Checking out Kent's Automatic Transmisson Vacuum Controls and 61X Automatic Transmission Modulator test kit. Has anyone used either of these two kits? If so, were you pleased with the results?

I bought this part. The vacuum part can just be done with the gauge on a mityvac + the Steve Brotherton transmission article on how to adjust your 722.

The pressure test part can be easily built from Home Depot hardware and an appropriate pressure gauge. You’ll need a banjo bolt too. I forgot what size but I think it can be salvaged from the JY on a transmission or off the injection pump. I bought mine from Kent because it was convenient.

The book that came with it at the time (13 years ago) sucked. It didn’t give any of the modulation pressures. It said something weak like “all models have different pressures look them up in the FSM”. I dug around and found the numbers for my trans here in the forum and set the pressures.

After buying a trans at Sun Valley and having Marc adjust my modulator I learned that this isn’t just a drivability adjustment, it’s an adjustment that can trash your trans if it is not set properly - properly means with a gauge.

Marc said when he ships you a trans go set up he turns up the modulator pressure so a dumb installer won’t just put it in the car, drive off and burn up the friction materials. He said he won’t guarantee the trans unless you have it properly adjusted by a professional (or prove you do it properly yourself). He was pretty serious about it so my feeling was getting the modulation pressures right was important. I asked if my gauge and pressure values from the FSM fit the bill and he said yes that was what he expected to see after installation if you chose to load the trans yourself. I ended up paying him for loading and all this was avoided.

Anyway, rewinding back prior to my Sun Valley transmission replacement I did modulate my old tired trans with Kent’s pressure gauge. It worked. For $75 I really should have gone to the JY got a banjo bolt, used an old pressure gauge and looked up the modulating pressures here. But that is M…Source right? You overpay for some cheap parts he puts together and modifies along with his books so you get it all in one place without guesswork. I got his kit and it worked as described. Unfortunately my trans had more problems than just adjustment so I eventually replaced it with a sun valley rebuilt. Adjustments only get you so far on a tired 722. The modulation pressure adjustment along with many other things I tried like spring kits, modulators, VCV adjustment, B2 piston kits etc. wouldn’t save worn bands, hardened seals and worn plates.

But yeah I got the book and the rubber hoses, some brass fittings, a gauge and most importantly a banjo bolt. And I set my pressure. He got my money.

In retrospect I could have done the whole thing with a mityvac, the above items, the Steve Brotherton “how the 722 is adjusted” article. Digging up the information an parts and putting it all in one place is what Kent is charging for.

Hope that helps you.

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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
97 C280 147k miles

Kent is a fraud. DO NOT GIVE HIM MONEY! His videos and "guides" have a lot of inaccurate information. Kent goes to great lengths to try and prevent criticism and pointing out errors. Thats why his "forum" was only open a few months and he disables youtube comments, it got flooded with complaints and corrections. Anything you need you can find on forums especially with adjusting the transmission

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tk2IeI8Tx6CG4ijikRw75GyEInXVwTS8?usp=sharing

Whoa that is a little harsh. I like to say he’s a businessman.

Some of his info and tools work. Some are silly overkill for made up problems. All of them have a nice profit baked in for him. It affords him a very nice shop, employment for his children and a beautiful log cabin. More power to him. This is America. You can choose not to make him rich by digging through the treasure trove of information here.

The stuff is really good if you are totally clueless, too chicken to mess things up yourself, too dumb, lazy or busy to dig up your own information - for free right here. There is a market for that and many of his clients are very grateful.

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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
97 C280 147k miles

You bring up an interesting point. When people pay for something, they tend to value it more. This forum offers information at no charge in hopes that we purchase parts from pelican. Kent sells tools, parts and information which he has a right to do. Many of his tools are innovative and solve a problem.....

Once again I remind you :

Before you test or adjust your automatic tranny you MUST do an ATF and filter change ! .

I used the banjo bolt suggested here and cobbled up a nice liquid filled gauge then test drove my car and discovered the internal pressure was far too low (it was rebuilt but flaring on upshifts) so I adjusted it and then adjusted the vacuum using Kent's guide ~ it now shifts great but too late I think but every Mercedes Mechanic/Enthusiast/Nutter that rides in it tells me it's *perfect* do not touch it anymore ! .

240D's really are slow in today's traffic ~ early this morning I drove my 20 year old Ford Ranger 2.4 L four cylinder truck loaded, it has a 5 speed stick and after the truck was empty I swapped it out for my '82 240D that has been sitting a month and WOW IS IT SLOW ! this in spite of later upshifts that help it move along 'brisker' .

Take the time to research the how to tranny testing here, the tools are cheap (gauge, hose and so on) and because YOU CARE you'll likely do a better job of it, I certainly did and I'm not Factory/Dealer trained .

If you have an indie M-B garage locally maybe you can talk to them about this .

It's pretty simple : raise the car SAFELY then go underneath it and clean around the test port, remove the plug and install the gauge, connect it to some hose and run the hose up to the driver's side out side mirror, put the car back on the ground and disconnect the vacuum hose to the modulator then go for a test drive including 50 + MPH .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Thank you for the advice; I wish there were some MB trained techs in my area that knew these older models. The techs who were trained on these older models are all dead or retired.

Trying to keep these old benzers going makes me feel like I am trying to keep ghosts from the past alive.....

Well yes, my problem too except that I'm the Mechanic and getting to old and pain filled to do much work .

If you have a safe, clean place to work on it I really do believe you can fix it your own self .

I was reading about it for years but never really thought I could do it for lack of training or watching an experienced Mechanic / D.I.Y.'er do it first but like most everything else I tried it and Lo ! it's neither difficult nor risky .

Like most things, the order in which you proceed makes all the difference .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

BTW, where, exactly is the transmission test port located?

It varies, I read lots of older threads that had images and when I ran inti the *exact* tranny model my '82 240D has, I copied and saved those images .

One time I used the wrong port and ruined a nice new old stock American made liquid filled gauge....

OOps

Lucky for me when I'd found these gauges in a war surplus store in middle America I bought two, $5 each for Miller (brand, good stuff !) gauges .

I *think* maybe the booklet Kent sells has pictures in it, I found the images posted here to be far superior .

I know the test port on my 240D is different location than on your wagon, sorry .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

mine is a 1984 300D four door sedan; I don't think that makes a difference but it might.....

On a 722 I recall the port is on the modulator side right above the pan. Right behind the modulator. There are photos here in several threads that are searchable.

The banjo bolt is M8 IIRC. I didn’t know at the time but you can buy these from Belmetric. Had I known I probably would have just made my own tester at home.

__________________
79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

Same as boost valve banjo

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92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

Harbor Freight sells a kit that will bolt up and measure modulator pressure. I found several sources of modulator pressure and adjusting advice when working on my 722.303 and .315 transmissions. Many of the trans manuals didn't cover my specific transmissions but did list modulator pressures and modulator color. I noticed that the pressure was similar for a given color regardless of what transmission it was in.

I note that "similar" may in fact be considered a wide range by someone who really knows the details. Anyway, the trans shift well.

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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.

Is this the Harbor Freight transmission tester kit you speak of?

https://www.harborfreight.com/engine-and-transmission-oil-pressure-test-kit-64872.html