Hey folks, gotta strange problem with a 86 190E Auto tranny. it seems to shift into 4th real soft, then slips as if there is no engagement at all. shifting manually to 3rd and and 3rd works fine, as does 1-2-3.. 4th can't handle the slightest load or incline. To make matters worse, the tranny dipstick broke off at the "high" level indentation and I had to drop the pan to fish it out!!! BTW when I shift into reverse, I get a hissing sound under the car, any thoughts???? How much for a good rebuild and is there any way to beef the thing up?? Any thoughts greatly appreciated!!

On MB transmissions 722.4 a faulty teflon seal at the K2 clutch will cause the car to lose 4th gear. I've seen this many times. I'm not sure about the hissing noise in reverse. This requires removal of the transmission and nearly complete dis-assembly. The longer you drive it this way, the more damage you'll do to the K2 clutch discs and steel plates. I did this job as a favor for a friend a few years ago, and the parts cost me about $300, but I don't know how much a re-build goes for these days. Although I work at a dealer, I don't pay much attention to the cost of parts and labor. I'm told that the price of re-built units has come down considerably in the last few years. Perhaps some other members can help?

The hissing, I had the same problem on my 94 acclaim which goes through 5 tranny rebuilds in it's life time. (10 years no more)

The hissing there came from the torque converted falling apart, and metal stuck in the filter from falling apart moons or orb moons or whatever they call it.

I gotta say that this is very surprising on a 190E, I hear those transmissions outlast anything else in the car, so you must have been driving it real hard, or not changing the fluid in the tranny.

I got an 85 190E and my tranny works like a charm.

xp

The fluid has been changed regularly and the car has about 138K. As for driving it hard, well its the wifes car and she drives REAL slow!