Found a great looking 300CD, one problem. - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

nickofoxford · #31 06-27-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackG

If the body is nice, No way would I walk away from it.

Nice coupes are getting hard to find. I would second the
notion that the rear is the problem, not the tranny.

A diff. is not that hard to install, even for a young rookie.

Again, start the car, put it in gear, and physiclly check to
see if the drive shaft it turning. I would put money on it
that the answer is yes.

I was one of those that bought a car with a "bad" trans.
After bolting a CV joint back together, I was driving it.

I turned a $600 car into $3500 3 months later.

Where in PA are you?

Oh it is a beautiful coupe! It has some charactor surface rust here and there but it is solid inside and out with the exception of the usual hole in the trunk floor. I can fix that and all the surface rust and get her a good paint job.

Turns out the tranny is bad, but it is a pressure related problem. Read my latest post im going to explain in detail there.

nickofoxford · #32 06-27-2009, 06:30 PM

OK guys, more bad news (kinda)

We got it started and the engine is dead on solid for it's millage. It started up flawlessly as soon as it got fuel, we had to crank it to get fuel from the tank because the primer was shot. After that it would start on barely one revolution of the crank. Solid! Even the turbo feels like it was rebuilt at some point with very minimal end play. A tiny amount of blow-by, the 240D I have sprays oil droplets! Very nice improvement over the 240D.

Anyway the bad news,
The rear is working, loose as all hell but it works. We jacked up the drivers side tire and put it in gear, it just barely spins with a slight jerk-jerk-jerk to it. With some throttle (i know it's not called throttle

) it would kick and spin fast but eventually fade to nothing more than slight movement. With the car on the ground you couldn't tell it was trying to move except hearing the usual driveline clunk when you hit the "throttle".

My dad and I think it's a pressure problem, since it will spin for a second and then "loose fluid" and not spin. When the tire spins with quick "throttle" application it kicks strong, then gets so weak that it barely spins and can be held still. Again this is with the drivers rear tire jacked up.

My dad told me he saw the same symptoms when the fluid pickup tube fell off in his friends car, this would justify the guys story of parking, coming back out, and not having movement. Another thing we thought about was the filter was so clogged with crap that it wouldn't get pressure. This wouldn't be instant, would it?

Another thought of mine, is there a thermostat in the transmission cooler lines? I know the engine oil cooler uses one.. but I don't know much about these transmissions.

Points to remember:
- It has plenty of fluid (checked it in neutral on level ground, running)
- The rear is not dead after all
- The shifter linkage works but is loose, audible clicks are heard when putting it in gear.

What do you guys think? Any transmission guru's that can back up my dads thought of the fluid pickup tube? Any help is appreciated!

nickofoxford · #33 06-28-2009, 12:13 AM

A n y o n e ?

rcounts · #34 06-28-2009, 12:35 AM

I have no further opinion other than to say buy it and if the tranny is dead, you can get a boneyard replacement for $250 and put it in over a weekend. Then you'll have a decent 300CD for 1/4 of what I paid for mine.

The only other thing I can say is I'm jealous. If I weren't afraid my wife would castrate me for it, I'd have bought the one with the blown engine for $950 on my local CraigsList.

The ad for that one dissapeared in less than 24 hours...

nickofoxford · #35 06-28-2009, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcounts

I have no further opinion other than to say buy it and if the tranny is dead, you can get a boneyard replacement for $250 and put it in over a weekend. Then you'll have a decent 300CD for 1/4 of what I paid for mine.

The only other thing I can say is I'm jealous. If I weren't afraid my wife would castrate me for it, I'd have bought the one with the blown engine for $950 on my local CraigsList.

The ad for that one dissapeared in less than 24 hours...

Im not a big fan of transmission work myself, sounds like im going hunting for a good used transmission. I think in my case it's all about it being a coupe! I love the body style. We used to have one when I was growing up, before my mom got rid of it it was supposed to be my car

. Don't feel bad, Im sure Im going to sink all kinds of money into this puppy.. starting with the cracked dashboard and the complete driveline. It's going to be worth it, that's my motivation. I don't know how im going to defy the laws of time with college but i'll figure it out. Like my old man says, "it keeps me out of trouble".

I'll be sure to post pictures when I get her home and all washed up.

One more thing, where's the "Cheap CD Club" on here?

rcounts · #36 06-28-2009, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

One more thing, where's the "Cheap CD Club" on here?

