1980 300SD - Can I disconnect my vacuum system for the locks?
 

Hi folks, this forum has been a great help to me this past year just for generally getting to know my car a little better but I've come across a problem I haven't found an answer to on here.

I have a 1980 300SD Turbo.

The Vacuum system seems to have a bit of a leak as the locks don't all function properly locking and unlocking when I use the key on the driver side door. I am considering disconnecting it from the locks all together, just sealing them off, especially from the trunk lock which has never worked with the vacuum. I am planning on installing power locks in the doors or just doing it all manually from now on.

Has anyone ever had any experience doing this? Mostly I'm looking for a "DON'T DO IT!!" if there is something I'm missing here, my thought is that I can isolate the specific vacuum tubes and seal them off completely just removing the locks from the system.

thoughts?
thanks!

If you believe the Trunk Lock Actuator is the problem try disconnecting the lines and plugging them. After that the rest of your Locks might work correctly.

Different model (W123) I recently found that one bad Door Actuator (about $30) and an iffy Main Vacuum Valve (about $16) on the Drivers Door was enough to keep the whole system from functioning properly.