W124, Interior

Hello Everyone, I just bought a 87' 300TD. The a/c is not working. I'm a ASE certified master tech but I have no experience with Mercedes. The climate control seems to be working OK. THe fan speed changes with the temp settings, the air blows from the correct ducts when swithched which usually indicates no vacuum leaks or sevo problems. But the A/C compressor clutch does not engage. I checked the high and low pressure switches on the high side a/c line near the sight glass and they are not getting any power to them so jumping them will not help. I've read that the a/c control cutout relay could be bad, but I don't like throwing new parts at a problem without verifying with a test 1st. So can you tell me how to properly diagnos this ?? Thanks in advance for any help. Art D

First of all, it's not December 31, 1969, but instead is April 9, 2008. I have a 1990 300TE that had a heater hose break, and the dumb fool poured cold water into the radiator bottle. Now I have oil in the water (though no water in the oil!). Advance Auto sells this bottle of green fluid that GUARANTEES to fix leaks in head gaskets, cracked blocks, valve cover gaskets, etc. that is added to water. The big hitch is that the car must be able to idle for 50 minutes while the stuff does it's thing. One thing I found out; a cracked block is not conducive to idling more than a couple of minutes - much less 50 minutes (no wonder it's guaranteed to work if you follow the directions to the letter).

I have had a 1987 300TDT diesel wagon (w124) for one year. It has 185,000 miles. I don't know whether replacing the Accumulator Cells would improve the quality of the ride, since I don't know what it should feel like. The rear end doesn't sag, and the self-leveling system works. Do the Accumulator Cells degrade the quality of the ride gradually, over time, or do they just break and you know it immediately, due to a bouncy ride? thanks