At least those things are less expensive to replace than some of the electronics. Imagine a bad wiring harness or a computer that goes bad. How do you TS when those things go bad?

Really my friends E300D has all been scan and replace, that car is so easy to fix.

What do you think these cars will be like 20 years from now?

They will need massive infusions of cash to keep going, like any other old MB you want to keep nice.

Or they'll already have been recycled.;)

Either way don't plan on owning one, so don't care.;):D

An acceptable trade-off, IMHO. ;)

What's a TPS? You might be right about there being no mechanical linkage on the IP, but there are two cables in that area you're talking about and one of them is definitely connected to the accelerator pedal. The other one has an orange boot and that one is the transmission cable.

Hattie, the 211 can tell you exactly whats broken too.

TPS is throttle position sensor, although this is certainly not what M-B calls it. The cable to the pedal connects to this sensor. The cable to the transmission is present for the old four-speed transmission fitted in '96. It's missing on 210's fitted with the 722.6 five-speed.

I know that I'm right about no mechanical connection to the IP, since I have the same car. The rack position and shutoff diverter valve are controlled by the IFI injection computer, located in the module box at the right rear under the hood.

Sounds right to me. It's difficult to see the IP without taking off the intake manifold and the last time I had it off I didn't really analyze the IP that closely. But I have already replaced my K40 relay and the shutoff valve so I know what you're talking about. I haven't really thought much about the throttle cable and for some reason I thought there was still some mechanical connection between the throttle pedal and the IP like on the older models. Thanks for helping me learn something new today.:)

Accelerator position sensor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js4AsFm9plk

Thanks, Forced. I knew that it wasn't the correct name, and it even sounds wrong since there is no throttle. There's a valve in the intake on the 606, but it's not for throttling the engine.

My father always called the pedal the "foot feed" on his diesels.

It can still be called a throttle since it throttles the amount of fuel injected.

Does my '96 E300D have a TPS problem?
 

Occasionally when driving the new-to-me 1996 E300D slowly (like in a parking lot) I'll give it a little throttle and nothing will happen. The engine continues to idle but won't respond until I give it more footfeed, at which time it lurches forward. Is this the beginning of a failure in the throttle position sensor, which I am reading about for the first time tonight?

Jeremy