hello everyone, got room for another 190 newby ?
i just sold my 83 300d turbodeisel and took an 85 190e in trade (i hope i didn't mess up).
anyway, the little 190 has some issues that i need to deal with and i'm not real familiar with this model so i'm hoping somebody here can please answer a few questions for me.

1985 190e 2.3 automatic 185k, minimal service since 100k.

first, there is a fair amount of valve noise. i pulled the vc and ran the motor while bearing down on individual rockers trying to feel slack in the followers. didn't find any slack but got oil every frickin' where . the lobes looked kinda iffy (worn/scratched) so i'm going to replace the cam and all the followers.
my valve question has to do with the shims under the followers. can i reuse the existing shims and how do i determine what thickness of shim to use ?

my other question concerns the transmission. when shifting to d or r at idle (800 rpm) the trans slams into gear quite violently. i've determined that the drivers side motor mount is collapsed but i still feel that the trans might have a pressure issue. could a bad/misadjusted or inoperative modulator cause this ?

oh, and one more thing. how much backlash is considered excessive for these rear ends ?
thanks for any help y'all might be able to give me