I had the honor of meeting Suginami the other day when I towed my 300CE into Enrique of Mr. MB Motors for the installation of a new alternator. (BTW, a Ford Ranger with a 4.0L 5-spd stick tows a 300CE fine, if you keep it below about 53mph)

Things were kinda hectic at the shop in the middle of the day, but I remember Suginami mentioning something that a friend of his related to him. He stated that his friend always keeps the automatic climate control fan position at the "auto" position. If it is kept in the low position most of the time, the vacuum diaphrams become "stuck" and loose their "usefullness". (Not his words, but the general idea.) (I rarely use the "auto" or high fan position because it makes too much noise . . . and, the low position doesn't push enough air most of the time.)

My question is . . . how do I determine if my diaphrams are shot? Easy to replace, or a major PITA? Where are they located?

Thanks.

p.s. Suginami is a great guy! A lot different that I imagined him to be. Would love to get together with him someday to shoot the breeze.