The last car I had shifting like yours had packed the filter so tight that it sucked a piece of the paper into the vavle body.

Your experience is usually do to one of two things. Pressure problems do to filter or fluid level problems (including overfilling which foams the oil causing exactly your condition and worse) and governor problems. The first step would be to service the tranny and see whats in the pan. If that solves the problem you can avoid testing the governor pressure under road conditions (including the actual event).

As to the control pressure cable or valve. They will cause it to be near impossible to get 4th gear, but very unlikely in initiate a downshift without stepping on the gas hard. In other words they stick but they don't initiate.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician

[This message has been edited by stevebfl (edited 09-15-2000).]