I have a feeling that I will be doing the K1 upgrade very soon. I want my transmission to last as long as I can make it last. It's exhibiting the standard MB shift qualities, good 1-2, mushy 2-3, good 3-4.

One thing of note- I CANNOT GET AN ACCURATE TRANS FLUID LEVEL READING OFF THAT STUPID (*&)*&% DIPSTICK!

What I do is this: I start it, drive up Wisconsin Avenue a couple of miles. Usually this gets the engine temp up to 80C. I then stop at the same fuel station I always stop at and take a reading.
I have been doing this all weekend long, siphoning off around 40-60ml at a time. The fluid is not brown nor does it smell burned. It is not exactly transparent red however. It is maroon, non-transparent, and has some tiny bubbles in it, but it's not what I would call 'foamy'. I would say that I have siphoned around 200ml so far. Every time I stop at that gas station after leaving my place, I check the level and it seems that it hasn't moved, about 5mm under the 'add 1 qt' level. I usually go with the notion that it hasn't warmed up enough to expand fully. Then I drive it for about 30 minutes more and it gives me a reading that's an inch and a half above the full mark! Why is it doing this to me????
The transmisson shifts nicely, just that very subtle mushiness from 2-3.

I serviced the tranny less tan 10k ago w/ 'MaxLife' fluid and filter. Does anybody know how to get an accurate reading from the stupid dipstick? This is just ridiculous. There needs to be a better way of judging the fluid level than this. I am not going to do any more until I can get a concrete reading from the damn thing.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

Just because your engine comes up to temp in a few miles does not mean that the transmission has also reached full operating temperature. The check at 30 mins should give you a better indication of level when fully warm. When you check at the 30 min interval I would allow the car to idle for a few minutes to get any fluid that might have crept up the dipstick tube time to flow back down. I assume you pull the dipstick wipe it dry and reinsert to get the reading.

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Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

I thought it was customary to do it that way, yes. Either that or I have been checking my fluid levels improperly all of these years.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

Of course just like your other dipstick it could be shrinking when cold....

__________________
Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

least I can still locate my other dipstick

__________________
'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

...would the trans not shifting from 1-2 and holding at max rpm for two seconds before finally shifting be the fault of the K1?

edit: maybe i meant B2...?

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350