Thats basically what it came down to Barry12345, we bought the car from my uncle who is one of those guys with oil in his viens, and he told me it was a great car to learn basic auto mechanics because of the simplicity and logic of the engineering...and as they say old car: new problems...so I have no shortage of things to fix on the car, lol. I would go broke trying to pay a mechanic to do all the work and plus, that wouldn't be any fun.

I've done very simple jobs so far, but am eager to keep learning. Fortunately, it also helps that the community of w123 (and other older Benz Diesels) owners are very supportive and willing to share knowledge/time.

vstech, I sent you a pm, can't thank you enough for the help!