sorry i posted this in the wrong area but maybe some of you diesel techies can try to help me on this one. I usually post problems for a 300D 78 but my dad has a 300E 86 that i would like to get some help with...

problems..
1). hard hard extremely hard starting. dont know whether its a fuel injector/delivery problem or the main fuel filter that needs to be replace. i took my finger and stuck it in the tail pipe and found lots of black soot...so perhaps a fuel mixture problem or timing ??? any clue?

2.) suspension. when i get out of the car..there is a loud squeal coming from the back of the car on the drivers rear side. is this the shocks or the coils??...maybe its something else..however if i go over a bump you can clearly hear the squeal from inside of the car..very annoying. also, for the front of the car, if i go over small bumps and cracks, you can hear a "clunck" sound from the front suspension and i dont know whether if its just simple bushings to replace...whats the evidence for a control rod or an arm to go out sound like??

3.) funny sounds when starting.....when i put the ignition into 1 (a turn before starting) you can hear this constant loud clicking sound coming from the engine compartment....it sounds like its coming from under the air filter. when the engine is runing the clicking sound is still there and its just as loud as the engine sound itself. however if i push the breaks...the sound goes away!! weird stuff...i know in at 300D that the brakes are operated off of the vacumm pump through the brake boosters...but could it be the same way how the 300E 86 works? if so its probably a vacumm problem...

thanks for everyone who replies...sounds like a million dollars of work to do on my dads car. i appreciate any pointers from anyone.

happy holidays
allen