well
that went VERY poorly
seemed fine at first (except for the whine)
after about 15 minutes (running time not driving time) i was stopped at a store while my lady went inside and i was noticing an awkward downshift
(also just before then the car didn't seem to want to shift into 1st? or maybe the 1-2 shift got hung and slipped)
anyway
sitting in the parking lot i shifted from D to R and back
while doing it, i noticed that the whine would go away while the trans was changing positions and would start up again as soon as it got there
got under way again and almost immediately upon turning back out onto the main drag, the car refused to go into gear
D or R
wouldn't engage at all
just like it did to her last weekend
i was of course in the middle of the road
pushed it into another parking lot that thankfully was right there and let it cool down for about 20 minutes
started it up and it worked as well as it had before
while driving though i did notice that the car was struggling to maintain any speed at all and kept revving 2-3000 rpm just to maintain 30mph
got it home and now i need to decide how to proceed
one option is to set it on fire and get raging drunk
not a very useful option
next would be to take the trans out of the 82 parts car and put it into the 85 (both 300sd's)
tedious and time consuming but it would eliminate the chance that i screwed up the "clutch packs"(whatever those are) while trying to turn the car (back in May) in the driveway with no juice in the trans
i know for a fact that the 82's trans works, even if the shifter does buzz a bit
i'm frustrated with the whole works
somehow reading all these threads on transmissions and vacuum systems has given me some insight but no real direction
for some reason it doesn't make a lot of sense
oh yeah
just taking the damn thing to a shop is totally out of the question as i have little money
certainly not enough for some other guy to make a mess of it as there is noone i really trust around here that works on these things that is local enough fro me to have it towed there easily
ug

That whining could also be the front oil pump going out. It could also be a failing torque converter.

The converter is what makes the tranny's internals spin and comverts the torque from the engine into foward/reverse movement. It all has to do with fliud dynamics and shearing pressures. The oil pump is what feeds all the moving parts, build the oil pressure, and lubricates the clutches, bearings, seals, etc.

Revving of the engine and not moving or barely moving, is indicative of not enough tranny fluid oil or pressure , a clogged filter, burned out clutch packs, a failed torque converter, or bad internal seals.

If you feel the pulling of the tranny when you initially go from park to either R or D, then the converter may be fine.

Also remember, the 722.xxx had a front and rear oil pump.

I would replace the filter and fluid first. Since this tranny is used, the is no telling about the condition of the fluid that was in the torque converter when it was initially pulled from the doner car. Driving the car with 1.5 quarts can indeed cause damage, especially the the clutch linings in the clutch packs.

so say my spin in the driveway with no fluid cooked the clutch pack and clogged the filter
replacing the filter could be enough?
would a clogged filter make the trans fluid look like strawberry milkshake?
and i guess this all begs the question, if the torque converter and or front oil pump are toasted and/or the clutch packs, recommend just pulling the thing and putting in one that i KNOW works?

Strawberry Shake is a new one. That indicates water from the cooling system mixing with the tranny fluid.

The spin in the driveway should not cause much of a problem...it's drive to the store with very low fluid that can.

How long has the strawberry shake problem been going on? The clutch packs are a mix of paper and metal.

A known good tranny is a great idea, but you will also need to replace your radiator, or plug the current radiator/tranny line ports and install an external tranny fluid cooler.

am i reading things correctly?
milky pink trans fluid indicates a leak in the cooler at the radiator?
(coolant into the trans fluid?!!)
ug
one thing after another!!!
it's only really looked milky for the last 2 days
but i've only been taking baby drives with it (>10 miles) for the last 2 weeks)
any longer and it "over heats" and stops working

Yes, and you will also need to degrease the cooling system, and you will need to flushe the tranny and the torque converter, and use a new tranny filter and tranny fluid.

Tranny fluid and water makes a strawberry shake. Oil and water is a chocolate shake. In this case neither are good for the car.

I totally understand the one thing after another. Also, w126 and w123 radiators are not interchangeable. At least the engines and transmissions are.

the 123 126 doesn't really matter b/c both my cars are 300sd's
neither is a 300D

Sounds good. I'm heading out for the weekend and will return on Monday.

Other should begin to chime in some more.

Take care and good luck!!!

done for now?
 

well
i put the tranny and radiator from my 82 into the 85
tons easier this time around
not 35 degrees either
recognized some of the mistakes i made the first time around
torque converter wasn't seated into the 3rd position
rubbed on the retaining pin
which is what the screeching was
found at least 3 of the case bolts finger tight
it's amazing that they didn't fall out

interesting note
if you pull the piece of the exhaust pipe that goes from the manifold to the middle of the car, it makes things a whole lot easier
for now i just put the radiator and trans fluids from the 82 into the 85 also
gunna drive it for a bit
>50 miles and then change both with totally new stuff
i seem to remember reading that the tranny filter could be washed out
can anyone confirm this?
with things going as smoothly as they are, i haven't done anything with the vacuum system
if i notice any slippage or weird flaring or stumbling, i'll start poking into that
for now tho
if it ain't broke, leave it be
having a parts car is truly the way to go
broke 2 of the exhaust bolts while taking it off the 85
noticed that the section of pipe was particularly rusty
no problem
just took the ones from the 82
easy peezy
thanks to everyone who chimed in on this
no way it would have gone this easily without y'all's help
c

Wow. There's some decisive and definitive action in problem solving.

you mean like when i dropped the wrench on my face and then while failing to dodge it, slammed my head on the underside of the car and jerked back and slammed my head on the ground
very decisive

No, that's reactive. Decisive is buying two not so great SDs and sticking with them. I feel for ya!