'85 280te, very rough auto gearshift
 

the auto gear change on my merc is very harsh and abrupt.

if i stamp my foot down hard the downshift doesn't kick in for a few seconds, then it bumps up though the gears very abruptly, when i lift my foot from the gas pedal it immediatley bumps down the gears. all in all a very jerky ride, and totally unlike my older 200T which was silky smooth and gentle.

i have done a search on this forum and found mention of a vacuum modulator that controls the quality of hte change but cannot find this 'thing' to investigate further.

i would be very grateful if someone could point me in the exact direction of this mechanism, and tell me how i might investigate this problem further.

FYI, the transmission oil looks clean and is just over maximum on the marker.

many thanks

justin

The modulator is on the l/h side of the gearbox. (ok, I'm not sure where you're at so its on the drivers side of a US car :D ) Little round fella with a vacum line on it. 1st thing to check is for vacuum, sounds like you have none to it.




Joe