I'm new to the forum here; any help would be greatly appreciated. I have run the trans-x flush, then drained and refilled both torque converter and trans, replaced filter, fluid was clean to start with though. I did not use synthetic oil, just Valvoline dex/merc.

I removed the blue flying saucer (was my biggest issue) and adjusted the VCV, the transmission shifts fantastic when warm, but flares until warmed up fairly well. I have seen some posts on maybe replacing the modulator to fix this? Anyone have the same issue that has solved it?

Oh, the thermal switching valve has been removed as well, my understanding is that makes it shift softer when cold? It didn't seem to change much. I was actually thinking of hooking that valve up to bleed off vacuum when the car is cold, seems like it might work if nothing else does..

The car does have a slightly harsh 1-2 shift when warmed up, but not terrible...

On a side note, the car is fantastic. It starts right up even when ~35 degrees, has tons of power, never smokes and consistently gets 26-30 mpg. I think the engine is in top condition.

If you have an 85 CA considering removing your cat/oxidizer; my recommendation would be DO IT. I read some people saying it wouldn't do much; my experience is: In 15+ years working on cars, other than a supercharger it was the single biggest improvement to any car I have done. Mine had the updated cat/ox and it was not plugged, but it felt like I gained 20hp and it spools up way faster. I gained ~2-3mpg too. I welded the pipe in place myself, was not too bad to do.

While we're at it, I'm quite tempted to put a 2wd Toyota 5 speed transmission in the car, it seems the autos are the only weak link in these wonderful cars. I know an adapter plate is available, just have to find some pedals and hope it would fit ok... I've done diesel conversions on Toyotas, I doubt it can be that bad (famous last words!)...

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Jake, 15 years working on Toyota's for a living, self employed now- Landcruiser restorations.
1985 W123 300D CA emissions, 225K miles; deleted cat/oxidizer, all EGR removed
1997 Supercharged 4runner desert buggy
1993 Cummins D250 ~250hp 650 ft lbs, keeping it mild
1978 Honda CVCC Civic, the tiny collectable
1994 F350 4x4 crew (soon to receive the cummins)
2003 Tacoma DC, the wifes/camping
1983 John Deere 310C (Backhoe, for work)

Welcome to the forum ElJaco

The transmission you've probably got fitted to your car is a 722.3 - these are considered to be the best Mercedes transmissions of the era - the 722.1 is less well thought of...

Take a look at your throttle linkage to the transmission and make some vacuum measurements. Take a look at this thread on BW for a whole load of information.

DIY W123 Transmission Diagnose and Adjustment 722.xx OM 616-7 - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Thanks Army,

I have sorted out all the vacuum issues, have tested vacuum at modulator (have about ~9 at idle, vcv works great to drop as throttle is opened), tested modulator for leaks, adjusted VCV to my liking. It shifts fantastic when warm, couldn't ask for much more, but cold is a different story.

__________________
Jake, 15 years working on Toyota's for a living, self employed now- Landcruiser restorations.
1985 W123 300D CA emissions, 225K miles; deleted cat/oxidizer, all EGR removed
1997 Supercharged 4runner desert buggy
1993 Cummins D250 ~250hp 650 ft lbs, keeping it mild
1978 Honda CVCC Civic, the tiny collectable
1994 F350 4x4 crew (soon to receive the cummins)
2003 Tacoma DC, the wifes/camping
1983 John Deere 310C (Backhoe, for work)

So what's your definition of cold? How far do you need to drive before it is shifting as you like it?

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Have you done a live vacuum test, T'ing a gauge into the vacuum line to the transmission and driving it cold and hot to see if there is any variation in the vacuum numbers? If not, I'd do it.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

i have the same problem, although i have a 722.120. it needs about 15 minutes before it stops flaring .

I have tested vacuum, with a gauge in the car- does not change at all from cold to warm. Takes about the same amount of time as sleepstar said to warm up and work properly, it's proportional too meaning halfway warmed up it flares half as bad. There is minimal controls on the vacuum, in fact the VCV only...

I assume it's in the valve body or transmission since the vacuum doesn't change from cold to warm. Maybe switching to synthetic would help, I don't know how much better it flows when cold.

What I find strange is that I think this is the opposite of a healthy trans, from my understanding a healthy one would shift hard when cold if it didn't have the thermal switching valve...

Edit: Also the 1-2 shift shifts soft instead of it's usual hard when cold, it seems that all gears are affected by the condition the same it's just that 1-2 normally shifts hard, so when cold it shifts normal.

__________________
Jake, 15 years working on Toyota's for a living, self employed now- Landcruiser restorations.
1985 W123 300D CA emissions, 225K miles; deleted cat/oxidizer, all EGR removed
1997 Supercharged 4runner desert buggy
1993 Cummins D250 ~250hp 650 ft lbs, keeping it mild
1978 Honda CVCC Civic, the tiny collectable
1994 F350 4x4 crew (soon to receive the cummins)
2003 Tacoma DC, the wifes/camping
1983 John Deere 310C (Backhoe, for work)

i've been told that my problem may be the front internal pump. i havent completed vacuum testing yet though. i guess maybe when the fluid is cold and less viscous, it doesnt quite do the job, but when it warms up it does. that is just conjecture though.

