Hey all, im new to the forum. My name is william and i am 16 years old. I recently purchased a automatic 240D with 112,000 origional miles on it. I drove it home 250miles. It did fine but i want to make sure that it will last. I know they last a long time but the automatic transmission is worrying me. The mechanic at the dealer said that it all checked out and it ran fine but im not sure if i trust him. When i drive the engine revs up really high and it dosent shift up unless i let the pedal completly out, if i keep pressing the pedal it shifts up rough and jerks the whole car. When i first got the car it had no transmission fluid in it. We filled it up and it kept having that problem. Do i have a bad tranny or can i do somthing to make it shift smooth??

Thanks!

You might be experiencing normal transmission behavior. When they are running right, the shifts on the older Mercedes automatics are a lot firmer than most American transmissions. The shift points should be kind of high on a 240D compared to most other cars, because the engine doesn't make a whole lot of power, and what little it does comes at high (for a diesel) rpm.

On the other hand, it's also quite possible that you have a vacuum problem. The shift points and quality (firmness) on these transmissions are controlled by vacuum signal. If you have a leak somewhere in the system, this can cause the vacuum to the transmission to be less than it should be, resulting in harsh shifts. You didn't say what kind of dealer you bought your car from, or how much experience they have with Mercedes. I suggest you get your car to an experienced Benz mechanic for a closer look.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

It was a sketchball dealership, i wanted it because of the low mileage. So it might be a leak somewhere from the vacum pump thingy (??) to the transmission. Oh and since i dont think the dealer really did any major mantinince to the car should i get the valves adjusted. What other major things should i have done at 112,0000 miles?

What year is your 240? It will make a difference as to what type of auto tranny you have and what makes it shift.......
Oh, and if you were at a used car dealer, yes they were ripping you off. You need to find a good independent mechanic to handle the things you can't.
Welcome, and congrats on the car. 240D with auto tranny is a good car for a 16 year old.....

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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

haha yea i dont need to go fast.... that will keep me out of trouble, just ride slow and impress those ladies . Its an 82, ive been on diesel giant and have seen a bunch of things that i can replace on my car. B piston (maybe), Transmisson Vacuum Valve Levers, injector nozzles, valve adjustment. Im going to start running B10 through it so i dont think i need to a diesel purge rightt?

Gotta learn how to feather the pedal, anticipating each shift and backing off to let it happen. After awhile you'll be able to regulate shifts using the pedal, holding gears long as ye like. Notice it smooths out when warmed up whereas operating cold it will kick like a mule - normal healthy behavior. Its when the car 'flares' between shifts you oughta worry. Meanwhile the 240D engine always sounds like its about to explode, dont be psyched out driving a car that pulls like a tractor.

haha thanks, its so different i used to drive a 93 caddilac deville. Its definately difffernt but i love the car.
Thanks everyone!

Think about adjusting the valve clearances yourself. The saving the first time will pay for the special wrenches. The valve clearances need checked every 15k. Good instructions in archives.

Only the first time is a little hard if even that. Same with a lot of other required minor jobs on the 240d. Read the archives to get the hang of things. With this site I do not know how you could go wrong. The earlier you start in life the more money you save.

For exmple if you keep the car for another 150k thats 10 times that job should be done. You will save at least a thousand dollars less the one time aquisition of the special wrenches. Actually if you have a friend with welding equipment you could make a set up yourself far cheaper than buying them..

What's your location? and lets have some pictures. On ly around 100K is nothing for a 240D. My 81 had almost four times that when I junked it. And of course I really regret it now. They are great cars to learn basic wrenching on. I have no mechanical training at all but I replaced the radiator, hoses, drivers seat valve cover gasket and did a valve adjustment myself all with the assistence of this forum and Diesel Giant. I also did some interesting surgery on the air cleaner mouting which needed new threads threaded into the aluminum air housing. This forum is an invaluable resource.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I have an '82 240D automatic and am working on the rough-shift issue myself.
First thing to look at is whether the vacuum lines are correct (mine aren't).
Print this out:
http://home.comcast.net/~phantoms/vacuum/fuel_egr_240d_auto.jpg
And go look at your car and see whether that's how things look.

If not, step 1 is to restore the lines to how they should be. It's possible that as the car's aged it now needs a different color orifice than it has. You can get them at Benz dealers.

You may wish to read this thread (it's long) on this topic, and in particular the linked article by Steve Brotherton.

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1982 240D automatic
Odometer quit at 307K...about 325K now

congrats on the 240. I now have 2 of them. Get a mity vac from Harbor Freight, the US general model for under $20. This will become invaluable in diagnosing all your vac problems, incl trans shifting, braking, door locks, climate control, and more. I got into cars early and have owned over 500 cars. Now in my 50's, I still have 16 vehicles.
Enjoy it. Don't let the car own you. You own the car.