Last week I changed the oil in my standard tranny. It was sluggish in the mornings until heated up and was not smooth when shifting into reverse. It called for standard 30wt oil and I used Mobil 1 10W30. Since the change it shifts into reverse smoother and is not as sluggish in the morning but its has some resistance when shifting into 2nd. Once it warms up everything shifts great. Why the change when shifting into 2nd. I also cleaned the tranny area with an engine cleaner, but I can't see where this would cause a problem. Should I give it some more time or look for problems.

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1982 Euro 240D 90K

Are you certain it called for 30W oil? Mercedes std trans I am familiar with call for Dextron or automatic tranny fluid. I prefer Redline MTF (manual transmission fluid) - synthetic of course. It will solve all your problems associated with cold temp shifting, as well as being smoother on the synchros.

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Luckily Dex III is syhthetic. Phewwww!

There are some good threads in the archives by some Tribologists... I think that is what they are...
Somewhere in there JimSmith also recommended the Redline MTF.... and I finally found a local place which carried it... I have it in the trunk of my car but I can not tell any difference in the shifting yet... I may have to put it into the transmission....

I ran Mobil One 10W30 in my 84 Euro 240D manual transmission for about 400,000 miles with great results.

Good luck,

The problem you're having is that the Mobil-1 is too slippery for the syncronizers in the transmission to grab properly. That's why it takes longer to shift. I just went through this with my 300D two weeks ago, as it was taking 3-4 seconds to make the 1-2 shift. Changing the fluid from M-1 to Redline MTL reduced that to under a second. If you can't find the MTL locally, it is available at My Oil Shop.

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Concerning whether to use standard or tranny oil, the owners manual called for standard 30W oil. If the shifting does not change I will try the MTL. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't or didn't do anything that could damage it. I've made sure not to force the shift but be patient.

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1982 Euro 240D 90K

When did the specification for lubricant in the MB manual trannies change? The '68 220D called for ATF in its manual, and several other folks that owned somewhat later 115 chassis indicated the same for theirs. Did the first 240D's call for 30-W engine oil?

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

Somewhere I got the idea that my manual transmission in my '82 300D called for Type A automatic transmission fluid. I do remember that there were conflicting references to the correct fluid. I changed the fluid to Type A and it greatly improved the quality of my shifts. I hope it is adequate protection, I would hate to hurt my tranny.

Temperature makes a big difference in the selection of lubricants. Cold weather and thicker fluid will make shifting difficult.

In the archives I think they talk about some of the fluids reacting with bronze or copper or something.... which could affect the synchros in the long run...

My owners manual called for 30W engine oil and what I drained out looked just like engine oil, it was by no means red.

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1982 Euro 240D 90K