Hi,

I was just wondering how often do you use the tranny kickdown in your car. On our car I use it now and then sometimes when merging onto hwy.

Is it bad to use it ofen, does the tranny suffer or engine is over stressed?

I don't use it on any regular basis. Maybe once or twice a year to check that it works. We're talking 273K miles and no record/indication of the tranny having been rebuilt.... basically because there are no records. I set the modulator for firmer shifts to make the tranny last

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

I live in the Hayward Hills (south of Oakland,CA) and there are two hills with >8% grade, and I have a non-turbo 300D so I use the kickdown at least twice a day
By the way, my tranny is beginning to slip in 1st gear on the really steep part of the hill if I am just starting out from a stop. I try to get a run at it and lug up the hill in 2nd.
I have already cranked the modulator up to get rid of a 2-3 flare which made the 1-2 and 3-4 shifts really firm, and the 2-3 firm. I'm kinda hoping I can stick a longer pin in the B2 band servo to eliminate the 1st gear slip, but if all else fails I will be rebuilding a tranny sometime this summer

David
'81 300D odometer says 148,800, but it wasn't working when I bought the car although the last registration in 2003 said 141,000 so maybe it's close to accurate

I use it all the time Often I come to turns where I slow to about 20-25mph (from 55) when going into the turn, and I DOUBLE kickdown it, so it drops 4 to 3 then 3 to 2 in a kind of double motion, the 3-2 downshift feels pretty awesome, the whole car kind of moves back and then lunges forward in a big smooth motion On rare occassion it will drop back as far as 1st if I am going slow enough (under 15ish mph) and that is quite a weird feeling when it "catches up". Is that normal....I didn't know the switch could trigger that much downshifting. It always shifts firm and never slips, just a slight vibration sometimes going into 4th but then its smooth. The dealer said its still in very good shape inside 1.5 years ago when we had all the seals replaced....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I've never tried the kick-down switch, don't even know if it works!

My 87 300D has 251K. With the shift lever, I generally drop down one notch, from 4th into third, at around 30 mph sometimes when encountering a steep incline.

Last year, I voluntarily added TRANS-X to the tranny because others here spoke highly for it. I did so because it is supposed to remove the sticky film that supposedly builds up on internal valves and other moving parts that can stick stuck. Also it conditions seals, but I've always been a little leery about chemicals that cause rubber/synthetic seals to marginally expand in size?

I have also switched to synthetic tranny fluid. Later, somewhere I heard that this is not good to do with an older tranny, but you can't believe everything you hear, but if anyone knows more about this, please elaborate!

I know the feeling, but I now MANUALLY downshift in anticipation of the slower speeds.

It's cool to feel the 4-3 help slow the car when I pull back from D to 3, then another slowing when I move from 3 to 2. That way, the rpms are already up and ready when I push the pedal coming out of the turn.

It's also cool to round the corner in 2 with the rpm at 2500-3000 and enough pedal to hold the turn, then mash it. Almost feels like a gasser then!

Best Regards,
Jim

Use it all the time-that's the only way to make it go with the wife and 2 kids in it!! Any of you guys have trouble with stalling with the a/c running in hot weather off idle? I can't decide if I have a tight a/c compressor or an overly weak engine, but I seem to have weakness off idle when it's over 90 degrees out(engine still holding at around 95 C on the gauge).

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1982 300DT 190K (Diesel Purge + synthetic oil=smoothness at last!!!)
2004 Ford E-350 6.0 L PSD 227K
2006 Dodge Ram 3500 SRW HO Cummins 4X4 48RE 42K (brute force tow vehicle)
2005 Scion xB wife's rolling pop can
1993 GMC Sierra C3500 6.2 142K

San Carlos Bee?

I drove up SCB yesterday to avoid the BS traffic on mission, that hill is a meanie.

i use the kickdown like i would the passing gear on a gasser.

my tranny is making a lot firmer shifts since i had some other repairs done. new engine mounts, valve adjustment, got rid of some play in the throttle linkage, and changed the air filter... not sure which of those would have impacted the shifting though....
i like the firmer shifts but it is shiftiing at higher rpm's now...

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1979 Thistle Green 300D 272,xxx miles
1984 Orient Red 300 D 4 spd Euro Import - 189,xxx miles
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Lofat Productions
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I use it too many times to count each day, in all of mine, both gas and diesels. Even in the brand new model cars, I still use it, thats what its there for! Can you imagine? S55 in kickdown? Its very fun No speeding tickets as of yet...

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

Yup, Carlos Bee and then Call avenue (which is steeper, but only about 500' as opposed to Bee's 1/2 mile or so climb that gets steepest half way up).

David

Theres a 1/4 mile fairly steep grade hill near my house with a light at the bottem. I have no problems getting up from a dead stop with my foot on the floor. Did I mention the long 3 lane smoke clouds when running on >50% used motor oil

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Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

i drive a 240D. i have to use it if i want my trunk to stay in one piece, and even then i worry.

this is alabama, we dont have mountains but we do have rolling hills. everywhere. the interstate is nothing but big meandering hills. i think thats why the car runs on the 3rd notch on the heat gauge, going 75-80 up and down hills is hard on a little old 240!

i think he likes it though=)

but to answer the question: i use the kickdown switch at EVERY stoplight.

ive even tried backing up a hill with the air conditioning on... there arent two reverse gears... thats how used to pushing it i am.

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http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

So with the gear selector in "L" its supposed to be in second gear? I could swear when I have driven in that mode before it never goes beyond first, and you can rev it quite a ways, its probably at 4000rpm by 20mph or so, then I have shifted it manually to "S" and I am greeted with the JOLT of all jolts as what I am assuming is the 1-2 shift but at much higer rpm....so I avoid that gear (L) at all costs unless I am using it as a tractor out in the fields..... (I'm kidding)

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

I'm a gearhead....I use it every day......helps keep carbon from building up.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I like that.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]