hey could anyone tell me where the fuel filter is on a early 80's 300SD, and are there any special procedures to change it? Thanks

spaz, you have two fuel filters both on the driver side of the valve cover.

look at the parts on the parts catalog here and you will spot them easily under your hood. One requires a larger socket, I can't remember the size, the other filter is a screwdriver job.

For the first filter, turn the socket and hold the filter, it will drop right into your hand, it will have some diesel fuel in it still and pour that diesel into your new filter before installing it. This is the only "trick," but this is roughly as simple as changing the air filter.

You may wanna pick up a Chilton's book or something cheap to read up on some basic jobs like these.

The only thing I do in addition to the excellent description above is to pour the fuel from the filter into a clear kitchen measuring cup (don't tell my wife) and examine it. If it looks perfect I prefill the new filter with it. If it looks suspicious (water,dirt,ect.) I pour it into my drain oil tank or mix it with my lawn mower gas. I then prefill the new filter with fresh fuel.