If you're concerned about how soft the shifts are then it may be time to get out a pressure gauge and make sure the modulator is set correctly.

Glad to hear about the success, hopefully it lasts

__________________
2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

@Dude99
Yes, that was going to be my next step. The shifts are quite comfortable right now, but from what all I've read that should not be the case.

So yep, next step is to check the pressure etc. I've got some reading up to do on that first, though.

__________________
"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)

The neck snapping "shift like you mean it" should not happen.

This is a Mercedes - a thing of bizarre geekish beauty - it is a luxury vehicle - in a bizarre geekish kind of a way - it is meant to shift smoothly. If you adjust it so that it bangs into each gear you will wear it out quicker and cause damage to your drive line too...

...whilst the 722.3 is a bit tougher this is most certainly the case for the splined shafts in the 722.0/1 transmissions which have a nasty tendency to give up...

[RANT]

...don't fall into the trap of the "they all do that advice" just because someone has only ever seen W123 diesel engine oil that you could spread on the ceiling and it won't drip off does not mean it is meant to be that way - just because some people drive with a neck restraint in their W123 diesel does not mean that's how Mercedes intended it to be - just because "they all clang and clack" it does not mean it was meant to be that way...

[/RANT]


So long as the transmission shifts like it has purpose and does not hesitate then it is probably closer to how it should be than it was before.

Drive it for a bit and see if some thing else starts to happen

If nothing happens in about 200 to 500 miles think about sourcing a pressure gauge to see if the pressures are actually where they should be.

__________________
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!

...oh and if you want data on when the shifts should happen - ask

__________________
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!

@Stretch
Hahaha, you made me spew my coffee all over my keyboard with your "oil on the ceiling comment".

Transmission certainly shifts with purpose, it's not flaring or slipping, it's just not...ya know, "banging abruptly" into gear like it used to. I thought they were supposed to shift to an almost uncomfortable degree, but like you said: don't fall into the trap of the "they all do that advice.

Sure, I'd like data on when the shifts should happen.

__________________
"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)

The K1 and K2 accumulators control shift engagement. They work like a manual clutch pedal...if you snap your foot off the clutch, it grabs. If you ease it off too slowly, it slips. The idea of the K pistons is that the spring and piston work together to control the time it takes to for fluid to fill the clutch pack. I actually don't see the spring in your photos...just the piston. Did you inspect the spring? I'm not sure about the hole, it seems odd, but maybe not. There are photos of some springs and pistons in the attachment.

The condition of the K pistons generally won't completely prevent a pack from filling. Since you're getting better engagement it's probably due to the fluid or additives. Either the level was low or the additives have swelled the seals.

Attached Thumbnails

 

Here's a link containing quite a lot of the FSM data

DIY W123 Transmission Diagnose and Adjustment 722.xx OM 616-7 - Mercedes-Benz Forum

Make sure you look at the correct data for your transmission type - don't get confused by the masses of information in that thread.

__________________
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!

2x on Stretch's ''The neck snapping "shift like you mean it" should not happen.''

Think quality, think Rolls Royce...Bently... Benz... smooth and solid shifts

__________________
1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

My '79 300CD had snappy engagement out of the showroom. No adjustment could make it buttery smooth, certainly nowhere near as smooth as the GM hydramatics used in the contemporary Rolls. I was under the impression that all the early 123's were a bit abrupt, and Mercedes later changed the composition of the friction elements for the later cars.