I had the same problem as you and I just had my 722.4 rebuilt by a real transmission master. He's been doing it since he was 15 and is now 50 and knows a lot. I had mine rebulit because I didn't have reverse. Then when i got it back in I had the same problem as you -- bowden cable and kickdown had no effect on shift points. It went to 4th right away by the time it was at 20 mph. but manual shifting it did great. So I took it to him to let him drive and he said its the valve body. There is a collpased spring in there behind the bowden cable spring and you have to get a new one or used valved body to fix it. You can't get parts easy at all for them .

My other W124 does same thing and it has rebuilt trans too. So I'm just not luck y i guess. So i'm looking for valve bodies. I'll let you know if that does it.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

That was pretty much my diagnosis. I don't know if mine is worth rebuilding as the 722.3 is so much stronger. If the one I've got in there now fails I think I'll just rebuild that one. Even if I found a valve body there is no guarantee that the clutches would be any good.

Thanks for your info.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Well I tried it and I've been very happy with the 722.3x transmission running with the 722.4x transducer setup (blue saucer device). Just for fun, I eliminated the transducer from the equation and hooked up the system using just the VCV as the transmission would have had originally. It was not nearly as good, so I reset the vacuum lines for the transducer setup.

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Figured I would bring this thread back to life since I've been having the exact same problems with my 92 300d.

It started about a year ago. I was leaving work and heard a clunk starting off going up a hill. From then on, I had no more kickdown and when in "d" the trans would quickly upshift to 4th. the Bowden cable looks ok and moves freely. It does and always did the flare shifting from 2nd to 3rd under light load.

I would love to do a manual trans swap but don't really see that being an option right now. The car has 256k on the clock and everything else is perfect. I've been manually shifting and it shifts great but wouldn't mind fixing the actual problem.

Interested if the "collapsed spring" behind the valve body was the culprit. If anyone else has some suggestions I'm open to them. Exact symptoms as Mach described.

Exact symptoms as described by Mach. 1991 300D, transmission is in 4th gear by 15-20 mph. Bowden cable is attached to transmission and has tension. Gears are fine when shifting manually. Reasearched this issue from every angle over the past year. Changed fluid, adjusted throttle linkage, etc. no change. Disconnected Bowden cable by the valve cover, no change. Tomorrow, I plan on dropping pan and valve body and look for this "stuck" spring not allowing the pressure control (Bowden) cable to do its job. Does anyone have any tips or advice on what I am looking for? I know that when removing valve body I should keep it upright or I will be in a world of hurt. Again, any suggestions, thoughts, or advice is welcomed and needed. -Scott