It appears that my '71 280SE was serviced at Precision Motorcars up until at least Dec. of '91. I do not know how long you have been there, but it is possible that you may have seen or possibly worked on my car. The owners last name was Withers. Don't know if this rings a bell or not.
Btw, does this mean that Precision would have a file on this car? I have quite a few receipts from there, but do not know if I have all of them.
Also labor rates were $45/hr back then up from $40 in '89, and $35 in '87. Wonder what they are now? (figuring $5 increase every 2 years, would make this years rate $80 an hour)
The car was originally purchased at a place called "Sheppards Service, Inc. on Edwards Rd in Cincinnati.
Don't know if this means anything to you, but I found it interesting, and was amused to find out if has been serviced at you shop.

-Larry

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

Aaron, I would ask if the subject problem was fixed before I fessed up to working on it! I think Larry had a little hard shifting problem or something. This could even be a trap, and he will ask for no-charge warranty work at the June Gathering at MB Autowerks the June!

Larry, are you bringing the 280SE to the gathering? I would love to get a picture of our two cars together! We could post it on Hack's Home Page!

Actually I was going to find some trivial thing and rib Aaron about it, but there was one particularly large invoice that caught my eye. It mentions finding a ring in the trans. pan after removing it for a filter change. This prompted a valve body removal/inspection. The invoice further notes that the customer at that time, chose not to repair the part. (it was identified as a being part of the third gear clutch pack) Part of the reason why he may have refused repair, is because he also had a rebuilt alternator installed. All he went in for what was called "E" Service, so he may not have expected this additional repair. Btw almost 3k miles later he got new plugs ....again.
As far as the trans goes, I have no idea (yet) if this repair was ever done or not. This is almost like going through someone elses stuff, and reading their diary or something of that nature....and at the same token verrry interesting!
-Larry

__________________
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

Well, I have since left Precision (but will be returning soon to them once again!). But I can certainly ask them to pull a file on it for you. If you wish to call them yourself, you can call (513) 271-5565 and ask to speak with Dan Fitzsimmons (he's the owner). I'm sure they'll have something on it! Dan is quite meticulous! They are a top notch shop and I truly regret ever leaving them for, of all things, another dealership, but at the time I thought it would be a better move...Wrong on my part. So I will be returning to Precision and will return to working on the "real" MBs---The Oldtimers! BTW, the dealership here in Cincinnati at the time when your car was new was indeed Shepards, and you are correct, it was on Edwards road. It then evolved into Walker then Tri-County then Dana Motor Company and now is Mercedes-Benz of Cincinnati (MB's rule about the name) but everyone in town still referrs to it as Dana. I'll do some investigating on it for you with Dan tomorrrow! Thanks for the heads up!

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Regards,
Aaron