Torque Converter or Transmission Problem- 82 300D
 

Looking to purchase a 82 300D w/180K but wanted some insight on what the problem might be.

The tranny engages reverse normally however forward is a different story.

When I put the trans in D i can rev the engine up and hold it and it will slowly start to take off, takes about 15 seconds to get to 20MPH. After that the car shifts and accelerates well and cruises nicely at 70-80 MPH.

The owner tells me that this happened all of a sudden one day after work, he said it was fine that morning.

Does this sound like a problem in the trans or in the torque converter?

Thanks

Typically, reverse but no forward gears is a bad B2 piston. Not sure if this applies to partial forward gears. Maybe it's a failing front pump and the rear pump kicks in enough after moving to keep it going.l

My 300SD was the same way when I got it. I thought it was just shrunken internal seals until I opened it up. I discovered that three bolts up front had fallen out! Maybe this is what happened to yours, and is why the previous owner says it happened suddenly?
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-y...980300sd85.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...980300sd86.jpg

So what do those 3 bolts do? what do they hold on, i have never taken a tranny apart before?

What other problems were you having? Did you have the exact same problems i mentioned in my first post? Was it normal when you put it back together?

I may buy the car if i can get the price down enough.

Thanks for your help everyone

I think the 3 bolts held the front pump together, and when they fell out the pump no longer functioned efficiently. I would have to let the car idle for 10 minutes before it would move under its own power, and then it often would not shift into the next gear until the engine had been revved for a period of time. When I got the engine up to operating temperature it would shift perfectly. I replaced the transmission with a spare I had. I kept the original transmission with plans to rebuild it when the replacement goes bad.

The "those bolts situation" probably isn't going to be relevent to a '82 300D if it has a turbo engine. You'd probably have a 722.3 transmission instead of the 722.1 transmission.

But if you do ever come across that problem on a 722.1 you need to reinstall the front shaft and that cover with screws and LOCTITE!

I'm guessing there's a problem with the internals of the transmission rather than the torque converter - but the first thing to do is to get some gauges and measure the pressures.

Here's a relationship diagram for the gears etc in a 722.3 transmission

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...eenshot-49.jpg

Which gear do you think is slipping?