I sure know what you mean. I have been working on my 1987 190 2.3 for a while now. I just got it fixed perfectly though. The only real reason that I can think of for the problems, is a combination of wear and tear and (this is just a thought so dont get mad at me for this) the fact that in 87 the 190's went through a lot of changes, and maybe some problems werent anticipated or thought of ahead of time. Just a thought. I goota say i love my MB. Wouldnt trade it for the world(well maybe an xj6)