How long did your diesel's AUTOMATIC transmission last?
 

I had to ask this as some people were getting lots of miles out of their automatic transmissions in their W123 diesels and some were not. Mine for one didn't. The transmission in my '85 300D was rebuilt by the original owner at 108K miles 11 years ago at a whopping cost of nearly $1500. Its now coming up on 112K miles on the rebuild and I'm seriously getting concerned as I will not dump that kind of money into this car if it needs it again. My car sometimes shudders a little bit at around 35 to 45 MPH going from 2nd to 3rd gear. That was very similar to the complaint written in the service order before the transmission had to be rebuilt the first time.

So, how long have your transmissions lasted? Have they be rebuilt and at what cost if I may ask?

My transmission post is the result of a another post regarding driving these diesels hard.

lietuviai
The 85 tranny was a good tranny. Rare for a rebuild at 100,000 miles. I have a 82 300Td and the tranny was rebuilt at 113,000 miles. But this was common for the 81-83 tranny. The rebuild brought it up to the 84-85 standard. I have only 175,000 on the car. The 300SDL had 265,000 with no rebuild, but it does need it now.

Your shudder may not be tranny. Check your center drive shaft bushing. If its original it is definaltely a consideration for the vibration.

Have you maintained the tranny, ie regular filter/fluid servicing?
If so I would look elsewear for problems.

Dave

My car is on it's 3rd transmission, and it only has 170,000 miles. The first one was replaced at about 120,000 miles, and the 2nd was replaced at 164,000 after the tourque converter broke, and broke the front pump. It was cheaper in this case to replace with a used transmission and tourque converter. The front pump was slightly less than the whole set-up...

My 78 300D has 356k miles on the original engine and original trans. Not to say they don't show wear, but the trans shifts fine.
But I have fresh engine and trans in my garage to install in there. Just waiting for one or the other to fail.

My '85 California TDT has just shy of 160,000 miles with the original transmission. 100,000 of those miles have been spent dragging the car up some serious hills in S.F. and has decidely not been babied. So far I've had no problems. I agree with dmorrison, if it was rebuilt right it should be fine. Check the driveshaft rubbers and vacuum lines before you assume the worst.

Tranny Longevity
 

Going through old receipts my 85 300D transmission lasted 216,425 miles. It was rebuilt in Sept. of 2001 by Autostatt European, LTD in Sacramento to the tune of $1813.36. Still going strong at 240,000.

Nothing is certain. However, based on what I've read/learned and experienced, a MB transmission may start to leak around 150-175K. The leak is usually at the front pump.The early 126 "S" classes had a problem with the B2 piston that usually precipitated a rebuild.

Most transmissions, with proper maintainance will last between 200-250K. IMO, if the tranny fails, you're better off buying a MB factory rebuild, instead of a local transmission shop rebuilding it.
They (trannys) can in fact, last 300+ miles, but I'd say those are the exception.

I have a 77 240d and a 1980 300sd. Both transmissions failed at around 125,000 miles.

The transmission in my car had received all of the same meticulous maintenance the rest of the car did. I had taken into consideration the possibility that it may be the center driveshaft bushing but I haven't been able to get under that part of the car yet to take a look.
I have been quite fortunate that the car does not leak anything at all. The lower half of the engine and what I could see of the transmission from underneath are quite grimy. I couldn't get the pressure washer nozzle aimed where it needed it the most when I cleaned the engine.
I don't know exactly what was replaced in my transmission when it was rebuilt by the owner but in the parts list there were many plates, seals, gaskets, a valve and a band with part numbers on the list. I'll look them up somewhere to find out what they were.

I have 219000 miles on mine. It was working fine until 1000 miles ago when I switched to synthetic. Now it slips between 1st and 2nd when it is cool and rarely slips when warm.

My four original automatic trannys total 932,000 miles. All of them are functioning well.

On my totalled '83 300D, the tranny was slipping at 190k. But we still made it work until its fateful day.

Don

My trans is still going strong at 233K in an '84 300 D Turbo. There aren't any problems with it or symptoms. I've only had it for a year, no rebuild in the past records.

At 177,426 kilometers (110,000 miles), I LOST ALL FORWARD gears (broken band) in Smokeless I while accelerating on a slight uphill. Had the transmission rebuilt at a cost of C$2,200 (US$1,450 approx.) (February 2003).

AFAIK, my tranny's never been rebuilt. I'm at 246K miles right now, and it could probably use a flush.

I believe that I have all maintenance records between the car's original purchase and 190K miles, and I got the car at 223K miles. The tranny could have been rebuilt in that 30K mile gap, but I would venture to guess that it hasn't.

If the tranny dies and my hip can handle the clutch, I'd like to do a 4 speed conversion... :D

My '82 240D shows no tranny problems at 260,000 miles.
I have a friend with an '85 300D with somewhat over 500,000 miles. He has had the car for the last 400,000 miles or so. I believe the tranny is original, AS IS THE FLUID. Two or three years ago it began to make a whine sound that turns off and on. No shift problems. He was told it was " a gate valve". Neither of us knows what that is, but the noise has't changed in over 200,000 miles.