On your speedometer there are Roman numerals (little tick marks) on the outer edge that show where the upshift should occur at full throttle. IIRC, there should be a "I" for the upshift from first to second, a "II" for second to third, etc. When your engine is producing full power and the transmission is shifting correctly, you should hit all these marks at about 5000 rpm before the upshift occurs. If you're not getting to 5000 rpm, bowden cable adjustment may help. The cable should be just slack at accelerator idle, and then you can tighten or loosen a bit from there to get the shifting point behavior to your liking.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

If you have no vacuum going to the VCV, you need to find out why. The VCV only has 2 lines on it, one is vacuum supply (with the green restrictor in it), the other is the line to the blue UFO.

The vacuum supply should come straight from the vacuum pump. I'd suspect you have a broken or disconnected line somewhere upstream from the VCV. The blue UFO has it's own vacuum input separate from that of the VCV.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

That doesn't seem correct, but tell me if this is wrong are you are in fact correct... There are two connections to the VCV. Only one goes to the UFO. It is the one with the green restrictor on it. The other line goes to the cabin air, noted as "a" in diagram in post #5.

That's the way both of my vehicles are set up, and it is as such in schematics, according to my interpretation.

However, i'm completely at a loss regarding all of this now....
I just finished swapping in the other UFO and got the same exact readings. 0 everywhere downstream from the UFO. Is it really possible i have TWO dead UFO's? People seem to say that they rarely die.

How do i measure for HG of a properly functioning UFO? I've tried various things, but the most direct way in my mind is to directly on the UFO simply pull out the connection that feeds the VCV, hook up a gauge to that and expect to see 12 HG. I'm getting nothing there. With both UFO's now.

On prior UFO i had eliminated the other connections from UFO so that it was isolated to just the primary vacuum connection (22 HG hitting UFO) and the connection going to VCV as mentioned above. Is this not a full proof method of testing the UFO? Shouldn't i get 12 HG there?

And to follow up.. I just performed the same controlled experiment with the "new" UFO..
Blocked the connection to ALDA, and blocked the connection to transmission. Blocked those now open lines also.

Measured at the connection on UFO that feeds the VCV downstream. Same 0 HG result.

With the same gauge, I measure 22 solid at main source to UFO, with all other points connected too.

I suppose i have two dead UFO's.
Am i testing wrong?

Maybe I’m losing my marbles at this point.
I just ran a few errands and put the beast through some motions while doing so.
I swear the shifting is different. I used to always get a hell of a down-clunk when landing back down on 1st. That’s really close to unnoticeable now.. And I used to have a very large and concerning jerk occur during each shift, where indeed it felt like I was being rear ended... now it’s still a jerk but I swear it’s not as much. It feels like a very hard shift, not a car accident. I think.
That’s all I have to go by. Is it possible that the UFO can’t be tested in an isolated fashion?
I really want to get a reading somewhere in the VCV territory but I simply get zero.
So strange.

I forget that the 617's have a cobbled together mess when it comes to the VCV/Blue-UFO setup. The 603 greatly simplified the setup. Same blue-UFO, but a much simpler VCV setup.

Do you have a mityvac or similar? If so, try to pump up the line going to the transmission modulator. If you can't pull a vacuum on it, your vacuum will ALWAYS be "0".

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

Yes I have a mighty vac and will do this and get back soon.
I’m still wondering if there is a way to test the UFO itself on its own. Sure would bring me peace of mind.

The UFO takes signal from the VCV and from the ALDA sense line to generate the final vacuum signal to the transmission modulator. It is the vacuum/mechanical equivalent of a "summing amplifier". Not really any real way to test it, but it is very rare that they fail.

Make sure that your vacuum hoses and plumbing are EXACTLY as the FSM shows and dictates. If you have vacuum leaks or if the VCV signal or ALDA boost signal are missing, the blue UFO won't work properly.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

The way i've been thinking of it is this...