LOL! There aren't enough cheap CDs to make a club! They are even harder to find for cheap than the TDs...
Too bad wer'e on opposite sides of the country - I have two good trannys sitting out back...

nickofoxford · #37 06-28-2009, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcounts

LOL! There aren't enough cheap CDs to make a club! They are even harder to find for cheap than the TDs...
Too bad wer'e on opposite sides of the country - I have two good trannys sitting out back...

I'll have to start the club

It would be the most prestigious club of peachparts

Jokes aside, how much would it cost to ship a transmission that far? I don't even know how much one weighs...

If you don't mind, I'd definitely buy one from you. It's easy enough to find one in the bone yards around here, you just can't test it.

rcounts · #38 06-28-2009, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

I'll have to start the club

It would be the most prestigious club of peachparts

Jokes aside, how much would it cost to ship a transmission that far? I don't even know how much one weighs...

If you don't mind, I'd definitely buy one from you. It's easy enough to find one in the bone yards around here, you just can't test it.

Well, if you were local it would be different, but I wouldn't sell you one, given what the shipping costs would be - probably at least couple of hundred bucks, coast-to-coast.

The reason is I haven't tested either of these to be SURE they are good. I'm just going on the seller's word. They came with a couple of engines I bought and everything they told me about the motors checked out OK Supposedly the cars they came out of were driveable, and I have no reson not to believe that the trannys are just as good, but I wouldn't want to have you pay shipping, go to the trouble of putting one in, and then find out that they had some kind of problem.

Too big of a gamble to take...

mike-81-240d · #39 06-28-2009, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickofoxford

I'll have to start the club

It would be the most prestigious club of peachparts

Jokes aside, how much would it cost to ship a transmission that far? I don't even know how much one weighs...

If you don't mind, I'd definitely buy one from you. It's easy enough to find one in the bone yards around here, you just can't test it.

I've got one out of a 83 300D that i almost for sure know works

And im probally 10mi closer than him

nickofoxford · #40 06-28-2009, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcounts

Well, if you were local it would be different, but I wouldn't sell you one, given what the shipping costs would be - probably at least couple of hundred bucks, coast-to-coast.

The reason is I haven't tested either of these to be SURE they are good. I'm just going on the seller's word. They came with a couple of engines I bought and everything they told me about the motors checked out OK Supposedly the cars they came out of were driveable, and I have no reson not to believe that the trannys are just as good, but I wouldn't want to have you pay shipping, go to the trouble of putting one in, and then find out that they had some kind of problem.

Too big of a gamble to take...

It's the thought that counts! That would be my luck too, im really testing my luck getting the 300CD, who knows how long the rear is going to last with all it's play. I was thinking as soon as I put a transmission in it the rear is going to go out. Another day another wrench to turn

nickofoxford · #41 06-28-2009, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike-81-240d

I've got one out of a 83 300D that i almost for sure know works

And im probally 10mi closer than him

See this is the one thing that sucks about the internet. The odds of finding someone with a good used transmission are one in a million, unless of course they're in Washington state

nickofoxford · #42 07-01-2009, 02:38 PM

Going down tonight or tomorrow to pick it up

nickofoxford · #43 07-01-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackG

If the body is nice, No way would I walk away from it.

Nice coupes are getting hard to find. I would second the
notion that the rear is the problem, not the tranny.

A diff. is not that hard to install, even for a young rookie.

Again, start the car, put it in gear, and physiclly check to
see if the drive shaft it turning. I would put money on it
that the answer is yes.

I was one of those that bought a car with a "bad" trans.
After bolting a CV joint back together, I was driving it.

I turned a $600 car into $3500 3 months later.

Where in PA are you?

Hey sorry I forgot to mention where I am, Im in Chester County about 10 miles from the PA/MD line.

nazrat · #44 07-01-2009, 07:48 PM

One thought: if you checked the transmission fluid with the engine off, it's too low. Check the fluid with it in park. Then try it. If that works, find the leak.

-Tad

nickofoxford · #45 07-19-2009, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nazrat

One thought: if you checked the transmission fluid with the engine off, it's too low. Check the fluid with it in park. Then try it. If that works, find the leak.

-Tad

I did check with the engine running and the fluid level was good, it didn't smell burnt or anything. Unfortunately the transmission just gave up.