'99 E320 Tranny Failure

[rrodz]

Hi Guys,

This for a friend '99 E320 with 80K miles. The car kind of hesitate getting into 1st gear, then it does like a backslash when it gets in gear. When getting to a stop, close to the very stop, it grinds like a manual transmission when half clutch released and getting into gear, that grrrrrrrr sound. There is no tranny oil leaks.

The stealer says he needs a new tranny and went down from $5,800 to $4,000. I have heard a tranny is in the neighborhood of $7,500. This is the same stealer that quoted me $2,800 for a new steering rack when my indy found it the leak was not PS fluid but the front differential center seal which he fixed for $170. Every time you go to this stealer, they have new SA and new techs, like a real big turn over.

Does a new tranny sounds right? Could it be the Flex Plate, or Torque Converter? Does any of these going bad will ruin the tranny? The SA will not give him any more details than "you need a new tranny".

I just want to see if some had a similar experience and what the outcome was. I just want to help a friend.

Tomorrow we will take the car to my indy and hear his opinion. My indy goes by the book, and has the proper software. He is just 70 $/hr vs. the stealer at 105 $/hr, so the difference is not significant, but he is a very long time MB tech with a lot of experience.

Thanks,

Rene