My name is Allen and I just acquired my first Mercedes(1986 420SEL). Since this is my first German car, I want to place a few power train issues I have noticed before the forum before I start tinkering blindly. This car has 120K miles logged on the odometer.

1. Relating to the engine. It seems to idle at around 1000 rpms in park all the time regarless of ambient conditions, run time, etc. In drive the idle drops to around 700rpm. Is this normal? How do I correct if not?

2. How do I I.D. the exact transmission used in this car? I gather it is some version of the 722, but don't know the rest of the model number. The car version number is 126.035 with engine type 116.965 and the DOP is 01/86 if this helps I.D. anything.

3. What gear is the transmission supposed to start out in when accelerating from a stop? It seems to be starting in 2, is that normal?

4. The upshifts seem to be very late and seem to take a long time to take place even though the trans is not slipping. It won't go into 4th until 60mph and 3000rpm! I can coax it to upshift at a more normal rate by momentarily shifting into neutral and back into drive. The fluid and filter have been changed and there was absolutely no sign of burned clutch material or metal in the pan and the fluid that came out looked almost new and I know it has not been changed recently. I have checked the governor weights, which don't seem to be sticking. Are there any fixes I can try for this issue myself before sending the unit out for an overhaul, which I don't think it really needs. This seems more like a fluid pressure control problem to me than a burned up tranny.

5. Since this is vacuum modulated, what effects can the running condition of the engine have on the shifting(idle too high, etc)?

6. What are the normal shift points considering speed and rpm for this transmission?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I can be reached on the forum or by cell phone at 404-579-9908

Thanks,
Allen