That's one hell of a story. Wonder how many hours and how much $$$ it would have cost had you taken it to the dealership with those symptoms.

There is an important lesson to be learned here. MB designed these hydraulic systems with the clutch feeding off the brake master cylinder reservoir higher than the brake feed so that the clutch would fail before the brakes do should the fluid run out. So, if you are loousing fluid and brakes and still want to drive the car home, we now know we could pinch off the clutch master feed line with a pair of vice grips before it takes a gulp of air, and continue to have a functioning clutch without the necessity of functioning brakes.

__________________
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