I have a 1998 E320. The trans has two settings. W & S. The manual states "S" setting is for summer driving , "W" the other for winter . The winter setting starts out in second gear, which seems a little smoother to me on daily driving. Is there any harm done to use thi "W" setting all year. Or should I use the "S" setting for regular daily driving. The car performs great in both settings, however the short shift from 1st to 2nd is too quick and seems to be shifting alot when just local driving, stop/start, etc. Opinions would be appreciated, Thanks.

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__________________
Bruce Hat
2000 ML320 50K miles
1997 Jaquar XJ6 41K miles
1992 300SL 70K miles - Mint
1995 E320 Wagon 105K miles "Sold" - 10-6-04
1998 E320 "Totalled" - 1-14-04

If you want to know how crooked a stick is, just lay a straight one next to it.

It's not the tall sails that bring a ship to the port of destination, but the unseen wind.

Uncle's quote to me at 12 yrs old "Why walk when you can Bogaloo"

There should be no issue using the 'W' mode all year round. Nice car - is that a low profile MB hood badge? Where did you find it and what was the part number? Thanks.

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

I agree. The "S" is for "standard" though, not Summer. They could have just as well put an "N" there fir "normal" or something, but the upshot is that "S" is for dry conditions and the "W" is for slippery conditions.
One other neat thing about running in "W" mode is that the car will hold itself going uphill very nicely. Try stopping going up a steep hill sometime in W, then switch over the switch to S, it'll start rolling back. OK, don't do this alot though, but it is kinda fun, as long as no one is behind you!!

Gilly

I beleive that you also have a higher Reverse Gear ration in the W Setting.

Regards

Mike

I believe that's true also.

Gilly

Thanks guys for the information. dtf, The flat hood emblem was purchased from "Performance Products."

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__________________
Bruce Hat
2000 ML320 50K miles
1997 Jaquar XJ6 41K miles
1992 300SL 70K miles - Mint
1995 E320 Wagon 105K miles "Sold" - 10-6-04
1998 E320 "Totalled" - 1-14-04

If you want to know how crooked a stick is, just lay a straight one next to it.

It's not the tall sails that bring a ship to the port of destination, but the unseen wind.

Uncle's quote to me at 12 yrs old "Why walk when you can Bogaloo"

Reverse Gear ratios:

W5A 580 transmission

R 1) 3.16

R 2) 1.93

W5A 330 transmission

R 1) 3.10

R 2) 1.90

Please don't ask me which tranny I have, 'cause I don't know. I do know that when its in the "S" position, it'll back up my uphill driveway much easier!

BTW, I drive in the "W" position at all times except when going up a steep grade from rest. It is smoother, and with the tremedous torque of the diesel at lower rpms, there is no need for that either 3.59 or 3.93 first gear ratio.

Needs taller gears in the back than the much too low 3.07s.
Wish I had 2.65s! There is no need to be revving at almost 2100 rpm at a true 60 mph.

Again, I know not which tranny mine has.

Maybe someone here can enlighten me?

The 330 and 580 refer to the amount of torque the transmission is designed to handle. I believe the E300D uses the 330 version.
The 330 I believe is behind the 4 and 6 cylinder engines and the 580 behind the 8's and 12's. Possibly the 580 is also used in 6 cyl AMG engines like the C32, SLK32, etc. I can check it out and post more positive info.

Gilly

PS Torque in this case measured in NM (Newton-Meters)

Thanks Gilly . Now I know which model transmission is in our W-210 E-300 DT.

One wonders if there is any extra margin of torque capacity designed into that box as a safeguard?
Stock torque is very close to the 243.4 ft/lb limit of the weaker transmission.
Maybe that's why MBZ didn't favor us with a genuine no slippage lock-up T/C?

The gear ratios are more favorable in the stronger box also. Oh well!

Derrel
I could be wrong, maybe I can pull out a book later and check it out.
If you want you can also check what's etched into the right side of the case above the oil pan, it should have the trans number on there as well as the serial number.

Gilly

Thanks Gilly,

Transmission questions are sort of on the back burner now, as the "Battery Charge" message is appearing every morning until the car is fully warmed up.

This started Sunday morning over in Las Vegas, so we stayed over an extra day and had it checked at Fletcher Jones MBZ there on Monday. Of course, the technician couldn't see it happening because by the time I had driven it the several miles to that agency, the trouble had cleared, and they could find no indications that there had been a problem, and no codes had been set. They did find a supposedly loose battery connection for which I guess I got off lucky. The charge was only $53.09!
I thought I was home free, but Wednesday morning it did it again, and again once more again this morning.

When this happens, the altenator tries to pick up the load, and it litterly makes the engine shake as there seems to be that much drag on the belt. But it won't stay charging, and the light comes on again. But after the temperature gauge is up to normal and the motor is shut off just once, when started up again, everything is fine for the remainder of the entire day.
But when it cools down as in overnight, here comes the problem again.

I have an appointment with the local Fletcher Jones in Newport Beach CA, and they'll keep it overnight if necessary, and I hope they can locate and correct the problem.

I hope that the problem is not some relay having to do with the glow plug system, as the late 606962s are rather scarce in these parts, and the tech might never have laid eyes on one.
Kind of hard for them when they have had little or no experince with these motors.

We shall see?

Thanks again.

Derrel:
You may want to start a new thread, it may get noticed by someone who has had the same problem, you may want to put a seperate one at the Diesel forum here also.Use a very descriptive title to the new thread(s), like "99 300 Diesel "Battery Charge" warning when first started". If that will fit anyways.

Gilly

On a card that came in the sippered case, under Getriebe is this number:

722608 0 1162226

So is this a 722.6 transmission, and is it the stronger W5A 580?

Motor-Nr is 606962 12 045979

Any information that you can gain will be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance.