GM,
Welcome to the THREAD on a very popular subject for owners of W123, W124, and W126 Benz(s)!
Yes, it helps to know the proper name of any components and secondly to be able to access the correct vacuum diagram for your AutoTrannyVac-Shifter System. I believe yours is the same as in my previous POST... but here it is again on a popular tranny rebuilder's WebSite here in the San Francisco Bay Area: http://www.peterschmidtransmission.com/vacuum/1977_1985/616_617_91/616_617_91.jpg.
I think you will find your "white bleed thingie" to be the Vacuum Control Valve... #65 in this diagram. I recommend you save a copy of the diagram as best you can and print out a legible copy so that in your POSTs you can refer to components by their proper names and/or # from this diagram along with a reference to the diagrams's http address!
You also might want to go backwards in this THREAD and read some of my discussions of STATIC and DYNAMIC vacuum control systems and try to understand the point I have made that these Tranny-Shifter Vacuum Control Systems are a combination of both STATIC & DYNAMIC.
Also tell us something about your car...
Q1 - miles on car?
Q2 - miles on your current tranny?
Q3 - how long have you had the car?
Q4 - daily driver or not?
Q5 - also what are your tranny's shift symptoms?
Also even a meager digital camera that has a Macro mode for closeups can be a Godsend when trying to describe something!

IF you have no idea about Q1 & Q2... then you might want to POST your VIN next time and we will look up whatever information we can on the car using a popular Russian WebSite for such. This will give us your engine & tranny's S/N(s) which you can compare and maybe learn something more about your piece of fine German engineering.
There is a lot of information in this lengthy THREAD so browse through it and see what you can pick up... but first download your diagram, take an inventory to see what you might have missing or extra... and start becoming familiar with the various components... and count your blessings that you don't have a 1985 California Benz!
Regards,

Sam

After looking further I found a vacum line shoved in firewall, which leads me to needing the diagram because I have always thought things did not look factory (if you know what I mean). Anyway the Benz and the web site is all new to me and hopefully I will get the hang of both of them. I have always had VW's and the Benz was given to me so being German made I knew I could not go wrong, I just need to learn more about the vacum system and I am sure this will be as good as my VW's. I will provide more details next time.

Thanks GM

After seeing diagram the line vents to passenger compartments
still learning.

GM,
I was fully aware that you were a "newbie"... at least to this particular FORUM... however don't feel put off as you are neither the first... nor will you be the last who gets thrown by and puzzles over the vent line that runs through the firewall and just stops open to the atmosphere! Going back to your diagram [ yu will see that there is another vent line [labeled "a" ] that is part of the EGR subsystem that is part of this Tranny-Shifter Vac. Ctrl. system. It is possible that these two vent lines [both labeled "a" in the diag.] come together before passing through firewall. I will eventually share with you ideas about using cheap paper medium see-thru in-line fuel filters on these vent lines and other lines in the Tranny-Shifter Vac. Ctrl. System
Again... welcome!
P.S. - IF you do NOT yet have a hand vacuum pump with vac. gauge, you should spend the ~$20 OnLine at Harbor Freight [or more for a quality one] for one of these is a MUST in order to work on this system!
P.P.S. - In your future POSTs, please start your "Title" with "GM's Project -..." . This way there is less confusion IF someone else continues or starts a new project for their car on this same THREAD!
Regards,

Hello Sam and others,

Just noticed this extensive thread and am in the midst of dealing with a thudding 2-1 downshift on my 84 300 SD (with around 225 K ) that keeps me from wanting to drive my car..

I started trying to follow Brian Carlton's advice (post #8 in this thread) but I do not see any black box. Must it be on my car or might it not be there? So, besides looking for rotten rubber connectors on vacuum lines (and they seem OK to me) I am not sure what to do first.

One other aside is that since I have a 300 SD, my door locks are controlled by an auxiliary pump, so they are not part of this vacuum system (and that pump is dead, so those don't work presently).

Thank you!

__________________
dannyf
1984 Mercedes 300 SD 214 K miles. Runs on WVO ~ 22 mpg over 8 K on WVO
1997 VW Passat TDI 156 K miles. Uses biodiesel and diesel. ~ 41 mpg
1996 Mercury Villager gasser. ~ 20 mpg

I'm not very familiar with the SD but I think the same functions are controlled by vacuum as in my 300D. You just have a different source. If the pump is dead, I think not only the door locks are affected but also the brake booster, the climate control, and the transmission shifting. Being a holiday, you might not get a quick respones from Sam, Brian, and some of the other regulars that are more familiar with the SD system.

