I had to have my transmission "replaced", but you might be able to take it to a local shop to have it fixed. One guy in PA fixed mine for $850, vs a $3,300 replacement.

Please define "replaced" and "fixed" . Also please be specific as to what the $ 850 service included.

Post 16 is another example of what difficult situations shops face.

Person A says " A shop wants to charge me $ 3,300 to fix my car."

Person B says " I had it fixed for $ 850. "

Person C ( or person A ) says , " The $ 3,300 repair is a rip off , see I told you that shops are out to get the motoring public."

The $ 850 might have been to repair a single point failure. On some transmissions this is a good risk. However if another part in the transmission fails, the customer will say " I just ( 80,000 miles ago ) spent $ 850 to have my transmission entirely rebuilt and it quit working, rip off shop, I'll sue! " Some customers sometimes see the transmission as a single monolithic part not _the_ car's most complicated device in terms of design and operation.

I have a thread on my trans issues. Car whines while held stationary in reverse. High gear moving no sound. Stationary in reverse my speedo jumps up and down and the car makes strange noises. I also have to hold my brake down very hard in reverse like the torque converter isn't working. Not the case in D though.

Cannot seem to reliably adjust modulation pressure. The needle on my gauge jumps around a lot and the jumping is related to the whining sounds.

When I changed the fluid a month back the pan had a lot of black friction material in it. Also a lot of fine aluminum powder. Nothing magnetic.

I've been limping the trans a long time. I adjusted the VCV to stiffen up a flaring 3-4 when I bought the car in 2010. Lived with a stiff 1-2. The car started to whine a bit in first while driving up hills. Now I can hear that sound but much louder in R. While stationary. I notice it goes into gear much faster...I used to have to wait a second or two before I could pull out of the driveway.

As much as I'd like to think its a bad o ring or spring in the valve body, I think I need a rebuild. I got a quote for $7500 from my local dealership for a reman and torque converter with labor. Sun Valley's deal is much better.

I will happily wait.

I changed the B2 piston a couple years back. It had cracked. At the time I noticed it didn't really matter if the vac line was hooked up or not...that is I couldn't make the trans shift hard even after installing a new modulator and regulating it with a pressure gauge and banjo bolt. It was an indication of impending doom.

The only difference removing the vac line had was making the downshift more noticeable. At one time removing the line could produce very harsh shifts. No more. Something changed.

Fast foreword to today and I'm getting these noises. Oddly right after I fixed my vacuum check valve and my booster. Who knows? But I think I'll try a rebuilt tranny.

I dont spend much money on myself so I have a fund building up for a new Sun Valley trans.

The car makes my mom who suffers from Alzheimer's comfortable for some reason. So I plan to keep it in top shape for our lunch outings. She gets alarmed by cars she cannot recognize. Somehow it transports her mentally to 1982 I guess. Hum. Enough of that

Thank you all again for your inputs. My decision is to wait for Marc's call. It'll be great to have that shifting like a new car again.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Quoting my own post here. I think some slipping is allowing the speedo sender to move forward even though the car is standing still.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Marc called and we are on track to have the transmission installed next week. Very exciting news. Looking forward to having my favorite vehicle back on the road again.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

Re:

"The car makes my mom who suffers from Alzheimer's comfortable for some reason. So I plan to keep it in top shape for our lunch outings. She gets alarmed by cars she cannot recognize. Somehow it transports her mentally to 1982 I guess."

That's known as "The Good Stuff"...worth every penny!

I doesn't get any better...you're "The Man" for thinking that way!

And it's smart to have Marc set you up with a refreshed reliable trans.

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1986 300SDL 440,xxx

That speedometer moving when stationary makes me wonder about the tightness of the yoke nut at the rear of the transmission. I know if loose the rear pressure pump can be impacted.

I would have to see a mechanical diagram of the transmission. But in general a flaky speedometer with the car at rest if not present before the issues occurred is interesting.

The speedo sender is hooked to a gear drive system that only rotates when the output shaft rotates - which is locked to the driveshaft. If you see movement in the speedometer and no movement in the vehicle your output tripod of the transmission just undid itself.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Hey everyone.

I got my transmission installed by Sun Valley yesterday. It is really good. Shifts perfectly. No banging no flaring. It's like (as if I actually know) the way the car was when it was new.

I got to know Marc during the process and here is what I have to say. He is an amazing individual in that he has gone to great lengths to understand Mercedes transmissions and their weak points. He has the mind of a research scientist having spent years doing experiments on the 722 to find out how to improve its performance and reliability. He literally knows the effect of every spring tension in a valve body which he learned empirically using his engine stand and dynamometer. You're basically getting the product of thousands of hours of background work when you get a Sun Valley unit.

Along with that he's done extensive failure analysis on dead transmissions. He is aware of the common failures and the engineering flaws or compromises that caused them. The guy is a nexus of information. In addition the shop has an extensive library of rare MB documentation which has been extensively finger printed up.

