Hey guys, long time MB fan, newbie to Peach Parts:

I'll jump right in to business:
I got a 1984 190D for free for my b-day about a year and a half ago. I've gotten most issues on it tied up over this time, but still having trans problems I'd like resolved. I think it can be salvaged and I'm hoping for a little guidance on how to do this. If anyone can share their time and expertise I will be eternally grateful (as will my wife, who is the daily driver of this car!).

There are some things the trans IS doing right:
-pulls hard whether it's 15F or 115F.
-normally launches in 2nd unless you press throttle all the way and it quickly and willingly jumps down into 1st.
-all other kickdowns also work as desired.

What I've already done:
-one of my complaints is hard shifting. I know shifts can be jarring with old mounts, so all mounts on engine and trans are new.
-recently changed fluid/filter (I also drained converter at this time). problems same before and after fluid/filter change. While pan off for fluid/filter change, I emptied 2 cans of brake clean into all visible holes in valve body and let dry for 1 day before reassembling. Pan had NO metal in it, and only a very fine grey film on bottom of pan.

Trans does the following crap:
-hard upshifts from 1-2
-flares on upshifts from 2-3 (but makes quick firm downshifts from 4-3 so I assume 3rd is ok?)
-hard upshifts from 3-4
-once 4th is achieved, if you are coasting to a stop (say from 40mph to stop light), 4th stays engaged until road speed drops under 5 mph and then disengages very roughly.

I'm hoping to salvage this transmission with minimal effort...any body got any advice for me?

Thanks so much,
Brad
bfrinkus at gmail dot com

Brad:
Where are you located?

SteveM

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'93 190E/D 2.5 Turbodiesel 5-speed (daily driver)
'87 190D 2.5 Turbo rustbucket - parts car
'84 Dodge Rampage diesel - Land Speed Record Holder
'13 Ram 2500 Diesel
'05 Toyota 4Runner

MERCEDES-BENZ TRANSMISSION
VACUUM CONTROL SYSTEM "TUNING"
by Steve Brotherton
First Published in: ImportCar Feb 2002


http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/TransVacTune

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'84 300SD sold
124.128

X2...

My car had basically all the symptoms he described. After following the above tutorial, a bowden cable adjustment and some advice from members here. It shifts great now. A good read.

Of course, you need to be sure to have good vacuum available, a vacuum gauge and be sure most of your leaks are fixed (if any) before you adjust.

__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Guys, thanks for tips. I'm getting ready to try the tips from the wikka/transvactune. I am concerned though that I have flaring AND hard shifts. Common sense (which may not be my best sense) says that making one better will by default make the other worse. We'll find out soon...

Jettmug, I'm from GA. I think we traded cars a while back? If so, I hope yours is working as well as mine. Lots of time and a fair bit of money invested, but it's still on the road with 411k+ on it!

Best,
Brad

Agreed. It sound like it's time for a valve body tune up. You might want to take a look at some of the existing threads on that subject. Search for "superior shift kit" and "K2 (K-2) spring (kit)."

Those of you who insist that all MB diesels always start in first gear are kindly invited to make note of the above statement.

Mine launched in 2nd until I tuned it properly, it still does if you're even the least bit still rolling. I'm wondering if his will begin in 1st after the problems are tracked down.

Is there anything with the 190ds that is different?

I'm still learning much about these transmissions, the whole 2nd gear "debate" intrigues me.

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Okie dokie, after much trial and error, I determined my shift points were too high and adjusted the bowden cable by increasing slack as much as I could tolerate without losing kickdown function entirely.

I then turned the modulator valve one measly notch CCW and it turned my flare from 2-3into full fledged slippage during this gear change. I'm going to have to turn it back one notch clockwise to get rid of this slippage. This makes me sad because this one notch did make my other hard shifts a little more tolerable.

Re: the launching gear debate, I really like that they launch in 2nd unless commanded otherwise by high throttle input. I've owned a whole bunch on these cars and they've all done this when adjusted properly.

Finally, thank you for the advice on the valve body upgrade. Getting ready to check out those posts and hopefully make some changes to the car!

Thanks for all the help,
Brad

If you can solve al your problems except the 2-3 flare by adjusting the vacuum/modulator, an upgrade to the "new" K1 accumulator spring might do the trick for you. You can replace the spring in five minutes after the transmission pan is off.

I ordered my Supreme Shift Kit and hope to reporting good results as soon as parts come in! Again, thanks to everyone for sharing your time and expertise.

Best,
Brad

I got in my shift kit and the directions were fairly good. Since my only big concern was flaring on upshifts from 2-3, the only change I made was on K-1. I did not remove valve body from car. I just removed the cover, took out the piston and the 3 springs + 2 plastic parts behind it, and reinstalled the piston with the one purple spring supplied with the kit for 2-3 shift correction.

Moment of truth...take it for a test drive and it does the EXACT same thing as before I screwed with it. No better, no worse, absolutely identical! Argh!

Anyone have any input here? Is it possible that my clutches in transmission are trashed? I just can't believe this given how spotless the transmission pan is. Somebody out there have mercy on me and help me out here!

Brad