Interested in how you make out on this....I've recently replaced my modulator and that CURED the 3 to 4 and SIGNIFICANTLY improved the 2 to 3 which still flares ONLY when cold. I had planned to fiddle with the modulator pressure and VCV to see if I could correct that, other wise put in a new K1 spring as they're cheap. I still have the superior shift correction kit sitting on the shelf, for 65 bucks I didnt want to open it if I didnt need it.

__________________
-SpecialDelivery
1985 300CD Silver/Blue H&R Suspension (Sold, still cryin over that)
1982 300SD Silver/Blue '85 OM617 (Sold)
1982 300D - Blue/Blue (Sold)

Thanks for the tip, I did see this: http://www.**************.com/node/7290

Edit: It's a modulator on mercedes source.com website, I guess peach doesn't like the link, but it says this: The new version has a better built and more efficient vacuum containment chamber and the trust pin material was modified and the pin slightly lengthened to reduce variations in pin length with extreme temperature changes. Modifications were made to improve cold start shifts from 1st to 2nd gear and reduce flaring when shifting between 3rd and 4th gear. There are other things that can cause problems with poor shifting, so there is no guarantee this new part will fix them. But due to the cost and ease of installation this is a good place to start.

It says that it improves cold shifting/flaring. But it doesn't say it's for an 85? It does say it's for the 722.3, does anyone know if it will fit my 85?

I hope I can figure it out, seems to be a problem some of us have but hasn't been solved by many.

__________________
Jake, 15 years working on Toyota's for a living, self employed now- Landcruiser restorations.
1985 W123 300D CA emissions, 225K miles; deleted cat/oxidizer, all EGR removed
1997 Supercharged 4runner desert buggy
1993 Cummins D250 ~250hp 650 ft lbs, keeping it mild
1978 Honda CVCC Civic, the tiny collectable
1994 F350 4x4 crew (soon to receive the cummins)
2003 Tacoma DC, the wifes/camping
1983 John Deere 310C (Backhoe, for work)

You can get the same parts here cheaper, plus you're supporting the board...and in my opinion Roy and Phil will give you superior service. Plus you can actually get them on the phone. I've made a couple of purchases from Mercedes Source .com ....however, they're generally expensive and when I had an issue with a leak (turned out it was the hardline not the injector) and THOUGHT it might have been an injector....I had some email correspondence going with them about it, since I bought rebuilt injectors from them. I asked about their process of rebuilding the injectors..I wanted to know if they lapped them as part of the SOP. While they were quick to try to sell me a lapping kit (over priced sandpaper and threadlocker) they would not answer my question of if the injectors were lapped as part of the rebuild...asked them THREE time...silence... called them THREE TIMES...left messages. That pisses me off...tell me the TRUTH, don't hide behind your computer and answering machine. They are now my LAST resort for a part or advice. Example, instead of buying their kit for the timing chain, I'm going to work with Roy here and piece together my own on FastLane.

__________________
-SpecialDelivery
1985 300CD Silver/Blue H&R Suspension (Sold, still cryin over that)
1982 300SD Silver/Blue '85 OM617 (Sold)
1982 300D - Blue/Blue (Sold)

I think it's pretty silly they sell "manuals", I asked them if they had a manual that supported the blue flying saucer models and got an automated reply, "we get too many e-mails", basically go to hell. That pissed me off too. Haha, thanks for the heads up. I just found that description and wanted to share that, that's all.

__________________
Jake, 15 years working on Toyota's for a living, self employed now- Landcruiser restorations.
1985 W123 300D CA emissions, 225K miles; deleted cat/oxidizer, all EGR removed
1997 Supercharged 4runner desert buggy
1993 Cummins D250 ~250hp 650 ft lbs, keeping it mild
1978 Honda CVCC Civic, the tiny collectable
1994 F350 4x4 crew (soon to receive the cummins)
2003 Tacoma DC, the wifes/camping
1983 John Deere 310C (Backhoe, for work)

dont get me wrong, Kent is VERY knowledgeable and I have learned alot from watching his videos and his manuals are VERY comprehensive....for $35 bucks its not bad to have ALL the info that a 30+ year tech can compile on a subject all in one place, offline...so you can read it wherever

and the injectors are NOT leaking and the value was good...

it's just their customer service skills are lacking a little bit

__________________
-SpecialDelivery
1985 300CD Silver/Blue H&R Suspension (Sold, still cryin over that)
1982 300SD Silver/Blue '85 OM617 (Sold)
1982 300D - Blue/Blue (Sold)

I ended up routing the VSV for cold shifting to bleed off vacuum from the vcv when the engine is cold (to make it shift firmer). Seemed to help a bit, although it shuts off and doesn't bleed off before the trans is completely warmed up, don't get those first few nasty flares though...

__________________
Jake, 15 years working on Toyota's for a living, self employed now- Landcruiser restorations.
1985 W123 300D CA emissions, 225K miles; deleted cat/oxidizer, all EGR removed
1997 Supercharged 4runner desert buggy
1993 Cummins D250 ~250hp 650 ft lbs, keeping it mild
1978 Honda CVCC Civic, the tiny collectable
1994 F350 4x4 crew (soon to receive the cummins)
2003 Tacoma DC, the wifes/camping
1983 John Deere 310C (Backhoe, for work)

I know what the VCV is but what is a VSV?

__________________
-SpecialDelivery
1985 300CD Silver/Blue H&R Suspension (Sold, still cryin over that)
1982 300SD Silver/Blue '85 OM617 (Sold)
1982 300D - Blue/Blue (Sold)