Hello all,

I have an 83 300SD.

1. The engine produces some smoke. How much is bad? The engine has 192K miles. Should I consider having it rebuilt/overhauled?

2. In the past few weeks, the vibration at low RPM has increased a lot. Vibration vanishes at RPMs greater than 1500. It's very bad between 500 and 1500 RPM.

3. The oil pressure is max (3 bar) at just after I start, but it drops to around 1.75 at idle after running for a while. Is this normal?

4. Idling is not smooth. It seems very noisy and sounds like cheap diesel equipment.

5. Engine shakes at idle (I ran at idle with the hood up). How much is normal? I don't remember my old gasoline car's engine shaking.

6. I am most interested in getting the vibration problem solved. Could all these observations be related to each other.

7. Do you guys have recommendations for good independent Mercedes service shops in and around Palo Alto (Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Jose etc).

Thanks all!
Ranga