Donnie: Unfortunately, I bought the car in Chicago, and I live in North Carolina. The mechanic I use is terrific, and I trust him completely. I get the impression at the local Benz dealer here that they are completly uninterested in helping because the car was not bought from them. I have, however, previously bought 3 E-Classes from them ('87 260E, '91 300E 2.6, and a '91 300D). The truth of the matter is, I got such a deal on the '95 E300D from this place outside Chicago, it would take a rather large expenditure out of pocket for me to go in the hole on this deal. I paid $20,900 plus $500 shipping. All of the ads I have seen nationally show prices for a '95 E300D with this many miles (52,000) to be selling for a much higher price. I do have a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty on it, but I remain somewhat nervous about the long term prospects of the car. Someone please convince me that all will be well. As I said, my tech assures me that he has taken the engine apart and has found that it is fixable and the long term outlook is excellent. Anyway, I would still be curious to know if any one else has experienced a similar problem with this engine. I did notice in the forum that someone else had a vacuum pump failure, but it dosen't sound like the problem exploded like mine did. Let me know out there if any one else has heard of similar situations.