My Transmission died and is unrebuildable! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

190D22 · #1 12-17-2003, 10:11 PM

Sunday night I was stopped at a red light... when I got the green light, I go to accelerate and the initial perception I had was that I hit ice or the wet white line, the engine reved up like I was spinning the tires but the speedo didn't fly up AND car skipped through the intersection THEN no driving power. So I put on my hazards, stopped the car and put it in park. Pop it back down into drive and the usual bump forward (letting you know forward drive is engaged) didn't happen, but I still try to accelerate and the engine revs, but the car goes nowhere. Reverse works perfectly, drive is dead. Car needed to be flat bedded, I had him take it to the transmission shop I go to and use the night drop.

I go in and the Transmission guy says after tearing down my tranny, he discovered the drive gears are a ball of metal. He said it looks like a ball of cotton candy on a stick. He notes reverse looks beautiful, drive is completely shot. The gears won't even come out of the tranny, which is why he cannot rebuild the one I have. He found a used one w/ 75,000 miles on it from an '85 2.2. It should be ready tomorrow (thursday the 18th) or friday at the latest. Originally he would have rebuilt mine, as it is cheaper for him to do it than to buy a rebuilt one. Hopefully I will get lots of miles out of this tranny.

190D22 · #2 12-17-2003, 10:22 PM

Oh yeah, I also had the pleasure of being able to go in and see the car on the lift with the tranny out. He said everything (other than the inside of my transmission) on the car looks great. Looking under the car it is very clean.

With the transmission off I was able to investigate my oil leak a lot better. Rear seal is bone dry which is a great relief. It is rather clean back there to be honest! The leak appears to be comming from the side of the engine below the exhaust manifold somewhere. Head gasket maybe??? I have no idea really! Any thoughts there?

leathermang · #3 12-17-2003, 11:53 PM

The only reasonable way to find a leak is to bite the bullet and really clean the area... then keep watching until you see where it is coming from....

Stage_wizards · #4 12-18-2003, 04:17 PM

I thought I had serious transmission problems on my 85 TD. It started through the intersection, then slipped and left me stuck. Only when I restarted the car would it drive. But shifting was really sloppy.
As I added up the cost of a rebuild or used tranny, I decided to do something smart for a change and check the fluid. Down two quarts.
That fixed the problem but I will have to deal with the leak eventually. Even at 273,000 miles the tranny shifts smoothly.

djugurba · #5 12-18-2003, 04:46 PM

I had a bmw 325e in high school that lost the drive gears only 6 months after we got it. My parents replaced it with an '82 ford granada! cripes! what a let down. But it was a sleeper with the old slant six (and front 3/4 vent windows?) My dad drove the bmw back to our house (~8 miles) in REVERSE under cover of darkness when my mother got stranded with it. no wonder I'm car-goofy now.

Then, my '85 maxima in college lost drive gears while on a first date. Recently, my '78 volvo wagon (now sold) lost reverse, which I didn't mind, then 1st, which was usually alright, and then everything else the 4 speed had to offer over the course of 6 months. sad to see it go; sold it to a guy who I found while looking for a used manual trans to replace it with...

I am pretty sure that any future major things will ensue with my wife at the helm. She's a good driver, but doesn't feel/hear things change that are not indicated by warning lights. Sometimes there is no warning at all. Those times burn me up!

A guy I was working with once contended that mercedes transmissions were good for 150k at most until needing rebuilding. He was an engineer and tool and die maker. I guess that makes both of my cars almost ready to be rebuilt twice each?

leathermang · #6 12-18-2003, 06:25 PM

On that Ford.. did you mean ' straight' six... as compared to ' slant' ? Or did you have a Dodge Slant Six in it ?

73MB280SEL · #7 12-18-2003, 06:57 PM

190D,

You've got a manual tranny, right? Do you know what caused your transmission's demise? I want to do a fluid change on my 190D 2.2 5 speed and am really concerned about screwing it up. One of the guys in the office has a '89 ford pickup with a manual tranny that he overfilled and burnt up. It doesn't take too much heat.

Sholin

Stage_wizards · #8 12-18-2003, 07:10 PM

Volvo had a four-speed manual in 84 with an electric overdrive for the fifth speed. This was in a diesel wagon. When the transmission could not be shifted into reverse (it was too heavy a car to push backward) my mechanic simply rebuilt the electro-mechanical overdrive for a few hundred bucks. I sold the car running at 240,000 miles and shifting perfectly.

Wasuchi · #9 12-18-2003, 08:13 PM

73MB280SEL,

Looks like he's got an auto trans, not a manual. Sucks to have that happen though.

djugurba · #10 12-18-2003, 10:16 PM

pretty sure it was a slant 6- I might be confused with the dodge aspen that also floated through my early driving days, but I thought that ford had one as well. 82 granada was a big boat!

190D22 · #11 12-19-2003, 03:14 PM

He got the 'new' tranny in and found that the torque converter on it was leaking. So he had to find a replacement, the car will be ready early this evening. I will let you know any more details I get.