Steve-Oh

Hey guys I'm new here and hoping you can steer me in the right direction.

I just bought a 2003 C230 Coupe and it runs poorly at low RPMs. It idles fine, but step on the gas and it hesitates 1 to 5 seconds before surging. It runs great on the highway, but stop at an intersection and it may not get going again without the hesitation.

Will a leaky vacuum pump cause this behavior?

The vacuum pump does have a considerable oil leak. I removed the pump, cleaned it up, put some RTV oil resistant sealant on the gasket and bolted it back on. It seemed to run better for about 10 minutes, then the symptoms returned. And when I got back home, I put my hand on the pump and came back with oil drenched fingers.

Any idea if the RTV sealant is just not working, or if the leak could be from somewhere else? It does not seem to be on the body of the pump (against firewall) but the oil is coming from next to the engine.

Someone else's thread mentioned that a leak may not be from the seals. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

-Steve

Brau0318

This is a post better suited for the w203 thread. Someone may be able to help you there and when you get this problem figured out dont forget to reset your ecu, via the manual ecu reset. Helps with sluggish take offs