While attempting to start, for the first time, a 1981 380SL I bought recently, I noticed gas pouring out of a part near the fuel distributor. The part is # 0 280 161 007. (Actual pic attached - referring to the gold-ish color thing in the middle of the image). The leak appears to be from the bottom of the part, not near the inlet line or outlet line. Interwebs says the part is the 'fuel pressure damper'. Car only has 80k miles. Curious why it failed. Just a deteriorated rubber membrane inside, perhaps? Is there an adjustment that can be made or do I just replace the part? Thanks guys.

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Replace

Mileage means nothing when the car is 38 years old. Expect lots of other rubber parts that are in contact with fuel to have a problem. CIS is $$$$ to repair so decide how far you want to go with this system.

Thanks guys.

In terms of how far to go with the system, are you implying that there's another system to replace with, or are you just saying that the decision is just how far to go with the car, period?

I'm into it dirt cheap so far, so I have a decent restoration budget.

Thanks for the advice.

Possibly all of the above.

From your post in another thread, this car has been sitting 15 years so the fuel system is going to be a me$$ if it was not drained of fuel. We also don't know if the car was in operating condition when parked.

Start pricing out all fuel system parts for this car. Fuel pump , fuel accumulator , fuel distributor , injectors and a host of other normal tune up stuff. Someone on e bay was selling rebuild kits for the fuel distributor.

You will need to pull the tank and have it cleaned, expect the fuel gauge sender to be damaged due to varnish / corrosion. Expect all fuel lines to either be clogged or coated with varnish that will start to dissolve and clog any parts down stream.

Makes sense. Definitely learning as I go, so thanks for the advice.
That's accurate about condition when I purchased - didn't have any info or history so it was certainly a risk.
I'll take a look at those parts. I've already done some basic tune up activities. Will be interesting as I continue to dig in.