My 380SL's transmission has always had a very soft shift to 4th gear, with a pretty good flare especially when cold. In the last couple of weeks it has also developed another problem.

It occurs after the car has been driven a couple of miles. From a stop, the transmission appears to start in second, with a huge flare into third. If I pull it into "L" at a stop and start off, then it feels sort of like the brakes are on - very sluggish.

The shops in this area have one answer for transmission problems - "put in a rebuilt." I am wondering, however, if anyone has seen this problem and fixed it with an adjustment or a parts replacement that did not require pulling the transmission.

I recently did a complete drain, filter change, and fill with synthetic ATF hoping to improve the cold 3-4 shift. The guy who did it commented that there was a lot of clutch material in the pan.

TIA, as always.

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe