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

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1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

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

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

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?

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Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

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1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

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

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

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.

__________________
Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

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



Which gear do you think is slipping?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!