!! I thought those wires were supposed to get hot. That is good to know.

I had the plugs upgraded on the 75 I had and it made a HUGE difference, that's why I was figuring while I was replacing them I might as well improve it. It seemed like a job I should be able do myself as well; remove old plugs, put the "oversized" pencil ones in, attach new wires, don't reattach ground wire. Get the kit from m*source to idiot proof the experience.

Ya I was thinking of doing this first, even though the thought of lying on my back in the snow is not appealing. I'd rather have a flat battery than a bonfire though.

That could roll into adjusting the valves. Adjusting the valves myself is something I'm not sure I should do myself, it seems like it would be easy to screw up.

Welcome and congratulations on the car.

Overall for 330k kms on the odometer, assuming this is the original motor, it sounds like it performs well for a car that came out of the hands of an unenthusiastic owner.

The blowby is sort of to be expected... but I wonder if that is in part because it sounds like the car probably sat for extended periods. It's possible that the rings will come back to life a bit as you drive the car a bit more. I have purchased three cars that sat for long periods and on two there was a difference after a few months... the third never got better.

I didn't see a mention of fuel filters. If you haven't changed them yet, you should. A partial fuel filter blockage would contribute to the lack of enthusiasm for hills.

You do need to get the valves adjusted before you really know for sure how the car starts and performs.

If after the valve adjustment and fresh glowplugs it still doesn't like starting in the cold, you could consider doing the upgrade to manual preglow controller. Of course you can just do multiple glow cycles and achieve the same result, but I find the manual control more convenient (I have it on my '78).

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Generally speaking when plastic parts are melting that's not a good thing. To be sure about this I reckon you're best off posting up a picture if you can, just to make sure I haven't gotten the wrong end of the stick.

Adjusting valves is a pretty simple process so long as you take your time and use the correct tools. If you are nervous about doing this then make sure you have plenty of time - say as much as a weekend (which it shouldn't take) just in case. There's no point getting stressed. That's when things will go wrong and you'll spend ages adjusting an exhaust valve to the inlet spec - doh!

For the correct tools you'll be able to find many threads on the subject here. (If you get stuck searching for threads please let me know and I'll help - but it is better for everyone if you get to grips with searching for your self!)

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!