first of all let me start off by saying god bless u all. Any way i'm the proud owner of a 1981 300sd given to me as a gift. never really drove yet trying to take care of a few minor problems first. Started it up today and tried to take it around the block and the tranny slips like crazy, i think this is what it does. it engage in drive fine but when i give it gas the engine revs real high and it jumps into gear and start to roll it pick up spped and the engine revs high and it jumps into the next gear, I got it up to about 40mph and had to stop i tried to take off again and the engine revs real high and jumps into gear it does this throughout all of the gears i think. Now being a newbie what do i do? those this sound like a vacuum leak or do i look for something else i know the tranny is not shot or it would'nt drove at all is there a shift lever i need to adjust any any info would be helpful.

thanks
kevin

I've heard of some other members using Trans-X, an additive available at good old Wal Mart, but it sounds to me like the tranny is shot. I'd be willing to bet the fluid smells burnt. I'd also bet the clock shows about 250k.

I'm not an expert so lets see what some of the gang says before throwing in the towel....

Cheers,

Bill

Vac leaks will cause hard/quick shifts...

To test if you are getting too MUCH vac, unhook the line that goes down to the transmission (black line going behind the oil filter tower)
if your engine doesn't shift any different...you are looking at internal problems on your tranny.

For the info...I have 283k on my 300SD (origional trans) and it still hooks up the gears real well Not one bit of flaring...still a tire barker...

start by checking the fluid level. The transmission you have (722.3) is very finicky with regard to fluid level. Too low will easily cause what you are describing. Also, do NOT overfill. Check fluid level while fluid is hot, on level ground, in park. Let it settle for 2 minutes or more. Add a little at a time. Then let us know if it still acts the same.

__________________
'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.