1979 300sd.
I need some help diagnosing and deciding if I should even fix this or let it go.
The car that had never let me down has let me down. The transmission went out 5 hours from home.
Trans had no signs of trouble or shifting. I pulled in coffee stop 3hrs into the trip to let the car cool off a bit as it had been running very hot the whole way. the trans started slipping pulling into the parking lot. After checking fluid looking around I saw no obvious sign of the trouble. I started again and resumed 70mph on the highway for another 2hrs trouble free before taking an exit for fuel. At the top of the ramp it slipped again just like a manual transmission with a bad clutch might. From the stop at the ramp I pressed the accelerator and it just revved, let the rpms drop and it caught and started off. I filled up at the station and rolled away from the pump and all seemed fine till I was on the down hill ramp accelerating. The slipping started again and i was dead right there at the bottom of the ramp.
I arranged a tow dolly and a friend towed me back home 300 miles. We loaded the front wheels on the dolly and left the engine running in neutral. I wish I could have asked on the forum for towing advice but had no power cable for my laptop.
So now it sits in my driveway. I have today and tomorrow left on the dolly rental. If I put it in gear and rev it out hard it will move foreword a couple inches. There are some real fine metal particles in the oil that you have to look real carefully to see. The local repair guy that I trust says he has a tranny that will fit(about $900). For him to pull it out to diagnose is $350 plus the about the same to go back in. He is fine with me pulling it (not sure that I am capable of this though). So I know that the best case scenario for repair with him is likely $700-$1100
I paid $1500 for this car 3 years ago but have also fixed a lot of things and put a lot of time and money into it including recent $$ and now have to make a decision if this should be repaired or let go and move up a few years in car (assuming that with a little hunting I can find a good quality 83-85sd for $2000 range) Searching old threads I could not find anything that seemed on target. Anyone have advice on something I could try like checking vacuum somewhere or messing with the trans x type snake oils before I either take this car to the repair or junk yard.
The driver door all of a sudden will not open from the outside (inside only) All doors still lock and unlock fine. Could this be an indication of something vacuum related or just perhaps someone tried to break and damaged the latch while it sat for three days?
Heeelp.
Eric Zitzow
Chattanooga TN

If you planned to drive the vehicle a bit longer, I'd get it rebuilt locally or scour out a nice pull out from a local bone yard.

I would fix it - buying another $2K SD you are going back into the fixing business. You seem pleased with you SD (other than the trans problem) by fixing that at least you know where you are with that car

__________________
BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

Before you junk it..

Change the fluid.

The night I bought my 300CD (which I was told flared, and I assumed it was the 2nd -> 3rd thing) it drove like a champ for 75 miles until I stopped for gas. After my fillup it got up to speed (70 mph) then slipped back into 2nd gear.

I was able to coax it back into 3rd a couple of times but eventually it wouldn't even engage 1st.

Did a fluid/filter change. (including the TC)
Added a quart of transx
now it shifts fine although it flares a little between 2nd and 3rd.

Your transmission is probably wearing out.

__________________
'84 300CD Turbo 132k (Anthracite Grey) - WVO - My daily driver - Recently named coo-coo-coupe by my daughter.
'84 300D Turbo 240k (Anthracite Grey) - Garage Queen
'83 300D Turbo 220k (Orient Red) - WVO - Wifes daily driver

I'm not a certified mechanic, but I did stay at a HolidayInn Express last night.

My first tranny completely went out so I went to the bone yard and got another for $400.
The junk yard tranny on my 84 300DT started doing the same. It would rev up to 5000rpms at around 40-50 mph. It would then not shift out of 2nd gear. I dropped a quart (the fluid was pretty brownish) and added a quart of trans-x.
The rev problem went away but it still hesitates to go into higher gears the first few times it shifts. I have only driven with the trans-x for 10 miles so I don't know how long the cure is for.

Here's a dumb question: when someone says their transmission 'flares' between this gear and that gear, what exactly does that mean? A slip I understand, but a flare?

I think that it means this or atleast I have been using this way....

When the car goes from a lower gear to a higher the rpms are supposed to decrease. Instead the rpms decrease then increase a few times before the car shifts.

The infamous "flare" is similar/same as a slip. The RPMs increase between upward gears. 2nd > 3rd seem to be the more common combination. Vac leaks seem to be the most often mentioned culprit. My '87 300TD had that symptom until I ran Trans-X and found/fixed a number of vacuum leaks. Not certain which was the cure.

Several others should be able to provide more technical explanations. To me it felt like the trans was slipping allowing the engine to rev before settling into the next gear.

__________________
Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

Thanks guys, that helps a lot. I've puzzled over that term a while and even did a forums search a week or two back, and saw no description

thank you for the fast respones. hey almadroog_7 how much was the labor to swap the two trans out?
Anyone have any ideas for places to look for anything simple like vacuum conncetions etc?
From what I as reading about the transX in old posts it was designed as a flush that is meant to be taken out after 100 miles. What possible scenario could I have internally that something as simple as changing the fluid and filter or adding an addative (other than sawdust )will fix this problem?

well I took the tranny out myself
the junk yard tranny costed $400
putting in the junk yard tranny was a bit harder but I outsourced it to a shop and it costed $500. I should have done it myself but i gave up too soon.

Leathermang can give you a much more accurate idea of what Trans-X does, but basically it is a varnish-type product that cleans out passagways in the tranny. Fluid is forced through said passagways which makes all the magic stuff happen.
That is the crayon version, others will give it to you in pen...
JL

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Ive been searching through old posts for glimmers of hope. Can someone expand on the "b2 piston" problem. Does this apply to my 79 300sd? It would be awesome if that it the problem cause it sounds like it can be done without taking the trans out. From what I could find on a search it seems like my symptoms are consistant with this problem in that it was doing fine in third gear or higher and once I slowed down to first and second gear speed I was then stuck. With the exception of I do not have reverse and most descriptions of this problem are a loss of foreward gears but not reverse the symptoms seem consistant. Could this be my problem?

Angst.

Interesting info here.

http://business.baylor.edu/Richard_Easley//autofaqs/b2piston.htm

Louis.

that is the link that got me thinking that this could be a couple hundred dollar fix instead of a big major rager. Only difference is that my car does not still have reverse. If reverse is gone too can it still be the "B2B piston problem"?