I was looking over my owners manual for my 1991 300D 2.5 and it states that the car come standard with a block heater, but you must present the coupon within the first 12 months of ownership(which is still in the book), for the extention cord to plug it in. It also indicates that the instalation of the cord is less than five minutes, no appoinment required.
Hmm, I always thought that the diesels came with a plug that had to be removed, and then the heater element was installed.
Does anyone have any factual information on this????

Owners manuals are not always right about standard equipment, *but* if your engine is like my 1984 300SD, the extension cord has two round female holes in a rectangular plug. It's similar to the "cheater cords" that TV technicians use to diagnose TV's with the back cover off.

Not familiar with your engine, but mine is on the passenger side, maybe halfway down, if I remember right. The cord gets routed and ty-wrapped to the front of the radiator so the cord can come out of the towing hook cover in the front bumper. The block heater replaces one of the freeze-out plugs.

Hope this helps,

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Robert W. Roe
1984 300SD 173K mi

In '96 when I bought a new E300D, I noticed in the Star magazine that they all came with a block heater, but you had to ask your dealer to install the cord.

I expect that by purchasing the cord, you will be able to have a block heater easily. I believe that this cord is a standard cord, you may be able to get one from a source other than MB.

As I remember, on my '96 the heater was on the rear, passenger side of the block, but I'm not sure.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'01 C Class, Six Speed
'84 Euro 240D, manual, 533K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

All OM60_series diesels after 1985 have the block heater installed (US CARS). Previous posts were correct on free cord durning the first 12 months. Some cars require heat shields & or special covers for cord due to heat from exhaust.

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MERCEDES BENZ MASTER GUILD TECHNICIAN (6 TIMES)
ASE MASTER TECHNICIAN
27 YEARS DEALER M.B. Shopforeman
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA racecar