I recently purchased a 1988 300 E with 109,000 miles and automatic transmission. The body is very clean as well as the interior, but I have a few things that I need some help diagnosing.

- The car has a loose feel when appying the gas or right after letting off the gas. I drove the car home 135 miles and at times I feared for my life. Well, not really, but you get the idea. I did a search before posting and got a good idea of what may be wrong, I'm just looking for a little more guidance.

- The tranny takes a long time shifting from 1st to 2nd. All other gears are fine, but from first to second seem to slip between the change.

- The power door locks do not work.

- The passenger side rear door seems to be locked and will not open from the outside or the inside. The rod for the lock button in the door is not visable but the button is just sitting in the hole where the rod should be. Is there a way to get the door panel off without opening the door or should I go about this a different way?

All in all, the car is worth what I paid for it (nothing). A lady I know bought a new vehicle and this was sitting in her garage for the last 3 months. She told me if I came to get it out of the garage, I could have it.

I feel I owe it to myself to throw some money at it because I did drive it all the way home the way it was. Any help would be greatly appreciated on these questions I have or anything else I should need to know along the way.

Thanks so much.

Your new baby is still a very low mileage car for its age.
I would tackle the different problems you are having by starting with the most important i.e.: Safety
handling: The loose feeling you are reporting could be caused by several different elements:1) Tires in good condition???? Check tiree pressure and bring it up to spec..
2) Have the shock absorbers tested, also have a look at the front strut mounts.
3) Rear suspension arms: rubber bushing tend to degrade with age.
4) Check all steering linkage for play and rubber bushing for deterioration, including ball joints. Everything should be tight.
Frame mounts (differential) should also be looked at.
Tranny:
Your tranny does not start in first gear, but in second gear so you will normally only feel 2 shifts (2nd to 3rd, and 3rd to 4th)

Sorry, can't help for the 2 other problems.

Thank you for your reply.

Anybody else?

First, congrats on a great price!

These transmissions tend to slip on the 2-3 shift. Sometimes working with the vacuum modulator will help. (Adjust or replace).

Shocks are probably OK if they are not leaking.

I don't think you'll get that door panel off with the door closed. There is a vacuum motor for the locks. I think it's under the back seat. Maybe if you deal with that, the door will unlock as intended.

Look closely at the bushings in all the rear suspension arms and links. They wear and the car wants to go all over the road.

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2012 E350
2006 Callaway SC560

Well, it is definitly all over the road. Thanks for the help.

If you're getting what seems like rear-end steering when the gas is applied (or let off), it's highly likely that it's the rear links that are worn. More specifically, the diagonal thrust link (although it's possible the others are worn too). It is supposed to hold the wheel straight ahead when torque is applied to it. It was eventually updated with a stronger part from the W210.

You should look at all the other items mentioned previously, since the rubber bushings used all over the suspension degrade with both use and time, but the thrust link is probably a good place to start.

Thanks again. I'll give that a try when I get back in town.