Todd: You mention that the brake pedal is hard- combined with everything else, you either have a massive vacuum leak OR a failed vacuum pump that needs rebuilding/replacing.
First, you need a vacuum gauge (minimally), some diagrams and some patience to track that down. The power steering pump is easily enough replaced as Kaleb mentioned. The problems you describe take the value of the car way down- case in point, I bought a 300SDL for almost nothing b/c the dealer told PO that the turbo AND tranny were bad- tis for a car with a fairly recent MB reman transmission. Turned out to be nothing more than a broken $20 part that caused all of the problem, including weird shifts and no power. Too bad you're not closer- I'm in Charlottesville VA and have a feeling that with a pump rebuild kit and some time you could get most of the stuff sorted in 3-4 hours. Most everything you describe- bad acceleration, no shutoff, harsh shifts are ALL directly dependent on vacuum, unlike most other cars. Has to be someone closer to you. Also look at the line from the brake booster to the pump- this is about the only place where a single line failure (or cracks in the "block" where the smaller vacuum lines connect) can create enough of a leak to cause power brake failure outside of the booster. Also- is there any evidence that the master cylinder has been recently been replaced? Tony Wirtel
