First Gear Start for 95 E300D?
 

Is there a mod for a first gear start in a 95 E300 Diesel? This engine is lacking in take off power and starting in 2nd gear just adds to the problem. Flooring the pedal seems a bit harsh, especially when trying to save as much fuel as possible.

putting shifter in L should do it.
I didnot know any diesel's started in 2nd...

You have heard that before. You just chose to not believe it.

If your 95 e300d is lacking power....
Replace air filter
Replace fuel filter
Clean fuel tank strainer
Disable EGR
Make sure both resonance flaps are operating

There is no L setting, just D ,3, 2.
I will check on the engine tune up, but would still like to be able to start in 1st gear.

"2" is the equivalent of "L."

Question for anyone: Could this be a Transmission Pressure Contol Cable (Boden Cable) adjustment issue?

I think 2=2nd....in 2 it starts off just as it does in D.

At a stop pull the shifter to 2 and back to D, it should stay in 1 for launch.

I don't know how to change the throttle body to a 1st-gear start or whether it should.

My '95 will start in first if I put the selector in 2, and hold in first until I move the selector up. If I move it to 2 and then back to D it will start in first but quickly upshift unless I have it floored.

While coasting down, if I put the selector in 2 it will finally shift down to first almost when the car is stopped.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 337K as of this morning

The PO just had some transmission work done on this car. The PO said the tech told him it would be now be slower off the line but it would last longer. What did he do?

A few things are possible, the most likely being lengthening the Bowden Cable so that upshifts are earler relative to throttle position.

I tried the shifting to 2 and back to D option last night. Didn't change anything. I checked the bowden cable and made several adjustments, no change.

I have to correct what I said yesterday. Even though I've lived with this car for 200K miles and about 7 years, I had it wrong.

My trans starts in first, always. At least assuming I am starting from a complete stop. The thing is that it upshifts to second almost immediately unless I am really on the pedal. No need to shift to 2 and then back to D to get it to start in first.

Of course this does nothing to help you - sorry! But I believe my trans is working correctly.

Rgds,
Chris W.

I'm wondering if someone put a 300E transmission in your car. Still should select 1st manually though.

hhhmmm, Maybe. How could I tell?

The part number is stamped into the flange on the passenger side of the casting just above the pan. This will tell you what the transmission was originally, but it could still be the correct transmission with the wrong valve body in it.

If it has been rebuilt, and won't shift into 1st gear properly, it was rebuilt improperly. Further, it is as likely that this is how it worked when installed, and the tech told you that it will "be slower off the line but last longer" in an attempt to make it sound like it was intentional/advantagous rather than correcting shoddy workmanship.

Sorry if I'm cynical, but there are plenty of crooks out there making the good mechanics look bad.

Where can I find more information on resonance flaps? I've searched but can't find anything specific to my E300 non turbo.

AFAIK, your '95 (W124) should have the same engine (OM606) and transmission (722.4) as my '96 E300D (W210), which always starts in 1st gear.

Jeremy

Is your 96 a turbo?

No turbo
 

No, turbo 606 was not offered until 1998. The '95-'97 E300Ds all had the normally aspirated OM606, offered in the '95 W124 chassis and the '96-97 W210 chassis. The basic engine was identical across the three years with only a few changes.

He messed it up. Find a good MB diesel mechanic to put it right. It should start in first (mine does) and adjusting the bowden cable will move the shift points up or down as you like them. Start with the cable adjusted so that it is just tight or maybe even just starting to pull, try it out and adjust as desired from there. This assumes your throttle linkage is adjusted properly and your engine is producing full power.

Resonance flaps - I recently purchased the "Model Year 1995 124.131 Introduction into Service" book from MBUSA for $2 plus shipping. That book describes this new engine in great detail, and includes good info on how the resonance flaps work, including a torque curve.

If you want to order this very useful book, call 1-800-FOR-MERC (1-800-367-6372) and ask for technical literature, and then order part # S-2609-093. This is a great supplement to add to the 124 series CDs of the service manuals.

Nobody's asked the first question: how do you know it's starting in 2nd, and not just lacking in power?
All E300D's should start in first all the time, regardless of gear selector position. So saith the intro to service manual. 2nd gear start is an exclusively gasser [mis]feature.

Yup, 1st gear start for my E300D. The biggest performance improvement you can do imho is disable the EGR and lock the first air flap after the filter fully open (or remove it). My car is noticably more sluggish with the EGR system engaged. Plus drive the engine hard when you can- 606's love high revs and when fully warmed and past 2500rpm they really wake up.