I replaced the clutch master and slave cylinders, hoses, and bellhousing boot. I spent lots of time trying to bleed the system. I only had a tiny bit of pressure at the end of the pedal travel. In frustration, I adjusted the pushrods out completely and drove to the local independent Mercedes repair shop.

They discovered that the hydraulics were fine, but that something is wrong in the bellhousing. The previous owner had a new clutch disc and pressure plate installed before I bought it, so that is unfortunate. I have the boxes with the old parts in them, and the part numbers on the boxes are correct.

I think when I replaced the slave cylinder that the throwout fork may have popped off of the pivot ball because now there is lots of travel before the arm starts to push on the pressure plate (did not have this problem before I replaced the hydraulic parts).

I added a spring to the clutch pedal, so now the pedal springs back and works acceptably, but I need to open the inspection cover on the bellhousing and see what is wrong inside. I would hope a new pressure plate and disc would not already have failed.

I drove the car to the local Performance Radiator to get a quote on what it would cost to recore the radiator as it is leaking at the upper seams and the inside has deposits. I was quoted a minimum of $530 to recore it. This seems like a lot of money, but it beats the $2,450 dealer price.

I think my heater cores may also be leaking and I thought it would be a good idea to have them recored so they don't start leaking unexpectedly. I wasn't prepared to be quoted a minimum of $350 per side, making at least $700 plus tax just to have them recored. But still, this is cheaper than the dealer price of $1,150 for the right side and $850 for the left side.

I was thinking maybe $300 to recore my radiator, and so when I heard a minimum of $530 I was surprised. I definitely want it to be recored so it doesn't have any clogging or potential for leaks (reliability is a top priority as this is my only drivable car). A nice, shiny radiator would go well with the new cap I ordered from The Classic Center.

When I tackle the cooling system I am going to use the Zerex G-05 coolant as I did in my last Mercedes. I am going to replace all hoses, thermostat, gaskets, etc. and then reinstall the air compressor bracket. Hopefully I won't need to access anything once the bracket is reinstalled since it covers everything up. I will have the heater cores redone at a later date. Until then, I will use them and hope for the best. If they start leaking badly then I will bypass them until I can afford to fix them.

Speaking of that, my blower motor has been cutting out intermittently and now will not come on at all. I must have a bad connection or a worn out motor that I will need to inspect. I also noticed the firewall is rusted away on each side, which is where most of the water is entering the cabin from.

Today as I was detailing the interior I noticed that the front driver seat back seemed loose. I wiggled it and then the seat almost came out of the car. Apparently the floor gave away and so now the seat is sinking under the car. Then my accelerator pedal came off at the base. I am also going to need to replace the tie rods to remove the mega-play in the steering wheel; I will probably go with Lemforder or OEM (I hear Meyle tie rods have quality issues).

I did get rid of most of the play in the shift lever by adding some washers at the transmission end until I order the proper bushings. What a difference it makes!