The $3,400 tranmission repair for just $12

[jbach36]

I posted some 10 days ago about my 1991 300d with 191k on it. I drove to lunch, ate, came out 1/2 hour later, and the car wouldn't shift out of first gear! I was stuck driving at 5 mph!!

I had the car towed to a good MB shop who I trust (and still do). They said the transmission was toast, it'd be $3,400 to put in a rebuilt one. I called a few transmission specialty places who repair (not replace) transmissions, and they said it'd be about $2,800.

I posted on THIS FORUM (thank you), and had a few responses right away who said it was probably the plastic gear on the governor, a $3 part. (it's not a 'gear' per se, more like a spindle). There's no way I can work on a transmission, so I hired my mobile mechanic. The part was a dealer-only-item so that $3 part was now $12. Turns out it was a fairly simple repair. Maybe I could have done it myself after all! My mobile mechanic got to that area in very short order, within 1/2 hour, and got the governor out and saw that the plastic gear was gone, preventing the car from shifting. He put the new plastic gear on, and the car runs great.

My mobile mechanic was about $100. Had I been able to do such a repair myself, it would have cost me $12 to fix this.

I don't really blame the MB specialist who wanted to replace it for $3,400 (well, maybe a little). A lot of repair places don't fix bad parts, they replace them. Plus they don't want someone coming back a week later with a related transmission problem and blaming them for a bad job, especially on older cars.

So the car's back, shifting and running just fine. Thanks for the HUGE savings, guys!

[VW1300]

Nice! Glad that worked out.

[JB3]

Excellent!

This forum has saved me many thousands as well.

[ah-kay]

Any ideas on what are the steps? Tranny needs to come off?

[bsmuwk]

Let's a get a part number in this post for future readers!

[jbach36]

The actual part number is 201-274-03-15, and that's for my 1991 300d.

No, he did not have to take the transmission out, and he didn't even have take the tail housing out.

On the MB transmission diagram which you can have emailed to you from your MB dealership, just from memory, I think it's part #145.

I bought another part just in case, 201-274-00-15 which is a plastic gear for the (?) rear pump. My mechanic turned the pump and felt the gear on there was fine, so we didn't use it. It would have been too much for him to take other parts off to get to the pump. He didn't hear any loose plastic parts rumbling around in there, so he passed on taking that area off. If that pump DOES have a problem in there, I heard it will not work properly, and cause the plastic part we replaced to break again. So if you can check this pump area for loose debris or broken gear of its own, you'll be in a much safer position.

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by ah-kay

Any ideas on what are the steps? Tranny needs to come off?

Step by step how-to (sort of) here: Trans experts, join the huddle, I need help with a diagnosis

[toomany MBZ]

Yikes, a plastic part in the transmission?

That's a head scratcher.

[scottmcphee]

So what caused this plastic spindle to disappear while sitting at a coffee shop, and where did it go?

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by scottmcphee

So what caused this plastic spindle to disappear while sitting at a coffee shop, and where did it go?

On my bro's car, it was shifting fine and then after accelerating after a stop sign, it would not shift out of first (I was driving it that day). On the OP's car, the gear could have broken after it was already in high gear, and then the trans did not need to shift out of first while parking the car. The gear (or pieces thereof) just fall into the pan, or on the shelf (top side of the valve body) that is below the governor. I found half of the gear on the shelf, and the other half still on the governor shaft. Both gears (governor and main shaft) are plastic, and sometimes the main shaft gear gets a tooth knocked off. If that is the case, the tail housing needs to come off. The whole job is a fairly easy DIY job, and can be done in an hour or less if everything needed is there (gears, gasket, tools etc). Actually, it is harder to remove the secondary pump. It can be done by just removing the 4 crossmember bolts and using a 5mm hex key 90 degrees at a time (no room for a hex socket) to get the 4 bolts out. It is much easier to remove the secondary pump with the flex disc off and the trans hanging down further giving better access.

[homepagz]

Few things to be careful of here. I had the exact failure on my 300D.

The plastic part was designed as the failure point in the event there is a seized item in the secondary pump and governor area. Something must have seized to allow that failure point to be destroyed.

On mine - once it was replaced - the car shifted fine for a few hundred miles until it was torn up again. It turned out the secondary pump was seizing and had to be fixed.

So - it may be working now - but if you haven't found the original cause - it may happen again.

-John

[connerm]

Originally Posted by homepagz

So - it may be working now - but if you haven't found the original cause - it may happen again.

-John

Excellent point

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by homepagz

Few things to be careful of here. I had the exact failure on my 300D.

The plastic part was designed as the failure point in the event there is a seized item in the secondary pump and governor area. Something must have seized to allow that failure point to be destroyed.

On mine - once it was replaced - the car shifted fine for a few hundred miles until it was torn up again. It turned out the secondary pump was seizing and had to be fixed.

So - it may be working now - but if you haven't found the original cause - it may happen again.

-John

It looks like I am not the only one to replace the gear/s twice before disabling the secondary pump.

[vstech]

Bump…
I’m on vacation with my 87TD, AND WOULDNT YA KNOW IT… CAR WONT SHIFT OUT OF FIRST NOW…
I was low on fluid…
I put in some transX. No help…
Added some mercon… no help…

Ugh…

[vstech]

Spoke too soon.
After the fluid had a chance to settle in, the car is again shifting normally again.
3 more days out here...
Wish me luck.