W107- Help with Tranny in 88 560sl

[Mike_in_Atlanta]

My GF's 88 560sl seems to have a tranny problem. It shifts fine and smoothly, not perfect, but as good as any car from the 80's that I can remember.

The problem is when you engage either R or D from a standstill. It seems to take a second or two before engaging, then with a noticeable clunk. At first I would have thought it was tranny mounts given the noise and thunk, but that doesnt explain the delay in engaging the gear. Say if you are backing up and then go to drive, it takes a second or two before engagin. Doesnt sound like a long time, but when you are backing out of a parking space etc and then have to wait for it to go into gear, it is a long time, lol. Compared to any other automatic I have driven, none have done this.

The fluid is at the right spot and fairly fresh. She has owned the car for 13yrs and it is maintained very good. Any ideas?

Thought it was cool to meet this girl, as I just bought a 87 635CSi for a daily driver coming from a 95 M3, she had a RX7 and bought this for a daily driver. Much better than the typical Accord or Lexus chic around here.

Mike