I know this is a long post, but I would appriciate any help.

I am getting tired of chasing vacuum leaks and I am sure you all are experienced in this feeling. I am still having problems. Here's the story. My 82 300TD has the typical vacuum symptoms, doesn't shut down quickly (most of the time), the door locks don't all work. Brakes seem to work okay, they are a little hard, but not bad. Shifting is hard sometimes, usually when accelerating slowly, when I speed up quickly the shifting is smoother.

Here is what I know leaks. The AC pod that open and shuts the center vents doesn't hold vacuum and I have the replacement diaphrams for all the pods under the dash. Just haven't pulled the dash out yet. I have tested all the doors individually. There is a very very small leak in the hatch lock (less than a 1" of vacuum in ten minutes). Which would seem to lead to the door locks not working properly after having sit for many many hours, but they don't work (well the passenger front and driver rear work sometimes) even while driving. I have tested the reservoir in the back, and it holds.

I have tested the shut-off valve by putting my mityvac on the valve itself and turning the car on, and then pumping the mityvac. The car shuts down after 1 to 2 pumps. I did find a little bit of oil on the ends of the plastic line going from the ignition to the shut-off valve. I pulled both of the lines connected to the ignition out of the car and looked at them. Niether of them seam to be full of gunk and oil. I cleaned the lines and replaced the rubber connectors again. Could the ignition itself be malfuncitoning?

I have checked the main line comming from the vac pump with the engine running. And it reads 22"-23" of vac. I have replaced the check valve on the doorlock system. I have replaced all the rubber connectors inside the car and in the engine compartment. I have checked the other check valves and they all hold.

So can the leaky climate control pods cause this much of an issue? Could leaky 3/2 valves in the tranny modulator cause these kinds of problems, and how can I test them to see if they are holding vac. All the other lines as far as I can tell are connected, although I have come across one or two that where disconnected, so things are getting better. Could my vacuum pump be bad eventhough it seems to be pulling the right amount of vac? Can a tiny leak in the door system cause the doorlock not to work, or are they just not getting enough vacuum do to other leaks. Any help would be great.

Thanks
Andrew

__________________