well this project had to take a back seat for a while but I'm back at it now. the car went to the dealership today to have the cracked subframe looked at. Mercedes is PAYING IN FULL for it's replacement. 30 year old car and still honoring a very expensive recall. Astonishing. Now I just have to scramble and fix a few of the steering components so I get a free alignment. Control arm bushings are pretty tired looking but this car is on the lowest financial priority list right now so they will likely have to wait.
Actually the list of things to be done keeps growing by the minute but that's what happens when you take a tired old car that someone else gave up on and decide to put it back on the road.

The good news is that while the engine and trans both need some TLC overall they are solid.