I may need to get some transmission work done soon, and I wonder which place is best for working on it, a specialty transmission shop, or a specialty Benz shop? The tranny is shifting real hard, especially when under light accelleration. But I'm also noticing a little slippage in first gear off the line occasionally.

The hard shifting is probably just a simple adjustment, and I will probably attempt it myself, but just in case that doesn't pan out, or the slippage gets worse... Any opinions on which type of shop to take it to?

Here in Austin I have a choice of a few indies the specialize in Mercedes, the MB dealer and of course a few transmission shops as well.

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1987 Mercedes 300D ~200K (Greasecar & Biodiesel)
1993 Ford F-250 7.3 IDI diesel 165K (Biodiesel)
1996 Thomas/International Bus with DT466 engine

Does your Benz specialty shop do its own transmission work? Mine all sub it out, either to a local tranny shop or they buy a rebuilt. I took my transmission problem to the best tranny shop in my area. Unless you're concerned about the tranny shop not knowing how to remove a Mercedes transmission? In which case I'm not sure I would trust them to overhaul it, either. There's no reason to pay a specialty Benz place at specialty Benz rates when the transmission shop will do it as part of the overhaul.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

In Atlanta most of the indys buy rebuilt transmissions from the same place because they are dynotuned (is that correct?) and are reliable. My indy actually rebuilt the tranny for my 81 300SD in about 1990 and I am still driving it. However he says he does not do it any more because the dynotuned rebuilt ones are so good from the supplier.

The only problem that I had with the rebuild at first was a very hard shift when I put it in reverse. My indy made an adjustment and have had no problem since that time.

Personally I do not think RBM - the local dealer - has an edge when it comes to transmissions in Atlanta.

Something about a large chain having a reputation to protect I feel gives the consumer a little edge. Besides they wouldn't be in bussiness this long if they were not doing something right.
I had to replace the whole shebang and there is that year warranty also. They wound up having to fix a leak around the filler tube and it was still under warranty. No fuss no muss.

R

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I would'nt say I've been missing work...

1982 300D Turbo Diesel

I wouldn't even think about going to any kind of transmission shop without being sure the shifting problems were not vacuum related. Are you getting vacuum at the transmission modulator? If not, that would be a major factor in hard shifting.
I don't think an independent transmission shop would necessarily know how to adjust and check the vacuum.

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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

tyl604,

Who (What's the name) is the mysterious Transmission re-builder,who "Dyno-Tunes" the finished product?

[Jonathan @ AMG East does his own]

????

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

Thanks Cr, that's what I was looking for. I'm thinking of letting my Benz indie try the adjustment, or troubleshoot any vacuum issues, but take it to a tranny shop if I need a whole rebuild. I'll probably attempt a little troubleshooting and adjustment myself first, but I haven't done my research yet. I've never touched a transmission before.

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1987 Mercedes 300D ~200K (Greasecar & Biodiesel)
1993 Ford F-250 7.3 IDI diesel 165K (Biodiesel)
1996 Thomas/International Bus with DT466 engine

It takes me awhile to find them when I need, but there are at least several really good active threads on troubleshooting and adjusting the transmission. Subscribed to this one - it's a long read but there is a lot of good information. Post vacuum/transmission questions there and you'll get some good help.

It's CRITICAL... how you set your transmission's vacuum system on your diesel MBZ...

There's another one on adjusting the modulator and another on adjusting the Bowden cable. Do these yourself before you take it to a professional that won't have the patience that's needed. These are all simple DIY tasks and could very well fix all your problems. If not, search for the K-1 kit fix.

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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

I know that Automatic Transmission Design / ATD in Germantown Wisconsin dynos all of their rebuilds. Not sure they do M-B though, lots of racing stuff. The owner has a '77 240D that's realllllly nice.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff