yes.
a fluid change can extend or eliminate the borrowed time. DO NOT GET A TRANS FLUSH DONE!
these cars are equipped with torque converter drains as well as pan drain plugs. both take the same 5mm allen wrench, and combined with a filter and pan gasket change will really stretch the life of your transmission.
line up the TC drain plug with the access window, I use a 27mm deep socket and a 1/2" drive ratchet turned by my brother, and I look up at the TC for the plug to come by. nearly impossible to do it by yourself. starter bumping ALWAYS spins it right past... annoying. remove the plug, drain it out, remove the plug from the pan, drain it out, then drop the pan and drain out the leftover fluid. clean out the pan, then change the gasket. remove and change the filter, and put it all back together.
fill with 5 quarts of Dexron III fluid, and start the car, and cycle through the gears. let it warm up, and top off the fluid to the fill mark.
done.

I wanted to post some of my findings. On my 87 190D 2.5L Turbo I checked my vacuum readings. I had 10 in. at idle but when I went wide open it only dropped to ~5 in. of vacuum. So I bypassed the vacuum amplifier and tried it, went to 0 in. at wide open now. The symptoms were going from rev to drive it would slip for a split second and it would slam into lower gears during a down shift. Bypassing the amp. fixed it. It downshifts better and has only done the rev to drive thing once (used to do it a lot). Not I need to smooth out the upshifts. One thing that it is still not right is the shift points and kickdown. It shifts it 4200 and will not kickdown like it should. It will if I am going well slow enough to go down a gear. I have the bowden cable adjusted full tight. Any other ideas?

clear
 

thanks for the clear instructions on transmission servicing.the pan had a small amount of brass flakes in the bottom and the filter was dark but i am hopeful she can give me a couple of years more of driving.moving over to another thread for the other problems.

Any ideas why my shift points are too low on my 87 190D Turbo? My modulator is holding a vacuum, my bowden cable is adjusted tight and my vacuum goes to 0 at full throttle. It shifts at 4200 in all gears and will not kick down correctly. I have tried to do a search but there is so much w123 mixed in the results. I know there is not much W201 love here but can anyone help?

I just did this alone by bumping the starter by touching bare wire ends while under the car staring the the torque converter opening. It took about about 2 minutes of bumping before I got the drain plug to overshoot the opening a little but still visible through the slots. I then used a screw driver to pry the drain plug back to line it up with the opening.

Another method which will work if working alone is to rig up a buzzer with a wire that shorts to the drain plug when it makes contact as you rotate the torque converter via the27 mm crankshaft bolt.

I would like to thank all those that added to this thread. Its a good long read but very useful.

Brian's pratical suggestion on post #8 solved my trans shifting issues as I have a '84 cd.

Again, thanks,

Bryan

I have been reading about this transmission issue since I first obtained the car in May 2011. The shift flared from what I believe is 3rd to 4th and the line to the modulator was just hanging, not hooked up. I hooked up the modulator and it flares from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4. Yesterday I found that that VCV was only putting 3" to the modulator and adjusting it didn't make any difference. I hooked up a gauge to the test port on the trans and it was only making about 36 or 38psi....turned the pin as far CW as possible and there was no increase in pressure. My central locking system stopped working shortly after I got the car and the center vents do not work. Today I am going to see if I can chase down the rest of leaks but in the mean time am curious about the pressure modulator....as I cant get it to make any more that 36-38ish or so psi, does that mean I have weak pump and am going to need to rebuild the trans soon anyway? Monster of an issue, I cant wait to get the car all squared away. Any info or ideas are much appreciated!

1995 E300D OM606 adjustment how to?
 

Has anybody been able to successfully adjust their modulation pressure for an E300D? If so, would you mind giving me some pointers?

I've read through the entire post, but I'm still none the wiser as most of this post seems to be for earlier vehicles.

And I went to the w124performance site and was unable to find a vacuum schematic for this car.

Waiting for my vacuum guage to arrive but would like to have some notes ready.
Thanks

Pressures up to spec - flares are gone!
 

FYI Everyone following...

While my modulator WAS holding vac, I couldnt get more than 25 psi with the pin cranked all the way in. So I ordered one. I pulled the modulator to see if the pin was broken, it wasnt. It was oozing a rust colored liquid from under the black cap.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/749...acement001.jpg

I installed a new modulator (febi/biltstien) and pin which had a longer base as well as overall length.
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1...acement002.jpg
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6...acement003.jpg
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/2...acement004.jpg
Then I hooked up the pressure rig, and it was (miraculously) reading at 42 psi at idle, dead on. Quite amazed I didnt have to adjust it.
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4...acement005.jpg

I test drove it and the 3 to 4 flare is gone, still a slight on the 2 to 3...so I adjusted the VCV to put only 10" to the modulator at idle. Still a slight flare, which went away when the car warmed up.

