Transmission out of Commission ?

Well, it finally happened, my car won't start. (Thank God it lasted me to the holidays !!!)

Since about Tuesday, when warming up my car in "P" after sitting overnight or for several hours, it has on a few occassions shifted itself into "D", causing the car to surge forward in either "P" or when I switch it to "N". The problem usually went away after warming it up for a while.

This morning, it did the same except it started bucking wildly, so I shut off the ignition before I do any more (potential) damage to the tranny. I am hoping it isn't too major as I didn't hear any grinding or clunking noises.

Have any of you heard of this happening to anyone? Am I in for an expensive transmission job, or could this maybe just be something out of joint that needs adjusting ?

Any peace of mind on this would be great over the holidays.


Thanks and Happy Holidays,

AARON ROCHARD

1976 230.4 W115

[David C Klasse]

SOrry I can't help with the diagnosis of your problem...
but I can remind you just how robust Mercedes-Benz transmissions are!! (ESPECIALLY when properly maintained!! )

[Benzmac]

I guess a sloppy linkage could do this. be sure the adjustment screw hasn't fallen out from below and all of the bushings are in place.

Thanks Benzmac, I'll wait to take it to my mechanic on Jan 8th when he re-opens. There's a Mr. Transmission near my work, but I'm nervous about taking my car to them.

AARON ROCHARD

1976 230.4 W115

[blackmercedes]

Originally posted by arochard
There's a Mr. Transmission near my work, but I'm nervous about taking my car to them.

I would be too...

Just came back from the tranny shop.

-Couldn't find a Mercedes tranny shop in the area and both my mechanics only do adjustments, so I took it to the local transmission shop. They took off the pan, changed the filter and sent me on my way. They said the linkage was fine, so was the adjustment screw that I hear people talking about. Basically, no abnormalities.

The car did what I said it would on him only once. (it was cold and he put it in reverse but the car moved forward. He put it in neutral then back in reverse and it worked fine)

The only next step if it does it again is to go inside $$$$$ I'm worried, can anyone shed some light on this weird experience ?

AARON ROCHARD

1976 230.4 W115

[G-Benz]

I don't think you have a transmission problem...in fact, short of unbelievably poor maintenance, MB trannys are pretty solid units.

The "bucking" you are experiencing is happening on idle, and has been described by others as a "surging". Search for "surge" or "surging" on this forum.

I have this problem right now on my 300E...usually worse when its warm (almost non-existent when cold). Haven't taken the time to research it much, but I have gotten responses on my threads indicating it could be a bad switch on the transmission shift column sending error codes to the computer. Also, the temperature sensor is a possible cause (hmmm, maybe that's why it's not so prevalent in cold weather).

I will one day get this fixed and post the results to all, but for your situation, I just wanted to point out that your tranny is just fine, and to look elsewhere for the problem...