__________________
Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-cars-sale/296386-fs-1-owner-83-mb-300d-turbo-rebuild-parts.html

Hi Cr,

The auxiliary pump in the SD controls the door locks. That has been dead since I've owned the car, about 4 years. The main vacuum pump in my car doesn't do the door locks, but virtually everything else.

__________________
dannyf
1984 Mercedes 300 SD 214 K miles. Runs on WVO ~ 22 mpg over 8 K on WVO
1997 VW Passat TDI 156 K miles. Uses biodiesel and diesel. ~ 41 mpg
1996 Mercury Villager gasser. ~ 20 mpg

I told you I wasn't that familiar with the SD. Some have suggested taking off the 617 vacuum pump and providing all vacuuum from an auxilary due to the catastropic nature of a 617 pump failure. I'd be concerned about getting enough vacuum to the brake at all times so I'm staying original.

Back to your problem, any indication of a vacuum leak in your system? CCU work correctly?

Maybe Sam and\or Brian will join in after the holiday.

Charles

__________________
Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=296386

Charles,

Thanks for the tip. Can you tell me what is the CCU, though?

__________________
dannyf
1984 Mercedes 300 SD 214 K miles. Runs on WVO ~ 22 mpg over 8 K on WVO
1997 VW Passat TDI 156 K miles. Uses biodiesel and diesel. ~ 41 mpg
1996 Mercury Villager gasser. ~ 20 mpg

Climate control unit (AC & heating)

__________________
Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=296386

Cr from Texas / dannyF,
I've just checked in briefly while on the road visiting Family down in hurricane alley here on the MS Gulf Coast. Yes, Cr from TX is right CCU is short for "climate control unit" and these fully automatic systems control both A/C and heat as do most cars have gone to in recent years. With a 1984 300SD, you are luck in that yours does not have one of the dreaded "SERVO(s)" the earlier models had. These SERVO type were known as CCU-II/2 and yours should be CCU-III/3. I hope to soon release a THREAD about how I have converted a CCU-II/2 system to a much more reliable manual system that uses controls on the console taken from a 1978 240D. I'm on the road until 9/15...
Cheers,

First off, I like others can not thank Sam and all the others enough for the amazing devotion to the older Mercedes legacy of mechanical knowhow that is truly a dying art-form. It is an honor to be a part of this brilliant post. So my problem is this. I own a 1982 300D CA spec car with just over 181k miles. I just had the transmission pump O ring fail on me, and needless to say, when cold I had a nice pool of tranny fluid developing on my driveway more and more everyday. So I had a trusted mechanic, (who by the way does amazing work for a great price) rebuild my transmission. So far I have been more than happy with the way it turned out, however when the car is first started in the morning I am getting a flare from 2-3 gears for the first couple of shifts until the car warms up. After about 2 miles down the road, or a couple of flares the tranny works to perfection. Is there anyone who might know what could possibly be causing this? From what I understand the car overcompensates the shifts to a slight degree until the normal operating temps are reached. I just need to know what adjustment I should look to in order to fix this slight but somewhat annoying problem. I guess my only real concern is that even with just a couple of flares every time I start my commute in the morning, a slight bit of unwanted damage to my tranny may be enough to lead to a problem sooner than I want down the road. Again once the car is warmed up it shifts like it just came off the showroom. Thanks again for all your help.

Dwood

What does the mechanic that rebuilt the transmission have to say about this issue? Did he replace the torque converter or rebuild it?

Just a wild guess based on what I've seen with my own cars: Maybe the torque converter is not holding fluid overnight and letting it drain down into the body of the transmission. After a brief run it is back in the converter? Try letting it run a couple of minutes before you ever try to move the car and see it the symptoms persist.

Others???

__________________
Charles
1983 300D, bought new, 215k+ miles, donated to Purple Hearts veterans charity but I have parts for sale: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=296386

He wants to wait until the first 3000 miles and have me change the fluid and filter in the tranny. From there he will diagnose it if that does not solve the problem. He is about a hour and a half from me otherwise I would have brought it back to him to look at it. He also said that it needs to be tuned a little bit. As far as the torque converter I would assume that it would slip in the other gears as well if that was the case. I am just looking for someone to give me some advice on what might cause this so that I might be able to fix it myself. Again any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Did your mechanic upgrade the rebuild with a K1 kit?
That would fix the 2-3 flare. I think

__________________
1984 300SD turbo 126
"My true love"

God made me an atheist and who am I to question His wisdom