It has been between 10 and 25 ° F here for the past few weeks...i have noticed that my 93 300D takes about 10-20 mins to warm up before it is driveable...

the heater doesnt put out heat until the engine is warm either...is that normal for these cars?

thanks in advance,
Mario

Define "driveable".

I crank mine up in this cold weather, give it a few revvs and go, no waiting. I get some heat within a few miles.. full heat in around 10 minutes.

well...by driveable, i mean being able to push the car a bit...i have tried giving it a couple of mins, revving it up and going...but sometimes there is hesitation in the revs and acceleration...

thanks...
Mario

Regarding "drivability".... some people are pickier than others.

I once heard an old lady complaining at the service counter that her car was undrivable because it stopped suddenly when she applied the brakes.

And yes........ MB has got to do something about that heater so that it blows hot air when the engine is stone cold.

I am in NY city it has been very cold lately. I had the same problem but mine was even worst cose it would tale 45 mi before the needle moves above 40C. And only lukwarm air even when I put hearter at max.
Found out, it was stuck open thermostat. Thanks to this forum. Changed it, and now takes 5-10 min to reach 70C and about 15 min to reach 80C. Warm air starts within 3-4 minutes. I have to smooth her out by reving to 1500k after a minute of idle.

You might have a partially open thermostat. After your car reaches 60C or so touch the upper hose and feet the heat. It should be cold, if its warm you have an open thermostat.

See the posts by MVK , I have some nice photos of the stuck open t-stat.

Good luck. Keep us posted with the progress.

MVK

__________________
One penny saved is three penny earned.

1985 300D Turbo 179,000miles

At 10 degrees, I start the car, idle for 20 seconds, drive away and within 5 blocks it's warm enough for the heater to kick in and start blowing lukewarm air. This is regular as clockwork. The heater kicks in within a 300 yard stretch every morning depending on whether I have to stop at a light or not.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

There are some things to consider with your problem

1. How hot does the car run when warm. If below 80 you have a cold opening thermostat which you might want to change out. Be advised that those bolts are subject to brakage wich really sucks.

2. If it runs above 80 you might have a faulty monovalve, or auxillary water pump.

3. ALso diesel warm up under loading conditions which is why when you drive them they warm up. They can idle an very long time without getting warm. That is why truckers let them idle at truck stops. You cant do that safely with gas engines, because they run hot when idleing.

4. Basically I found the heat in these cars is not that great. The good news is that the engines run nice and cool.

good luck

bob

PS if you do change out the thermostat. dont drill any holes in it if you want good heat. This is generally a good idea if you are not reliant on the heat but you want the car as warm as it can be

how easy is it to replace this thing? Where do i look for it? how much is a new one? how do i know if it is stuck open?

thanks...
Mario

In good condition a later model MB diesel can idle all day in cold weather and never heat up. With the weather we've been having here, if I get stuck by a train (not too unlikely, alas), the temp gauge won't go over 50 until I drive it. This is normal -- the engine is very efficient and the heat, after all, is wasted energy. You will have to drive it to get it warmed up.

My 87 300D is very sluggish at first when it is very cold, so I let it idle a minute or so before driving off, and even then it is very slow to respond to the pedal. I suspect this is mostly due to the turbo not spinning very fast, as it returns to normal as soon as the turbo spools up. I just drive slowly for the first mile or so.

I don't get heat or blower for about a mile and a half, by which time the temp gauge is around 50. Takes 5 min or so of driving to get full heat.

Peter

__________________
1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

The system is designed so that the heater blower does not engage until the engine reaches a certain temperature...It's supposed to do that. If it started immediately, it would just be blowing very cold air at you, and you don't want to be COLDER than you already are!

Mike

__________________
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1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

Has anyone else put a piece of cardboard in front of 1/2 the radiator behind the fan and also in front of the oil cooler? If it's that cool outside the block and oil pan should receive plenty of cooling from air flow under the vehicle. This is common with big rigs. I live in Houston and do this in January and February when it's less than 40F.

I used to do that sometimes on an old van that I had, so it would warm up faster in the winter, but I've never done it on the MB

Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

I started doing it after I noticed the oil viscosity was virtually unchanged after a 30 mile highway drive on a 30F day. Having 15w-40 barely sloshing around in the pan got me concerned.

i changed a couple of leaky heater cores in some 123's. they had resistance heaters wires in the ducts. instant heat for the defrost.

anybody concour?

__________________
g-wagen

Psfred is right on the mark, If you are waiting for the car to warm-up by idling a cold engine you could be waiting all day. If you get in and start driving you should have heat in less than a mile. I'm astonished at how fast I get heat out of my 91 300D 2.5 turbo. Its blowing hot air within 5 minutes of a stone cold start.

Tim