The UFO is the recipient of the primary 22 HG source signal, and then it utiizes that full 22 HG and custom attenuates it into two actions get dispersed from it..

1 - the fundamental transmission shifting quality is directed by one "output" of the UFO, but to follow the throttle this very signal is then modified by the VCV with a linkage controlled leak

2 - the ALDA / turbo boost is directed by another "output" of the UFO. But this i don't have a grasp on yet

But what you're saying is that the whole interworkings have a more complex balance and interdependency than this. But still i don't understand how there could possibly be a vacuum signal at the VCV if it isn't the UFO that's giving it to it. In other words, i blame the UFO for the VCV not having signal. But maybe it's one step further and something on the opposite side of the UFO from the VCV is leaking vacuum and thus the UFO is bled of it's pull and has no pull to create signal in the VCV.

According to the vacuum drawing you posted further up this thread, the VCV is fed vacuum straight off the brake booster line. It is restricted through orifices so that when it bleeds vacuum off at the VCV port, it doesn't bleed off the entire vacuum system.

The blue UFO doesn't send vacuum to the VCV. The VCV bleeds off vacuum present at the VCV port on the blue UFO.

There is a switchover valve in the works between the VCV and the blue UFO, but that still shouldn't prevent vacuum not being present at the VCV.

Don't think about the operation. Go trace your vacuum lines and find the problem!

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

I have been wondering where the break booster is on diagram. It’s not listed and not drawn.
What is #140 check valve, physically?

#140 is the check valve at the brake booster. Follow the big vacuum line coming out of it. You'll see the check valve in the line between it and the vacuum pump. There are a couple of pegs coming off it for your vacuum connections, they are exactly as marked in the drawing. Be VERY careful with the vacuum connections, the plastic is brittle and easily broken!

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 157K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 125K (SLoL)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gone and wanting to forget:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™) [Definitely NOT a Benz]

All righty, I got some readings.
I’m not able to say what was happening before, when I had things connected exactly the same for several trials, but it had to be a faulty connectors somewhere. I’ve done a bit more connector replacement and just general tinkering of the hoses.
They always were connected properly though, aside from the previous notes in diagram.
I’m glad I have the VCV and UFO replaced because I know they both work. And also because the previous VCV was completely unplugged and received soot internally for who knows how long.

When I have my gauge inserted at the top entry point, I get about 12 HG after a few moments of engine startup. Then when I drive around and press throttle, it bleeds off accordingly and goes down to around 1 or so. Not perfect but defiantly operable.
However my concern lies with the time it takes to “fill up” with vacuum after it’s been bled by throttle. If I bring it down to around 5 or 6 HG, it takes a good 20 seconds without pressing throttle for it to creep back up to 12 HG.
Is this by design? Or is it leaky connections..?
I could convince myself either way.
I have looked thoroughly through all of my resources for VCV adjustment, including a booklet I purchased, and I have found no mention how long it should take to fill back up to 12 HG. There is plenty of mentioning of how fast it should bleed, which is immediately. But not fill back up.
I started thinking that this may be by design so that the pressure hangs out around where it was in the event of irradic throttle use.

Any thoughts? My other thought is that if I had a small leak, it wouldn’t hold 12 at all. Correct? Or maybe that’s wrong and the leak is small enough that 12 can be held but it has an impact on re pressurizing.

The notes on that diagram show the cabin air line connected at the wrong place, it needs to be connected to the VCV and not where shown. That line is simply a vent to cabin air, presumed to be cleaner than engine bay air. Basically it is a big vacuum leak, as configured in the diagram.

__________________
Respectfully,
/s/
M. Dillon
'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
'95 124.131 (E300) "Sapphire", 380k miles
'73 Balboa 20 "Sanctification"
Charleston SC

Yes thanks but I had only documented how it used to be mis connected, just to publicly discuss the condition of vehicle as I had received it. It has been connected properly since before all of this testing.