i'll be diving into my 722.303 shortly, as well.

Keep the updates coming please, and take some pics if you can! This will be my first auto trans overhaul, so im looking forward to a good time and plenty of sailor talk.

i replied to this thread because it doesnt show up on a "transmission overhaul" search. guess it will now

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84 300SD ODO broken at 277k
02 Jetta TDI
KHS roady, stumpy hardtail- powered by carbohydrates
OBK56

Well, it's a done deal. Sorry, no pics - I actually cleaned up and found the digital camera, and the damn battery was dead!

But what I found was exactly as predicted - the B3 friction plates were de-laminating. The K-1 clutch housing was knicking the inside of the B3 piston.
If you check the thumbnail photos a few posts above, you can see the exact same nicks on the inside of the piston (basket).
This was what was making the tick-tick when I backed up.
Found pieces of friction lining in the filter and pan, maybe this indicates I should have done a 100% clean and rebuild. However, I assume the filter was stopping the pieces before they reach the valve body, and I just wasn't prepared to wade in that deep, as the tranny was working great except for the clicking and delayed Reverse.

Pretty straightforward to reach the B3 plates. A couple comments:
1. The instructions said to screw a couple of bolts in the pump housing to push the front cover off - on my '91 those threaded holes were dead-end, so all you could do was screw them in and pull and wiggle on the pump, but it came loose pretty easily.
2. The K-1 clutch came out after the pump, the plates in it looked about half gone after 175k. I went ahead and replaced them (more on that later).
3. The B-1 band had to come out before the B-3 plates. pretty tough jop to fight that spring without the factory clamp, but I improvised a lever set-up.
The band still had writing on it, looked brand new.
4. Couldn't really measure the B3 throw or clearance as directed, there was some give in the plate stack, and I didn't know how hard to push while taking the measurement. Same with the K-1 stack, slide a feeler in there and you could push the stack down another 0.020 or more with your fingers.
With no pressure, it was in spec, so I pop'd in the new plates and continued.

Drove it today for just a couple of blocks. no leakage, and the reverse is awesome,:quick engage, no click. However, the first shift (2-3) is a little softer than before, this is the K-1 clutch that I replaced the plates on.
Maybe it will firm a bit as the plates seat in. Now I worry that I got the spring washer in backwards!!!!

All-in-all, a lot of work to get it out and back in, but taking it apart was kinda fun. only special tool I would have liked to have was the B-1 cover clamp.
I replaced every 0-ring and seal I ran into, but took out just what I needed to reach the B3 plates.

I'll give final results after good test frive tomorrow.

Cheers,
DG

Final report on the 300SE B3 and K1 clutch plate replacement.
Drove it quite a bit yeaterday. All seems pretty good, no leakage, everything works.
Reverse is now quick and firm - just like new. NO CLICKING.
All downshifts and kickdowns are normal.
The only noticeable change is the slightly softer-feeling 2-3 shift, but I think I kinda like it. We'll see if it changes when the new K-1 plates seat completely.

The 3-4 shift has always been pretty abrupt, maybe I should have gone for it also, but it hides way back there behind the gearset, so I chickened out.

But, I will get my new garage (with lift) pretty soon, so I can go back in just for fun (yeah, Right!).

I plan to drive it a couple weeks, and change the filter again, just to be safe.
I found it pretty easy to peel the old filter apart for inspection, so that will become a standard part of my fluid/filter maintenance.

David, thanks for your support.
After the new wears off on the tranny fix, I may start fiddling with the warm start issue again.

DG

DG

Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words.

However, I would not want to sacrifice the valuable information contained in the written words just because someone can't/doesn't post pics.

Consequently, this thread is hardly worthless.

Probably you meant to say that it was a helpful thread and would have been even more so with pictures.

IMHO, the only worthless post in this whole thread was yours, which was truly a waste of time.

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2012 E350
2006 Callaway SC560

You're absolutelly right. That was not my intention. This thread is very helpfull and since I'm having exactly the same problem with my transmission I read the hole thread twice.

It was just a bad joke. When I read about the digital camera with dead batteries, I just remembered I had this gif image and thougt it culd be funny.

Again, I'm very sorry about that.

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Juan
1995 E320 Sedan
2008 Ford Escape
RC Helicopter