Originally Posted by 81kgb

i have been delegated to get a 78 300D running that has been sitting in a barn under 2 tarps for at least 15 years, i figure no problem, my better judgement tells me, dont try to start it, change fluids etc first, well i check the oil, its ok, way overfull, dunno why, but there was oil, put a batt in it, lights work, etc etc, turn the key to see how much fuel is in it and check to see if it will turn over, i wasnt paying attention to the fact that the glow plug light didnt seem to go out, so they had cycled for longer than needed. turn it over and the damn things starts right up, almost **** myself, belt was squeelin so i look under the hood, a c pump, ok go to get in to shut it off, away she goes,runnaway, smoke everywhere from the belts, luckily im a benz owner and know the stop lever well. and i think i reached it before catastophic failure,? my question, could the extremely high oil level be the reason, and possibly only reason for this runnaway? im assuming the owner would add oil just for ****s and giggles as the car was sitting all theses years, not knowing better, thinking he was doing good. HELP