Just installed my new K1 + K2 springs from the Superior Shift Kit
 

What a difference! It was worth the cost of the kit ($58) just for those two springs and the instructions. The car (83 SD) no longer flares at all on the 2>3 shift, I picked the middle setting for firmness and it was perfect. I now no longer have a "too soft, lazy" shift into 4th.

I must say though, if I had to do this based solely on their instructions I could not have done it. They may make sense if you work on tranny's for a living, I don't. It took some reading time here and elsewhere to figure it out, but it was worth it. If you knew what you were doing, you could do the K1 and K2 springs along with a fluid/flush. Adding the spring work only adds about 10 min. tops. I am very pleased with the result, my tranny shifts as it should. I should have taken pics but I didn't want to risk getting ATF on the wife's digital:eek:

If you didn't remove and open the valve body, you only experienced small fraction of the fun that the Superior Kit can offer!!!

I did mine last year. It did wonders for mine too. I had to tweak the VCV adjustment and Bowden cable too. But, the difference is night and day. It only adds a couple minutes to a trans. filter change.

I read where some people were breaking the plastic while snapping the thing together? I was really careful and lubed it up and it snapped right together with no issues.

I didn't snap anything together. Depends which firmness setting you pick. I just replaced the "spring train and metal or plastic pins" with their spring.

Where did you buy the kit?

Type "Superior Kit K722A-D" into your favorite search engine and you should find a fair number of sources.

For the record, the entire kit cannot be installed in a couple of minutes. Anything beyond the accumulator springs involves fairly major surgery. And potentially a lot of "trial and error."

Believe it or not..... Ebay.

Is this kit something that would be beneficial for older transmissions that are exhibiting shift issues that can still be compensated for with vacuum adjustments? My '83 transmission feels pretty good overall, but the 1-2 shift is a little bit firmer than what I suspect it should be. I've rebuilt transmissions a few times, so I'd be comfortable installing the complete kit if it seems like good pre-emptive maintenance for what will be a daily driver.

The kit has a spring for just that issue. Installing it requires removing and splitting the valve body.

I would recommend that you install only those springs that address problems that you actually have. Wholesale installation of the entire kit will cause new problems, despite the manufacturer's claims to the contrary.

Maybe the medication I am taking is muddling my brain, but let me state what I think that might mean. Feel free to correct my reasoning, or drug-induced lack of reasoning... :o

Your warning makes sense to me, if all of the adjustments are left as is. Would that still be an issue if one were to go through and properly adjust the pressure, vacuum, and cable after installing the entire kit? It seems to me that if things were properly readjusted after using the entire kit, that everything would be okay. It's only of concern to me because similar past experiences have taught me that replacing more transmission parts with in spec parts results in longer period of time before subsequent adjustments or fiddling become necessary. I have never worked on a Merc transmission, however, so my experience might not apply.

I'm taking too many medications to feel comfortable turning a wrench right now, but I think I can still think straight. I think... :inquisiti

Muleears,
Perfect timing! I'm doing the fluid filter change as soon as my superior shift kit arrives. We have the same tranny--I have an 84 SD.

Which of their springs did you switch out for the K1 & K2?

Thanks,
Jeff

I don't have the instructions in front of me but, IIRC (which is highly suspect), I replaced the three spring train in the K1 with the 1 purple spring from the kit. I chose the spring that gave the moderate shift firmness (not the softest and not the firmest). For the K2 I used whatever color was directed by the instructions, again replacing the whole spring train (and the plastic bits that hold them together) with just the one spring (with no plastic bits). I have only driven the car 7 miles so far and it worked fine. I'm still trying to get the fluid level correct though. I will drive it about 90 miles today, for my commute. If I have any problems I will note them here. In my case the accumulator (with the new spring) had to be compressed somewhat to get the cover plate back over it so it could be reattached. This concerned me at first with the K1 as it seemed longer than the old spring train. It fit with a little pressure to compress the spring. I followed these instructions, the pics helped a lot.

http://w123maintenance.blogspot.com/2008/02/k-1-spring-kit-replacement-and.html

In his case though, he is using the MB K1 kit, which apparently is for the softest shift because it keeps the 3 (or 2, depending on your tranny) spring train. In my case I replaced the entire assembly (spring and plastic bits that hold them together) with just the spring from the Superior kit. The K1 access hatch is on the forward end (drivers side) of the VB. The K2 hatch is on the same side but the access hatch is rear facing. Others talked about the screws holding the hatch covers being very tight, I did not find that to be the case with mine. I had a small ratchet that the slotted head screw driver bit fit into and they came out easily. Remember this is an aluminum VB so don't tighten too much. Having a screwdriver that fits the slot properly is a plus.

The instructions are not easy to interpret, if you have any questions, I would ask them here (on the forum) to avoid having to drop the pan numerous times. HTH.

Interesting writeup. My '83 300SD flares quite a lot from 1>2 gear, the rest are pretty normal. It's also flaring from 3>2. I think I should check the vacuum settings first, but this is something that I will probably look into doing on Spring. I really hate to work in the car in the winter...