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#1
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Slipping trans and a long way from home!
Greetings all,
I'm 1300 miles into a business trip - '84 300Dturbo just rolled over 388,000, has been running great the whole trip. Lots of high speed interstate driving... However, I noticed a little flare as it shifted into top gear this morning. This afternoon as I accelerated down the on ramp top gear slipped, then kept on slipping - it's essentially useless. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, all pull fine, shifts are fine. Fluid level is between the marks although fluid is looking burnt (of course). No doubt time for a rebuilt, but I'm 400 miles from home (ah, but that's the fun in it!) So, I'm thinking about limping home in the slow lane with the four ways on. I can run 50 - 55 mph between 3500 & 4,000 rpm...spinning pretty fast but..... 1. Any ideas on why only this gear is shot? 2. Any ideas on how to get it to lock up. 3. Could this be anything other than hydraulic/internal problem? All vacuum operated systems are working fine and as I said shift quality is good otherwise. Hey, anyone can drive a new car...where's the fun in that?! Thanks for any suggestions. Fred |
#2
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Oh yeah, I'm currently in Albany, NY and have to get back to Lancaster, PA...just in case someone around here has a spare trans and lots of time on their hands... or maybe knows a good shop in the area!
fmb |
#3
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Fred
Why don't you just stay off the thruway and run #209 ? down the Delware water gap nice ride little traffic.
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Ricali 03 C240 4matic wagon 95 300E 234,000 7 prior 240;s 5 still going 81 300sd gone 65 230sl gone 49 Studebaker Champion 90BMW convert.167,000 60 Dodge D-100 |
#4
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I assume you've tried manually shifting it to see if that works.
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08 1985 300TD 185k+ 1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03 1985 409d 65k--sold 06 1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car 1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11 1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper 1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4 1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13 |
#5
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Fredmburgess,
My father in law uses a guy in Schenectady by the name of Dennis Francis Auto at 24 Sacandaga Road, (518) 374-6531. He has done good work at a reasonable price on my (daughter's) 1982 240D. I am conceding I will never get it back in running order as she is determined to run it until it can't be fixed. She also knows another group of College kids that work on W123 Diesels in the area too. Good Luck, Jim
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Own: 1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles), 1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000, 1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles, 1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles. 2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles Owned: 1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law), 1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot), 1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned), 1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles), 1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep) |
#6
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syphon 2 quarts of trans fluid out and put in 2 qts of Trans-X... if the problem is caused by a build up of varnish from the trans fluid this may fix the problem... at $20 it is worth a try..... it has worked for me many times over 30 years.... good luck,,,,
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#7
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Thanks all!
Yep, shifts fine manually and in Drive through first 3 gears (but top gear still slips). I'll definitely change out the fluid as soon as I drop my customer at the airport and lose the stupid suit and tie I have no doubt we'll get home...this car has been absolutely flying all week...just happy as could be at 80-85mph with 3 people and a trunk full of stuff...not bad for nearly 400,000 ...so I won't hold a failing trans against it. Was thinking about going to a VW TDI...but have decided to fix the trans, maybe clean up the paint, and go for at least 500,000! Just something about that old diesel plugging away and the turbo singing its song...(even if I feed it old cooking oil!) ...I'll let you know how it goes..but to paraphrase a little line I use about motorcycles...."a bad day in this old Benz is better than a good day in any other car"! Fred |
#8
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Thanks for the suggestions, all. I also stopped by the local Benz dealer in Albany and we agreed best course of action was to put the gear lever in "S" instead of "D" and drive it home with 3 gears. I also took the back roads (including 209 through the Delaware Water Gap) and had nice ride even if the RPM's where higher than I would have liked. So, next task is to find a shop to rebuild or put in a rebuilt since I don't have time to mess with it at the moment.
...oh yeah, had most of the Benz dealer's mechanics out looking at the WVO conversion...had to keep them focused on the trans problem! f |
#9
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Trans-X! Trans-X! Trans-X! If it doesn't work then you still need a rebuild. God bless ya for bucking the trends, not driving an SUV and having the "testicular fortitude" to still rely on an old girl like her to get you around for business. RT
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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops! 84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K 03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K 93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K |
#10
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Fred,
Wow! 388K miles! I remember talking to you about buying your car last year and you were rather hesitant to sell it! It really is pretty looking, the 904 navy blue paint over palomino interior. My '83 300SD is still a young one at 252K but I'm hopeful to hit 300K by the end of this year. I figure our California trip will add another 5,000+ easily plus a trip to Texas to visit some relatives which is about 2,000 miles total. Those trips will at least put me around 260K or so. I can probably clock up another 40K by December! If I were you I'd do a search on the web for MZF (formerly Peter Schmid Transmissions). They're out in California and are an authorized ZF rebuilder. Peter no longer is in the works but his head guy Wolfgang runs it and they do fantastic work. They quoted me $1,500 to rebuild my 6.9's tranny versus almost $3,000 from the dealership and that was my wholesale cost! Their warranty is 2 years/unlimited mileage as I remember, which betters MB's warranty on their exchange units. You pull it and send it to them out in California and they'll generally have it back to you in two weeks or less. I'd be interested to see how much more the engine has in it after a fresh tranny goes in!
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Regards, Aaron |
#11
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Have you thought about converting to a manual transmission ? If ever there were a time to think about it... it is when the trans needs to come out anyway....
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#12
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If the transmission shifts into 4th before the fluid
reaches operating temp you can use Lucas Trans fluid. My 82' 300SD would not go into 4th after it warmed up and since I made the decision that the trans was not fixable I did not mind using 3 to 4 quarts to increase viscosity which resulted getting into 4th even when hot. The stuff is like 90 weight trans fluid, costing $7 quart at Advance Auto. I got 3k miles more on the trans without consequence, though it may have worn things which would have affected the rebuilding of the unit or a core charge, but that was avoided when I bought a trans on ebay. |
#13
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Thanks again for the suggestions everyone. Aaron, thanks for the tip on good source for a trans. Just for fun I stopped by my local dealer - a great group of people but they've still got all that overhead to cover.. Estimate to R/R trans with a rebuilt, including the torque converter, was $4400. We all knew that wasn't going to happen.
The car's running great despite the "missing" gear. If I put it in drive it will shift into 4th when it should, but then immediately slips. No big deal, it's going to get another trans and maybe some rust repair near the back wheels. There are a whole lot of miles left in this one! F |
#14
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Broken tranny
Fredmburgess,
Take leathermang's advice and search for "manual transmission conversion" on this forum. I know I've listed all the parts at least twice. I've done several of them and they've worked out fine and one then has a much more tractable, faster accelerating car. If you're capable of finding your parts the cost would be under $500.00. Do the research, you'll love the result!!!!!!!! Ben
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www.reproduce100s.com |
#15
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I also agree with leathermang! Go for the manual transmission conversion.
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