Hey Guys,
Well after about a month of ownership I am now starting to have problems. This morning driving to work my brakes started to act funny. Sometimes they would act normal and other times the pedal was extremely stiff. I would press down hard on the pedal and it would have very little to no movement. The car was extremely slow to brake and it was a bit scarey. So, when I get to work I pop the hood thinking some kind of vacuum line had come undone but could not see anything wrong. When I got to kill the engine it will not turn off. I remember reading something about it a switch to kill the engine but could not see any switches. How do you turn off the engine, I do not have the car manual? I panic but by moving one of the pump rods got the car to turn off. Can someone point me in the direction where to look for?
Is it just a vacuum leak. How is the brakes and the engine not turning off related.
Thanks.
rene

look at the linkgage and press the red "stop" lever.

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1985 300 D T - Rauchsilber (Smoke Sliver Metallic) with MB Tex Quartz 155 = Cream interior - 320K and counting!

1999 E300 TD - Silver - Just got her 3-13-15 !

the 2nd '83 300SD - Brown Metallic - traded away

1985 Limo Diesel aka "Stretchy" - Sliver - Blue Int - Sold but still in Athens

1983 300SD - Brown Metallic - Sold April 2008

1982 300 D T - Royal Blue with Tan interior - Sold

The "SEARCH" function is your friend.

Do a search and you will see why it can be a vacume problem and how to fix it.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I have noticed when the weather cools off considerably, the vacuum hose connections that have not been replaced "shrink" enough to cause a leak. It sounds vacuum-related to me. Get under there and replace and make sure your connections are still intact. keep us posted on your progress!

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1985 300 D T - Rauchsilber (Smoke Sliver Metallic) with MB Tex Quartz 155 = Cream interior - 320K and counting!

1999 E300 TD - Silver - Just got her 3-13-15 !

the 2nd '83 300SD - Brown Metallic - traded away

1985 Limo Diesel aka "Stretchy" - Sliver - Blue Int - Sold but still in Athens

1983 300SD - Brown Metallic - Sold April 2008

1982 300 D T - Royal Blue with Tan interior - Sold

What make, model, year???
Sounds like the vacuum pump failed, the vacuum line is broken or the vacuum brake power booster has ruptured diaphram.
All wild guess without further diagnostic data.

Note:
The STOP is a Lever on the injection pump, not a switch.

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1983 300D
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It is a 300 D turbo. It seems that the brakes work sometimes but not all the time. It just started to happen this morning. I take it that the brakes have a booster that runs off the vacuum. Can this be replaced?
Thanks.
rene

Like I said do a search, you need to troubleshoot your vacume system to find out where its leaking and if you are even getting enough vacume from your pump. Its a lot of reading and procedures have been discussed ad nauseum.

Lot quicker than waiting for the next answer. You need a mighty-vac and read how to use it and what to look for, and where. All discussed many times.

__________________
Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

a PM, phone number.

Do your door locks work okay? A common place of vacuum hose problems on the 123 is at the door hinge. Likely the driver's door as it is used the most. When checking your vacuum system do so with the doors opened and closed.

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80 280SL
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92 300TE 4Matic

Biobor, what is it, why do I need it???

Hello everyone
We spoke on the phone.
Sounds like possible vacuum pump failure or broken vacuum line.
He is getting a vacuum gauge or mityvac for further diagnosis.

Thanks for all the replys, I will let you guys know what I find. The big black vacuum lines that go from the pump to the booster look good and tight. What does that valve with the arrow do that is in series with the black line? There are two smaller lines 4mm and 5mm that come off that line. The black rubber lines look to have cracks so I am going to replace them tonight. I'll let you guys know if it fixes my problem. Oh, and the door locks seem to be working fine.
Thanks again.
rene

You may also want to remove the Main vacuum line that goes from the Vacuum pump to the break booster. Remove only the end that connects to the vacuum pump. Once the line is removed from the vacuum pump you will see a small orifice that may have gotten blocked, preventing vacuum from reaching your break booster etc. Cleaning this orifice is easy.

I know what I am talking about. I had the same symptoms in one of my previous cars, an '83 300SD. It turned out to be a blocked orifice. Vacuum pump was fine.


Good Luck

Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]

Yesterday after work I went down to my local Kragens and bought some vacuum line and replaced the lines connections that come off the check valve off the brake booster, since they were cracked. It did nothing to improve my brake problems. I did notice that the plastic tube that connects to the valve will come out if pulled with a little force. Should this be sealed with some kind of sealant? Now I notice that my door locks are not working too. I been doing some seaches on the list about vacuum problems am a little confused. What I thought was the vacuum pump I think really is the power steering pump. Does the vacuum pump not have a pulley and belt to turn it? Is it turned internally with a gear? I will try to clean the inline orifice this evening to see if that helps.
Thanks again.
rene

The large or main vac line leading to the brake booster should lead you to the vac pmp. Follow the line to its source. Without going out to check mine, I believe the PS pump is above the vac pmp. Regardless, following the line would help you locate it.

Can you test for vacuum? Do you have access to a vacuum gauge or Miti-Vac?

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'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

I don't have a mity vac yet but I will try to get on this evening. Should I also get a vacuum gauge?
rene