Hi Art (haven't said hi to ya in a while!)

The loss of power may not happen, or be diminished, right at first, but with one trip around the block, it's warmed up enough to happen continuously, every start except for the most gentle.

I've been reading through a couple of the other posts on this subject, and all seem to be similar- I *never* encountered this stuff with cars at the dealership when I worked there (when we saw a 240 as every other car). It's weird, its as if the newer fuels are compounding minor problems that these cars have always tolerated until now.

I've always thought of the LH 2.2 system as damn near bulletproof but lately it's making me wonder. Granted we're talking about 20-year old fuel injection components, so what do we really expect.

I may have left out a couple of other issues. The fuel pump, I found when replacing the filter yesterday, is an aftermarket one with the attendant hacked wires and replaced terminals- the guy actually spliced in extra length to the cables, and made my filter job easier that way. Thanks, I guess.

Also we did some work on this car back in June when it needed to pass emissions, and got caught up with, of all things a VIN # problem in the state's computer, so I paid more attention to the awful paperwork issue than the technical details. The AMM was adjusted then to bring CO up a bit and NOx down and the ignition timing was retarded and then advanced after passing the test. It's right on 12° now or it was when I checked it last.

I'm thinking of going after the O2 sensor, the AMM again, a full check for vacuum leaks, Techron for the fuel injectors, and then finally addressing the rear end bushings. I built myself a bushing tool finally! Doesn't hurt that we have an assortment of pipe fittings handy at work. All nice stainless steel!

I was supposed to go after the timing belt today but with a very long night shift, I needed to sleep this morning much more than I needed to tear apart a B230. Hopefully tomorrow.

All thoughts on this beast appreciated.

--Rob