I just got a new to me 87 300d that has been recently converted to a 5 speed. It has all the stock vacuum routing. I immediately disabled the arv and egr and everything on the right side of the engine. My question is with a manual it doesnt seem like I need a vcv, vacuum amplifier (and ill probably disable the overboost protection and route pressure strraight to alda). Is there anything I need other that the vacuum shut off, and the vacuum source for the ac /interior do-dads? Trying to keep things as simple as possible since I'm sure there are some ac vacuum pods that will need some work.

Also funny vacuum related story... was pulling a rear seat at the wrecking yard and the headrest were up which makes seat removal impossible and of course no battery so I take a look at the mechanism and sure enough true to mercedes form... vacuum pods.. so i rip some spare plastic line from elsewhere... plug it in and not having a mightyvac handy suck on the line... sure enough... thud.. headrests go down.. some really funny looks from passerby's though...sucking on a plastic line in a trunk...anyhow a small victory after spending over an hour removing a few bolts from power seats with no power for the fronts.. next time ill bring an impact battery thats not 18 volts to power the seat.

You can also get rid of the vacuum control unit (65) on the side of the injection pump for the auto trans. It unbolts from the IP.
http://i323.photobucket.com/albums/nn447/Jeremy5848/1987%20Mercedes%20300D/Vacuum603.jpg
On my 5spd Y29, Y30, 65, 123 along with their related bits and bobs are all gone as well as everthing on the pax side of the engine. Inspect the remaining vac lines and black rubber fittings closely for cracks and leaks. Use a new hose between the alda and manifold and clean out the port on the intake. Its likely full of oily soot.

Enjoy your 5spd.

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Thanks, was hoping I could get rid of all of that stuff (and keep in a box until I find an sdl or wagon). Just out of curiousity do you get an odd harmonic at mid engine speeds with you 5 speed? It has new flex discs and clutch but the differential is stock... gears seem pretty long legged and it vibrates if you lug in low rpm's. I love the 5 speed though... sort of wierd compared to my tdi and previous automatic 87 300 d. Much smoother than the tdi when i get the rpm's up. I forgot how smooth om603's are at high rpm. Also need to get the tach and idle control working... guessing that is related... looks like the sensor is on the trans.. need to troubleshoot the rest of the electronics.

I don't have any vibration issues at mid or high RPM but at stock idle RPM i got some noise and vibration from the flywheel. I adjusted the idle screw on the IP to increase the idle RPM to around 750. That resolved the vibration completely. My dual mass flywheel really didn't like idle in the 600s. You could try setting your ELR to 6 or 7 but mine was flaky. Also take a close look at your engine mounts especially your passenger side mount which takes 90% of the load under acceleration. That seems to be a common source for NVH. Lemforder brand mounts seem to be the only ones still made in the father land instead of China like everything else.

The type of flywheel used on your car might the source of the issue. Mine has a dual mass flywheel which has the reputation of being less reliable but its generally better at absorbing engine vibration. Most manual transmissions had single mass flywhee. If your transmission came out of an 88 or earlier car its a single mass, 89+ were all dual mass. That might be the source of your resonance... maybe.

Another trick is to tighten up the adjuster on the throttle cable at the engine end of the cable for really sharp throttle response. Keep turning the screw until you hear idle increase slightly then back off 1/4 turn. It makes driving with manual transmission much more enjoyable.

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Thanks, Ill take a look at the flywheel with my borescope. All I know about the trans is it was supposedly out of a 2.5 190. I'll try playing with the throttle cable. The clutch lets out kind of high so that sort of threw me off. The elr is acting goofy so Ill probably just unplug it for now. It surges up and down rythmically but idles fine when unplugged. My guess is the relay since the tach is dead too. I need to do some poking around.