temp, which is when it stops. Once the car is warm, it just sounds like a normal diesel. Is this related to my problem? If not, is it something I should worry about?

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(Oo{=|=}oO) 1983 MB 300D USA, 212,000mi. 80's yellow/white. "Gunther"
(Oo{=|=}oO) 1984 MB 300D Euro, Turbo Added in Germany, 186,000mi [SOLD] Missing her dearly.
(Oo{=|=}oO) 1984 MB 300D USA Turbodiesel, 269,000mi. [SOLD]

0, have u figured out your heat issue. I have something similar on my 83D w/o the noise. I opened the monovalve just to make sure the screen inside is clean. Also, I checked the position of the cylinder inside the mv making sure that it is oriented properly. There 3 "notches" on the top part and one of the (the really small one) should face forward. This seems to have improved the heat.

My operating temp hovers at around 80-82C on the 83D but 100C on the 85D. So I don't know what it should really be and what to do about it right now. I will probably chk the tsat of the 95D today to see if it is oriented correctly.

To chk if ur aux pump works, set controls to heat and turn igniyion key to pos 2 w/0 starting car. Then go to your aux pump. You should hear it running.

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the sooner you start... the sooner you'll get done If it ain't broke, don't fix it.. Its always simpler to tell the truth...
2007 Honda Accord EX
2007 Honda Accord SE V6
96 C220
97 Explorer - Found Another Home
2000 Honda Accord V6 - Found Another Home
85 300D - Found Another Home
84 300D - Found Another Home
80 300TD - Found Another Home
Previous cars:
96 Caravan
87 Camry
84 Cressida
82 Vanagon
80 Fiesta
78 Nova
Ford Cortina
Opel Kadet
68 Kombi
Contessa

I changed my Thermostat yesterday. I purchased it from Fastlane(made in Germany). When car is idling and warmed up it hangs at 82. When I drive it it goes up to 100. The thermostat I pulled out was Made in China and made car run about 5 degree C more. They are very easy to change.

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1982 300SD