I have an issue with my starter on my '78 240d that I need a little advice on. The starter works okay, but, when cold, it kicks out too fast. That is it turns the motor over but, when the motor fires but needs a little more help from the starter to take off, the starter disengages from the ring gear and spins free. I wait for the starter to stop spinning and try again, and again, until the car finally starts. When warm, there's no problem. If the starter would stay engaged longer I would have no problems. Isn't that the solenoid issue? Thanks for any help!

No, its a bad starter issue. Time for a new starter. Whats happening is that the starter probably isn't strong enough anymore to keep up with the engine/keep the bendix engaged. Our 300D had this exact same problem, it'd disengage when the engine was trying to start. We replaced it, problem gone.

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I was afraid of that. Oh well, I knew when I bought it that it would probably need work to make it a daily driver. Thanks for you help!

Try this guy.
1700 sales and no complaints

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-240D-300D-CD-SD-SDL-TD-DIESEL-STARTER-FREE-S-H_W0QQitemZ300160869240QQihZ020QQcategoryZ33576QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Remove the starter from the TOP, it's easier on the 240d