I think my tranny is going downhill...

What are the tell-tale signs.

Rebuild or find donor? Discuss.

Thanks

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

You tell us, what is it doing that makes you suspect that its "going downhill"? The issue could be as simple as a poor vacuum adjustment. Tell us what its doing.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

She "whirrrrs" pretty badly. Is this the turbo i'm hearing? Also, the shifting is rought, and she takes a few seconds for reverse to engage.

Seems bad, right? I'll be hitting 240,000 soon, and I'm quite sure she's never been rebuilt.

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'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

the rear ends are known to whine on the W123.. im on 265k on a OG tranny... hows the fluid level(at idle speed and warmed up), the color, the smell(yes smell it). also check out the driveshaft center support bearing for wear

Generally they start to go bad around 250k there are exceptions and I know I'm going tohave about 20 responces saying "yea sure, I have over 300 on mine". It all depends on how they were treated during their life. One of the main signs of transmission wear is the time it takes to shift into reverse. My rebuild shifts instantly, my old one with 215k took a few seconds as well. I would recommend going through and making sure all the vac levels are correct before spending on a swap.

FIY I would go with a rebuild not a donor. I payed $1200 for my rebuild (Sun Valley Mercedes) and will never have to touch it again for the life of the car. I would not want to re-do that job 3-5 years down the road.

__________________
Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

Something else I noticed: She really gets some pep and speed in reverse, and seems sluggish by comparison in 1st.

Would vac pressure effect reverse not engaging instantly??

Thanks

__________________
'90 300SE --- 173k miles --- (Odometer just stopped working!)

'85 Cali 300D --- 193500 miles --- (Second one) Sold Nov '10

'82 300TDT --- 236,xxx miles --- (My first one) Sold July '09

Adjust your vac level, and change fluid with synthetic ATF, sub one quart of Trans-X for one quart of that ATF
Change it again in 1k, then keep it changed every 20k

see what happens

Never known the trans to whirr, that's a rear end differential noise

If the transmission slips in every gear and no amount of adjustment helps then it's time to think about a rebuild

do a search on B2 piston also

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

The transmission was rebuilt in my '84 in 1998 and judging by the syptoms the mechanic described on the bill of sale, it was a mis-diagnosed vacuum problem that still persisted after the rebuild. Harsh and quick shifting, if memory serves but I don't have the paper here with me. When I got the car, I did a few tweaks and it shifts great. It also goes right into gear, which the '85 did not. It shifted fine but you could count to four between moving the shifter and it engaging in gear. Since I've got it in my garage along with the motor anyway, I'm going to take it to a shop and have it rebuilt since I won't have to pay for the labor to remove it.

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Seth

1984 300D 225K
1985 300D Donor body
1985 300D Turbo 165K. Totaled. Donor Engine. It runs!!!
1980 300SD 311K My New Baby.
1979 BMW 633csi 62K+++? Dead odo

I'm at 247k and my tranny runs flawlessly, all shifts are firm and reverse engages within 2 seconds. Switching to synthetic fluid dramatically improved how it operated, especially in cold temps. We think the one on our '83 may have been rebuilt. It has rock-solid shifts in all gears and they are on time, but it still takes it a couple seconds to engage forward or reverse. It also has synthetic in it, helped it as well.

Whirring is likely the differential, not the transmission. I'd look into a fluid change (preferably to Mobil 1 Synthetic Gear oil) for the differential. Its what I used, I changed it again after 2-3 months and wow did it clean out a ton of sludge, filled it again, and have left it ever since. Whirring? The little I had is now gone. Our '83 whirred badly until it got the same fluid change treatment, now it is (almost) silent as well.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Hell, I hope i'm not up to be replaced as I'm going down hill right now.



I'd service it, adjust TV, peep vac at modulator and see how it goes. Still bad? Have it rebuilt, there's not much to it so you shouldn't pay $2500 for one.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

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