first thanks for all the help this forum has provided me with. i have saved a lot of time and money as a result of your advice. AWESOME. now my 1983 300dt problems...i know that i have a vacuum issue and am in the process of replacing the pump and all old connectors, check valves and oil-soaked tubing. there are however some symptoms that i want to make sure aren't representative of greater issues. along with the vacuum problems listed below i also experience non-shutdown and one-shot only door locking.

#1 power brake loss. there is no problem on wide open roads where braking is infrequent, but in traffic at idle speeds after repeat depression all assist is gone. it often doesn't return until the car is shut down (when this occurs shut down is manual) and restarted later. is this consistent with a bad vacuum pump or should i be worried about the booster or reservoir as well?

#2 inoperative 4th gear. the car (auto of course) will shift into 4th around town at low rpms, but 4th will not engage on the freeway. is this consistent with a bad vacuum pump? is it because the engine draws less vacuum at higher rpms and combined with a leak somewhere or a bad pump there isn't enough vacuum to modulate the shift into 4th? it would be nice to cruise at 75 sans 3700rpm factor.

#3 black box on valve cover. i have the box, but the plug and lines that i know are supposed to be there are long gone. what is this plug and how many lines are there and where are they supposed to go? could the absence of this plug contribute to a leak or other problems? any good diagrams out there? all the ones i have come across are poor at best.

#4 dead ac compressor. it is dead (and loud) and i do not plan to ressurect it. my common sense tells me that i can just eliminate the belt and let the unit sit there, but am i missing something? will this effect the heater in any way? seems like i would just get a few extra hp!

#5 tie rod replacement. where can i source or rent a seperator tool (what do they look like?) in the manhattan area? what are the torque specs on these bolts? what should an allignment cost me and any reccs on a good joint to do this in manhattan area, or close by?

#6 brake job. i am doing the brakes, pads and rotors. have done many brake jobs, but not on mbz. any pictorials out there on this diy project?

thanks in advance for the help. i'm sure i'll be back.
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