Hi there,


I just purchased a new to me 1974 240D. I'm pretty handy with gasoline engines but took one peak under the hood and do not know where to start troubleshooting.


Hopefully, you guys can steer in me in the right direction on were to start repairs/maintenance. I really appreciate any help!


1. I checked that oil cap and it does a pretty good dance short of blowing off valve cover.


2. The car will not shut off with key (must do manual under hood).


3. The car is really loud and no low end power. Oil pressure gauge reads max pressure while accelerating.


4. Speedometer does not work.


5. About 5 inches of play total in steering, car wanders quite a bit at highway speeds.

1. Lot's of engine blow-by. 2. Definite vacuum leak or the vacuum pump is No good. 3.welcome to a 240D. Oil pressure gauge should peg at 3 bar when accelerating. 4. Welcome to VDO gauges - they are repairable - check for threads on speedo repair 5. Mercedes steering gears are prone to wear and require rebuilds (check threads on rebuilding techniques).

Thanks for the reply, is there anything I can do about the blow-by or is it indicative of something?


Oil pressure gauge maxes out when accelerating, should I be concerned then?