I finally bought a Mercedes to eventually replace our Taurus lease car. I found a very nice looking diamond blue '88 560SEL with 110k miles at a very reasonable price but with some work. Below is what I found so far. I will do all the work myself so any recommendations or suggestions would be appreciated:

Transmission: Need to fix reverse -- it is barely moving. Looks like I need to remove the trans and replace the B3 O-ring and maybe discs. Given that forward gears work fine (when I bought it the shifts were very harsh but it turned out to be a hole in the vacuum line and a leaking modulator cap), and the low mileage, would you recommend a complete overhaul or just fixing the B3 seal/discs? Also, are there any special tools I need to remove and work on the trans?

Sunroof: Lifts down but does not move back or up. Found a loose broken part (124 782 05 47) inside the roof on the left side, angle iron I suppose. Tried the emergency crank but the roof is stuck (also tried pulling the white knob but it came out all the way and does not want to go back on again although nothing seems broken) I unclipped the headliner in the front and tried to push it back but does not go back since there is a crossbar at the back of the roof which may be to far down on the right side. This crossbar is at an angle -- on the right side it is at the right rear corner of the roof but on the left side it is a few inches further back. Not sure where it is supposed to be but it does not budge. I really would like to avoid taking down the headliner from the inside but looks like I do not have a choice.

Rear Suspension -- The ride is very soft and the left side is 0.5" lower than right side. I suspect a bad accumulator. Also, the right shock rubber cover is torn. Given the price of shocks, I will only replace the cover if I can find a replacement somhere. Probably should replace the subframe bushings as well.

Front Suspension -- Handling is soft and not very precise so I plan on replacing ball joints, bushings, and possibly shocks since one is leaking a bit.

Leaks -- The car was leaking red fluid when I bought it. Power Steering was overfilled (1/4 from the top) so after I removed fluid it does not seem to leak any more. I just hope there was not permanent damage done. Also, the ATF fluid was high so I removed some there as well.

Rust -- The bottom of the rear window is badly rusted on the inside so I will have to remove the window and repair with POR-15 (really should put in new sheetmetal but have not seen a replacement part for sale).

Engine -- Runs good and no noise from the chain so far. I do plan to change the chain and upper tensioner since I do not believe this has been done.

A/C -- The system works but this may be trouble later on. Is there any preventative maintanence I should do? There is no label that the system has been converted. How can you tell?

__________________
Nick

1988 560SEL
110k