I've got an old 300TD in Northern NY and she has no problem starting when the block heater is plugged in. BUT, I like to hike, and after 8 hours sitting at a trailhead in 10 degree weather, its a no go. 10 degree weather is common hear, and I would like for 8 hour hikes to be as well. So, do I have some options for cold weather wilderness starting. Some sort of battery I can plug the block heater in to? Throwing a blanket over the car? Bring a camping stove along, and cooking the oil pan for a half hour when I get back? I need a cheap solution. And can anyone tell me definetively what the electrical needs of the block heater are (volts, watts, etc)?

On a side note, are there any emergency cold start tricks (hot water over the engine, prayers to the Diesel God) that aren't harmful?

Thanks for any suggestions.

I too would like to know if there is such a way. The other day it got down to 25 degs. and I forgot to plug my '80 300SD in. She did not want to start. I then plugged her in for about 2 hours, and she kicked right over. It is because of this I don't drive the car to work. My wife drives the car to her work, but she only works 5 hours a day. It is just when she has been sitting for about 8 hours that she doesn't like it. My neighbor said his grandfather, in upstate NY, would light a fire under his diesel farm tractor to warm it up. Obviously this isn't anything we want to do, to our Benzes.

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1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

As far as an emergency starting aid, when I had a worn out Oldsmobile 98 diesel car, I had an old mechanic tell me to keep a can of WD-40 with me. He said if it got too cold to start, just spray a quick shot of the wd-40 in, using it like ether. Said it was just flammable enough to start without blowing the heads apart.

Now, before I get flamed, I have to say I never did use this trick. I am only passing this along in case someone else has knowledge about this, and would like to expound on it.

Also, he told me if I needed to use ether to start it if I got caught somewhere, just simply unhook the glow plug harness so the thing doesn't blow sky high. We use ether on our diesel tractors every day here on the farm, of course we don't have glow plugs on them. They all have a factory ether setup.

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Ron Miller

1986 300E

Actually, the stove under the engine DOES work. I've had to do it before. Josephine use to have a very tired motor with bad compression and would be hard to start when it got below 35F. But, you have to understand that there is a lot of metal to heat and if it is very cold you will need to put a lot of heat under there, and make allowances to prevent the heat loss from the engine compartment (hood closed, wind protection, etc).

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Steve

1992 300CE Sportline Sophie
1990 300E Emma - in the family
1979 240D Josephine - sold, but not forgotten
2004 Pacifica AWD

http://web.mac.com/dakota/Mercedes/Home.html

I had a tow truck driver with a diesel of course. Who told me the same thing about the WD40. He owned his truck, and he said whenever it won't start in the cold, they open up the breather hose, squirt a little in, and the truck starts right up. I put the WD40 in the trunk, put I don't think I would ever use it to start the car, especially if it is dangerous. Instead I use anti-gel in the fuel, use winter oil, and carry three really long extension cords in the trunk....just in case. It's pretty easy to find outdoor outlets just about anywhere, except in hiking areas.

Yep, I've used the WD-40 trick on a diesel tractor in Missouri a few years ago. Also used it for gas engines a time or two. As I understand it, WD40 USED to use propane as the propellant so that is what ignited - propane. I understand that they have recently changed the formulation to use a non-flammable propellant.

I seem to have cured my cold weather "no-block heater access plug-in" problems last year by installing new glow plugs.

I have a friend who carries one of those portable "booster battery jumper" thingies in his trunk just in case. As of yet, he has not used it. I think he said he got it for $80.00 at Wal-Mart. Says it gives him piece of mind - but I don't know if it would really work. Anyone every tried one of them??

Dan

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Dan Taylor/ Tulsa, OK MBCA
'84 300D/'90 Jaguar XJ6/XJ40

Would a 12 or 24 volt auto/marine battery power the block heater enough to warm the engine? If you had two 24 volt batteries in the truck wired together (parallel or series, I forget)you would have 48 volts, which may work better. The only problem would be hooking up a charging system or recharging them every time you used them. Good luck

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'85 300DT--215,000 miles
'82 300DT--255,000 miles

Thanks for the suggestions so far, guys. I'm a little iffy on the wd40 route, and would like some more specifics/warnings of damage. The fire/camping stove/sternos under the engine option really appeals to my sese of the ubsurd and seems economical. But aren't there wires and such that I should try and aviod melting? Where exactly might I place some source of flame? Under the oil pan? How long might sterno take at 10 degrees, minutes or hours? Is this totally wacko?

