1999 c230 Kompressor transmission failure? help - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mikey_v3 · #1 05-11-2007, 09:43 PM

My wife just dropped my son off at a dance and put the car in drive to pull away and she said it acted like a manual trans and she was just learning to drive stick(I assume this means it was bucking) she also said it was grinding when it was trying to get going. Once it got going she said it drove perfectly fine the rest of the way home (4 miles or so).

When listening to the car in park it sounds like a bad catalytic converter rattle (sounds like a heat shield against the cat rattling if you know what I mean) but from the torqe converter area behind the engine. You can also feel the same vibration in the shifter. I *****ed and moaned a little and took it for a test drive, it drove fine. Once its in gear the noise is gone and drives normally, reverse / forward and all gears. So I drove it to a friends house who is a general mechanic (not an mb guy) and had him listen to it. I had the car shut down when he came out of house and explained the issue to him and then started the car for him to hear the noise, after the car was running for 20 seconds or so there was an electric motor noise coming from the trans area that lasted about 1 or 2 seconds. It sounded like this noise was trying to engage something that wasnt "happening" and it stopped. I drove it home and it shifted fine, put it in park and the noise is getting quieter but still present. It almost sounds like something between the engine and trans like a flexplate, flywheel or torque converter mounting bolts broke.

We have owned the car for about 3 years now, we got it with 92,000 miles on it and it now has 120,000. The only trouble we had with it is, the ac blows hot no matter what we do, the stereo wont recognize the factory cd player and the check engine light is on because of a faulty gas cap. We had problems in the past with the mass airflow sensor and replaced it twice to the tune of $700 each time aswell. Oh, I almost forgot the 3 wiper motors we put in, one each winter since she likes to leave the wiper on when shutting down the car, it freezes to the window and when you start it.. well the rest is history.

Any idea what this transmission problem would be?

mikey_v3 · #2 05-12-2007, 08:55 AM

bump

stevebfl · #3 05-12-2007, 09:30 AM

I don't think you have a trans problem. It is very unlikely a trans will make noises you state and then work. I'm guessing your starter is staying engaged. Just a guess.

BTW, based on your history you might consider a different technician.

mikey_v3 · #4 05-14-2007, 09:36 PM

Im starting to think it is something else too, I drove it today about 20 miles to dust out any cobwebs from the wife driving it. Still runs champion with plenty of power and nice shifts, no unbalance or shaking. I know its hard to troubleshoot over the internet, I figured I would come to a make specific site to see it anyone else had the same or similar problem.

as for the history, I took it once to the mercedes dealer who really bent me over and the second time to an independent mercedes guy with a really good reputation who finished me off.

Both times were not good experiences even aside from the prices they charged for things I would normally do myself had it not been a mercedes.

waybomb · #5 05-14-2007, 10:12 PM

My ML's trans shifted great as well. But when stopped, made horrible noises and wouild bounce in and out of gear. I knew the trans was going.

Got a rebuilt from phoenixhardparts.com.

Mine had the 722.6 planet gears and shaft assy completely destroyed.

I heard that the 2000 and up 722.6 came with updated internals. The rebuilt had the updated internals installed at rebuild.

mikey_v3 · #6 05-14-2007, 10:29 PM

Was yours making noise in gear when stopped or in park idling? The idling in park is the only time I get noise, when in gear it totally stops and acts normal.

waybomb · #7 05-15-2007, 07:13 AM

At idle in park. From the engine bay, you could hear it coming from behind the bellhousing inside the trans.

mikey_v3 · #8 05-16-2007, 04:47 PM

It finally went out on my wife today, luckily she made it home. It now binds and pops intermittently in drive and reverse, also the same noise as before is present in park just a little louder now..

ohwell.. Any special tools I need to change the trans myself?

waybomb · #9 05-16-2007, 05:01 PM

Change the torque converter at the same time. I think the only "special" tool you'll need is an extra large socket for the tailshaft coupling nut. To refill it, you need to study the refill procedure, and you'll need the dipstick tool.

Also, I bet you'll find the oil to black and full of metal. This means your trans cooler lines and trans cooler is also full of this material. You'll need to flush it out before you connect to the fresh tranny.

Be nice to the counter guy at the Benz dealer, and he'll sell you the special trans oil for about 7 bucks a liter. if you are not nice, he'll charge you 15 bucks a liter.

If you need a trans, here's my plug for the place I bought mine: phoenixhardparts.com.

mikey_v3 · #10 05-17-2007, 05:39 PM

I have checked out phoenixhardparts.com and it looks like it will be about $2700 with the core plus freight which could be up to 300 or 400. I assume I pay the freight there and back.

Anyone ever been inside one of these transmissions? I am pretty sure there is a hard part failure (Planetary gear) and am wondering if the core will get refunded when my trans gets back to the place I buy it from. It scares me that their disclaimer says they wont refund the core if there are hard part failures in my trans, sounds pretty crappy they only want the easy ones to replace the soft parts.

waybomb · #11 05-17-2007, 08:12 PM

If the planetary is bad, they'll hit you for 500. I believe your cost at the dealer may be around a thousand. Just for the planetary.

Check other trans guys - I sure shopped when I bought mine. All I found was more expensive.

Good luck.