Nick:

The rattle is most likely the air cleaner housing loose. Typical, easy fix.

The fuel leak is almost certainly the overflow lines. The run between the injectors and back to the fuel return line, drivers side of the engine, black braid covered rubber, about 1/4" in diameter. Get MB replacements (from the dealer or a good indy shop) as nothing else you will find, unless it really is 1/8" ID fuel line, will hold up. They get old and crack where they fit on the injectors, and dribble fuel. It mostly evaporates while you are driving, but will leak enough with the engine cold to drip. Ruins you fuel milage, too!

When you get new ones, use a pair of needle-nosed plier to remove the old ones by gripping at the base beside the nipple they are shoved onto and "tearing" them by crushing JUST the rubber -- they won't come off intact by pulling, most of the time. Make sure you don't scratch or bend the nipple. Keep the little plug in the rearmost one (only 1' long or so) and put it into the short bit you got new.

To install the new hoses, grasp them with the needlenosed pliers, leaving just enough sticking out past the jaws to cover the nipple, and push down firmly over the nipple. The hose must seat against the base of the nipple, or it will tend to slide back off.

Easier done than described. You will find them all to be cracked and covered with fuel.

The CC is indeed the amplifier -- but check to make sure both brake lights work properly, too -- the CC amp grounds through the brake lamp filaments, and if one is bad, it won't work.

For the locks, there is a single pump in the trunk -- produces vac to lock and pressure to unlock. If one of the hard plastic lines is cut, try splicing it with a small piece of rubber hose from the autoparts store. Be aware that someone may have cut it because the locking system was malfunctioning, leaving the doors locked all the time, or keeping the fuel filler door locked. You can test it by having someone operate one of the front door lock buttons while you check for vac and pressure at the trunk lock line. If the pump is toast, get one from the junk yard, they are cheaper.

The hard shift on the tranny could very well be a vacuum problem -- they are vac modulated via valving system. On the injection pump there is a little aluminum box with vacuum lines attached. You can ignore the black one, it is a vent, but check all the other ones for the condition of the rubber connectors. If these are cracked, mushy, or rock hard, they are leaking, and if you have no vac, the tranny will shift late and hard, hanging at low throttle.

You will also need to check the bowden cable -- should be pulled all the way out with just enough pressure on the spring to keep it from rattling at full throttle. I don't have one of these, so I can't tell you where it is, except that it is on the throttle linkage somewhere.

Hope this helps -- if the oil was changed properly, you should be enjoying this car for another 10 years or so!

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!