What's the likelihood the valet ruined my transmission? - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

shertex · #31 08-25-2016, 02:38 PM

Confirmed: broken governor gear. My mechanic says that, when the gear broke, it looks like it caused a few chips in the interfacing gear...but that that gear may be more difficult to get at. So trying to figure out if we should just leave that gear in place or spend the extra labor to replace it as well.

ROLLGUY · #32 08-25-2016, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shertex

Confirmed: broken governor gear. My mechanic says that, when the gear broke, it looks like it caused a few chips in the interfacing gear...but that that gear may be more difficult to get at. So trying to figure out if we should just leave that gear in place or spend the extra labor to replace it as well.

It really is not that big of a deal, check out my thread and others in this. Posts 19 and 20 have the links.

97 SL320 · #33 08-25-2016, 05:11 PM

What material are both of these gears made from?

The governor absorbs about zero torque so having a less than better gear on the output shaft isn't a big deal as long as the chips don't protrude above the tooth surface.

shertex · #34 08-27-2016, 06:32 AM

It looks like what happened is that a small spring came loose and got jammed in the gears of the secondary pump.… Which in turn caused the governor gear to break. It is not spring number 12 from the secondary pump diagram. We are trying to figure out where the spring came from… And if we can't figure it out whether we should just put it back together without replacing that spring.

BWhitmore · #35 08-29-2016, 11:35 AM

I hope you advised the restaurant that the valet had nothing to do with the problem. The valet's job is probably at risk.

shertex · #36 08-29-2016, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWhitmore

I hope you advised the restaurant that the valet had nothing to do with the problem. The valet's job is probably at risk.

I did.

BWhitmore · #37 08-29-2016, 12:45 PM

Great. You are an honorable person.

mach4 · #38 08-29-2016, 01:20 PM

^X2

97 SL320 · #39 08-29-2016, 06:40 PM

I missed that part of the original post.

I find it distressing that it was originally mentioned to the restaurant before any evidence was collected.

Although the restaurant was again contacted after the source of the problem was located, I would not be surprised that the valet is long gone by now. If he is still there, a face to face apology is in order for putting him through this grief.

jay_bob · #40 08-29-2016, 07:28 PM

Counterpoint:
If the OP had not mentioned the issue when he picked up the car he would have had no claim at a later date if the investigation did turn up abuse while in the valet's control.

Just really bad timing for that gear to go out while the car was in the valet's custody.

Hopefully the valet did not suffer any consequences as a result of this.

BWhitmore · #41 08-29-2016, 07:44 PM

There is no counterpoint. Unless you have REAL evidence that the valet was at fault, then you do not accuse. Did the OP accuse his son-in-law who was driving the car?

97 SL320 · #42 08-29-2016, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay_bob

Counterpoint:
If the OP had not mentioned the issue when he picked up the car he would have had no claim at a later date if the investigation did turn up abuse while in the valet's control.

True, for something like a dent. But there really isn't anything someone could do in the car to prevent the trans from shifting so I would have held the valet harmless from the start.

The OP did post the question as "could the valet have done something? " so I don't see outward malice on his part but still, it is a bad deal for the poor minimum wage guy parking cars.

The question was posed much better then the guy below: " I'm concerned that I brought them a car that drove, and now it doesn't. Something happened to the car while it was at the dealer and I don't feel I'm responsible for any repairs."

Seeking advice for legal action on bad repairs.

shertex · #43 08-29-2016, 08:54 PM

Interesting to read how people chime in on these things....and amusing.

I can hardly be blamed for wondering whether my impeccably cared for transmission with a mere 117k miles on it, when it coincidentally went out on that rarest of occasions when neither my wife nor I was driving it, was somehow abused. My conscientious, car enthusiast, mechanical engineer son-in-law is above reproach.

The restaurant owner and I had a very cordial conversation...he explained that he had insurance to handle these kinds of eventualities, I acknowledged that I needed to have my mechanic check it out before we could come to any conclusions. I fail to see how a valet is going to be summarily fired as a result of such a conversation. But for me to wait and not report the incident would have been foolish. If I HAD waited and the mechanic had discovered evidence of abuse, I could be justly faulted for not reporting the matter on the night it occurred.

Here's what I CAN be faulted for: my naive confidence in the bulletproof nature of the 722.4 transmission. Now I know better. The longer I own Mercedes, the more I'm becoming convinced that, as a general rule, newer is better. Have I mentioned recently how much I love my CDI?

BWhitmore · #44 08-29-2016, 09:20 PM

As I stated previously I have no doubt that you are a man with integrity and that your son-in-law is a fine young man with the experience and skills to drive the car properly. As you stated in your original post, you have not used valet parking in the past - my guess would be this aversion to valet parking is a result that either you have had a bad experience in the past or know someone who has, and may have jumped to a conclusion about the involvement of the valet. When you stated that the restaurant's insurance carrier was eager to resolve the issue, I had the impression that a claim had been made without solid evidence of the involvement of the valet. Unfortunately, the only person who may have suffered harm from this incident is the innocent valet. Possibly you could check to see if he/she suffered any harm.