I do carry an extra battery, but does extra cranking power really help when the engine is real cold? Are there no portable 110v sources of power other than generators?

Please keep the ideas and opinions coming, I'm still hoping for the most beautiful solution.

Jeff:

Well, there is one other thing. There are power inverters (produce AC from DC). I guess if you had a spare 12V battery with sufficient capacity fully charged you could hook up an inverter then plug in your block heater. I am not sure what the wattage rating on the block heaters are (800 W???), but you can get inverters rated up to 2500 or so watts. I don't know how long a fully charged 12V battery would power the inverter for the block heater but you would probably need what, two hours?

I guess you could rig a timer on the output side of the inverter to start the block heater a couple of hours before you needed it.

Well, just a thought anyhow.

Dan

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Dan Taylor/ Tulsa, OK MBCA
'84 300D/'90 Jaguar XJ6/XJ40

Jeff, my '79 300D starts down to -5F without needing the block heater. I have parallel plugs, 5W30 semi-synth oil, winter diesel and just got a new 800 CCA battery. This morning with the block heater it started quite easily at -31F.

Gary

The trouble with carrying extra batteries is that they may turn out weak just when you need them. How about a small portable gasoline generator like a Honda or something like that. Just stash it in the trunk. You could use it to run your block heater and trickle your battery at the same time.

A small 1000 W generator would probably be the cheapest. I did see a neat device install on a Dodge diesel on one of the Shadetree Mech shows. It was a little glycol boiler/ heater that was installed under the hood. It used diesel fuel as the fuel oil. I think it also had an automatic temp mode as well. Probably quite expensive.

try ESPAR.COM on the internet.
its expensive.
revert back if anyone installs it.
i would like to put it on my 1984 300d too

I think this thread has gone a wacky. How about this
novel idea: If you only need to start the thing down
to +10F, why not just fix it? Here's what I'd do:

1) Check compression. So long as you have 300PSI or
so, ought to be OK. If it needs rings or a valve job,
then you're looking at some $$$.

2) Check cam/injection timing. Inspect the timing
chain to determine if it is stretched. Replacement is
a few hundred dollar repair which will make a big
difference in starting and running.

3) Adjust valves. Required every 15K miles. Let this
go and it won't start in cold weather.

4) Inspect/replace glow plugs. After 10 years they still
operate, but not like when new.

5) Clean injectors. Having a good spray pattern will help
with starting. A bottle of lubro-moly diesel purge only
costs $10 and makes a world of difference.

6) Use synthetic oil during the winter.

7) Use winterized diesel, or add a bottle of anti-gel
to each tank of fuel.

8) As a last resort, just let it run. Let your car idle
while you take those eight hour hikes. It'll probably
burn five bucks worth of fuel - may well be the least
expensive alternative available.

Only low compression/leakdown is an expensive repair,
though it's probably in the "get a new car" category.
Timing chain is a few hundred dollars. Everything else
is in the vicinity of a hundred bucks or less.

I wouldn't be surprised if repairing your car was less
expensive than the other options offered up. It should
start every time in weather above 0F.

- Jim

Hey Jeff,
I live on Long Island NY so the temps are fairly moderate, but I like to ski and hunt. Usually we take my F-250 7.3 diesel, love it to death NEVER FAILS TO START!!!! Sometimes we wind up taking my wife's 1982 300D turbo (skiiing not hunting). In either case I have a 1.5kw generator handy. In the trunk of the 300D it doesn't take up more room than a suitcase. At the end of the day I go back to the car and start it with no problem (I'm the hero). If it is REAL COLD, I'll plug the generator in, sit with the car for a cup coffee and then start the car while the wife and kids are changing in the ski lodge. I still get to be the hero--car running and warm. A 1.5kw generator is fairly cheap in a "Northern" type catalouge. Beats waiting for AAA or a tow truck.
Kevin