BTW the modulator (from Fastlane, came with the o-ring seal and the rubber cap, no need to buy extras)

At this point the 2 to 3 is firm, clunks a little and I cant feel 3 to 4 at all.

I plan on tinkering with the VCV a little more but am quite happy that the problem is "resolved" and I dont need to rebuild the trans.

I'm debating on if I should install the "Superior Transmissions Shift Correction" spring kit I bought now or maybe at next fluid change or maybe sell it?

As always your thoughts, comments and ideas are appreciated!

bumpity...

Need Help with Up/Down Vacuum - '81 300D Non-turbo
 

I installed a new brake booster line because the old one had a cracked T that resulted in a 5-20 second shut-down time. Before replacing, the tranny shifted fine, maybe a little early and the kick-down worked. Now, shut-down is instant but the tranny has a 2-3 flare, shifts early, and there is no kick-down. Following the advice in this thread I ran a vacuum line into the cockpit with a vacuum gauge to monitor vacuum while driving. I learned three things and one strange occurrence:

1. The vacuum load at idle was not steady. The gauge needle bounced erratically between 10 and 15 pounds. With just a little throttle the needle settled nicely at just under 15 pounds.
2. The vacuum moved from 15 pounds to just 9 pounds under full throttle.
   
3. I found I could improve shifting (eliminate the flare, improve shift timing, and get kick-down to work) if I removed the gauge and just let the vacuum line "leak".

The strange occurrence happened after a few days of monitoring with the vacuum gauge. With the gauge plugged in (no self-induced vacuum leak) the vacuum began ranging from 12 pounds to 2 pounds under full throttle, just like it should. Shifting improved and kick-down started working. When I stopped and let the engine idle, the needle did not bounce around but instead registered right at 13 pounds, like one would expect. After stopping for the night, the erratic vacuum reading at idle and the 15-9 range under throttle are back.

Other things I know:

• The EGR and 3/2 valve have been bypassed. There are 5 hoses coming from the 3/2 valve, one of which goes to the side of the VCV but that is no longer functioning. Any concern here given my make and model?
• The center climate control pod is leaking, but no difference in vacuum readings when that system is isolated from the VCV/tranny system.
• The new brake booster line did not seem to have the built in orifice restriction at the T, as indicated by my crude test of blowing through the old T and the new T to see if there was a difference.
• There is a vacuum pod (green) and a yellow (2.0mm) orifice in the line just before it enters the VCV.

Next steps?

1. Introduce a smaller vacuum line orifice to restrict vacuum getting to the VCV?
2. Try to adjust the VCV so the range drops to near 0 at full throttle?
3. Pull the vacuum pump to see if it is failing? I don’t remember if I isolated the vacuum pump and tested it with the vacuum gauge. I’ll try that before pulling.
4. Try to reconnect the 3/2 valve but keep the EGR offline?

Thanks and any suggestions are appreciated.
VM

Orifices Make the Difference - Beta Testing Adjustable Orifice
 

Either this thread is dead or you all where silently encouraging me to find my own solution. Well I did find the solution to my fluttering vacuum gauge needle and 15-9 vacuum range at full throttle (see post 731). No surprise to some of you who pioneered this thread, there was a need for an additional orifice in the tranny/vcv line as too much vacuum was entering (exiting?) that system.

I found this easily by watching the vacuum gauge while I pinched the rubber vacuum line right where it T’ed off from the main brake booster line. Pinching the line about half way stabilized the needle at 13 pounds and resulted in a 13-1 vacuum range at full throttle. I knew now that I needed to put in an orifice to control the amount of vacuum in that system. The dealer wanted $22 per orifice, which could have cost more than $100 not knowing which size I needed.

Thinking about what I might use instead had me rummaging in my drip-irrigation supplies until I found a ¼ inch veri-flow valve used to control water pressure on stake sprinklers. This $0.62 valve fit perfectly in the vacuum line and has allowed me to adjust my vacuum in that system to just the right amount. I now have near perfect vacuum readings in that system, my shifts are in the right place, and my kick-down is working. I can now make adjustments at the tranny modulator to smooth things out for perfect shifts. This veri-flow valve is, of course, in beta testing as I need to find out if it will handle the heat of the engine and is able to keep its setting against all the vibrations. Anyone see any other potential downfalls? For those interested in what this valve looks like, here is a link to one, except the one I used was barbed, not threaded like in this picture: 1/4" Fittings - Dripworks 1/4" Vari-Flow Valve. Possible hardware store purchase.

I’ll keep you all posted…:)

Marked.

Would the 1977 300d have this kind of vacuum set up?

Answer
 

MZF-Bayer Transmissions


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