Hey guys!

Hope everyone is having the beginning of a good new year.

Quick question.

On a 1981 300SD. Automatic tranny.

The transmission has a locking dipstick. The tranny ran low on fluid and wasn't shifting right....big opps.

Wife had car at fathers house. Father in law broke off the locking part of the dipstick when he filled up the fluid. Now it has a hard time shifting out of first. It will feel like a slip...racing engine. Have to release the gas pedal and then it grabs and shifts. If you start reaaaaaaaaaal slow it goes okay.

My question is....could that locking dipstick being broken cause this problem. Is there a vacuum leak or pressure leak perhaps? Or is the tranny actually dealing with a stuck valvue or something like that. BTW...it reverses fine and shifts every other gear above first great.


Thanks for any input guys. Not sure at this point if I should sell the car or repair it.

No!!!!!

Thats kinda what I thought.....dang nab it.

So, is the shifting bound to get worse?

drain a little fluid and top off with trans-X. It's likely that clutches got burned by racing it without enough fluid to pump to apply the clutch. Maybe you can restore the surfaces that way without disassembling. Worth a try

__________________
'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

What you have there is called flaring. The first and easiest thing to check is the vacuum line to the transmission modulator. The trans modulator is mounted on the left side of the trans in about the center of the left side. Follow the line up to where it mounts and remove it from where it is plugged in, and plug the leak you just made. Then drive it. If the flaring goes away that is your problem, as the vacuum to the trans is used to slow, or soften the shifts.
Next thing to check is the Bowden cable adjustment. That is the mechanical cable that mounts atop your valve cover, and runs down to the rt side and rear of the trans. It has a threaded plastic nut that will lengthen or shorten it. You may try to lengthen yours, turn it in a couple of turns. Don't get too carried away there, mark it with some paint or tape to return it to the starting point if you are unsure of what to do.
How long since you drained the tranny fluid and changed that filter?
Since there is only a small chance that is the problem you should consider a transmission flush or use of trans x, of some quality product like that. The MB auto trans with the diesel engine can be complex to get right, and it has a limited useful life. You may be seeing the first signs of it going bye bye.
Also check the fluid level with the trans hot and idling. Don't overfill, but it will need to be full to shift correctly.

Excellent info!

In case you haven't heard lately, you guys rock!

Thanks, I'll check it out with the suggestions.

When you hear hoof beats...think horses not zebra's...Dennis