In the warehouse there are few completed transmissions. The parts are shelved and organized so his guys can walk back, get a housing, planetary sets, seals, valve body etc. and put together a unit from scratch on demand. This works because the gas and diesel 722.3s are so similar. It is just in time manufacturing.

And that brings us to time. So I'm about five weeks into this since I first contacted them. They are busy because a lot of people know the deal. I just was unclear when I first posted this thread. It is what it is. You need to be patient.

But at the end of the day I believe I own the best remanufactured transmission available. It is upgraded with Sun Valley's own engineering to toughen up the original units' weaknesses...so in many respects it's better than OE. It shifts like a dream and it is whisper silent under the clatter of my 617 engine.

Lastly, the price was too good. $1750 for the trans and $550 for installation. The trans sounds steep for a rebuilt but that's because there is a no questions asked no clawback on the core. Nobody says, "hey one of your planets is dead and your front pump is scored so I can only give you X$ on the core. The price is set. The installation cost is so low (remember this is Los Angeles where everything costs more than anywhere except San Francisco or NYC) I thought it was a joke. The bottom line is the install crew must do it in a short time to keep costs down. And Marc isn't terribly greedy.

Foothill Ranch MB quoted me $7500 not including tax to do the job. Sun Valley charged $2300 out the door.

If I had to do it again I will 1) call and request a tranny and a date to install it. 2) wait patiently for up to a month. Don't even worry about pestering Marc by phone. I'll know I'm in the queue and I just have to wait. 3) buy a beater car to drive in the meantime. This will be my chance to try something different for a month. Get a beater on Craigslist, sell at a slight loss and consider it a rental. 4) when you get your slot for installation just drop the car off and leave your email. They do email well. 5) go away and happily drive my beater car.

And I will do this again. I've passed so many great deals on Craigslist for an old Mercedes that needs a transmission. If it isn't fixable with the easy tricks I'll just send it on a flatbed to Marc.

Overall I'm jazzed to have the Sun Valley unit in my car. Like the other people here say, it is THE place to go.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles

For the record, I needed a transmission for another vehicle and found a new, never installed but upgraded trans ~300 miles away. This place deals only in strait shift trannys and routinely has them shipped. They strap them to a pallet, wrap in plastic and load on a truck. Total cost including core return was $200 or $250.

You can negotiate the price down if when you call a shipping broker you aimply tll them that the price is too high. By "too high" you mean that the shipping brings the total cost to more than the project is worth to you. This especially works if for example you are shipping 2 pieces and they want to increase the price for the 2nd piece.

I learned this when I had 1 box planned for pick up and the person doing the packing said that the stuff wouldn't fit in 1 box. Rather than lose the sale, they offered to haul all for the price of 1.

I'm hoping my cars are in good enough shape to be worth the price of Suncoast when the time comes. They are getting closer.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Great info.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Sun Valley has a great website with lots of tips concerning Mercedes auto transmissions.

I agree about all that is said about Marc and Sun Valley Transmission. I have met Marc personally (through a mutual friend) and he is the MB transmission go-to guy. Our mutual friend just had them do the trans in his TD, and it shifts wonderfully. I have not had the need for a rebuilt trans yet, but when the need arises in the future, I have no doubt where the rebuild will come from....Rich

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All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

I dont want to hijack this thread, but what you mentioned is VERY important for your mother. I don't know if you are aware of this, but being in an environment from her Youth improves their mental state. See info below, and i would research this more to see if there are other things you can to help her. There is a huge issue with Nursing home patients being over drugged with Anti-Psychotic medication to calm them down, when studies have shows that just an little time in a Time-Warp room removes the need to Any Medication. The big pharmaceuticals don't like this, as for them it is profit over patients.



‘Time-warp’ rooms have been created at a care home and, despite appearances, represents the very latest in caring for residents with Alzheimer’s.

Staff say it helps to CALM patients by transporting them back to ‘the good old days’, and stirring fond memories.

They also say using the room has led to a dramatic drop in the use of anti-psychotic drugs taken to combat Alzheimer’s.

‘The aim of the room is to help dementia patients tap more easily into memories from their past, triggering more memories that can give them a grounding when they may be confused.

Using Sight and Sound to Trigger Dementia Patients' Memories

Nursing Homes Retro Rooms Help Dementia Patients Remember The Past

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Grey '91 350SDL 214k Dad's car
Beige '81 240D 4 Speed 254k SOLD
Blue '82 300D 225k SOLD
White '95 E300D 46k SOLD
Blue '87 190D 2.5 Turbo 315k SOLD
Brown '80 240D 4 Speed 716k SOLD
Beige '80 300D N/A 119k SOLD
Blue '85 300D Model 186k T-Boned

No worries. Mom comes from the generation when a Mercedes was more exclusive. It's actually kind of cute how she thinks I grew up into some kind of tycoon with an S class. I think she sees a w126 as a current model.

It's fun to drive her out to the same diner she has eaten at for fifty years. I order the same thing every time for her. Then when we are done she gets it in her head that I am my dad. Yuck!

Ahhh the good times.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles