Hey all - I did a search and I can't find any info on my specific problem so I'm forced to post.

My 93 300D has 207k on it now, original transmission, and lately is having trouble shifting from third to fourth.

From a stop, if I take off normally, like when I'm trying to get up to speed in a 30 mph zone, the car will shift flawlessly into 2nd, 3rd and 4th at exactly the correct time and do so perfectly smoothly.
However, say the car is pushed a little, to get on a highway for example, the trnasmission will hang up in third gear and try to take hte highway at 65 mph around 4000 RPM as opposed to 2800-3000 like it should.

I was told that becuase the transmission is shifting so smoothly when it DOES shift that the problem was not the transmission, but I don't know what it COULD be?

Hoping someone here has the answer, thanks!

__________________
-Sam
93 300D
210k - Sold, but not forgotten.

has it been serviced recently? i have seen filters come apart from being old, and cause this issue. cheap filters may do that as well

Are you getting any shift flare when going from 3rd to 4th? If you are cruising in 4th and use full throttle without using the kickdown button does the transmission "fall" out of 4th and flare?

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Fourings

84 Audi Coupe GT with Turbo engine, EFI (buh-bye CIS), Jamex seats, Koni's/H&R's, e-code lights. 210k and counting.
1992 Anthracite 400E, 161k, "Grey Ghost".
1986 VW Quantum Syncro, 192k, gone to the crusher in the sky.
1989 300TE 172k. (Was mine, now also Mom's car)
72 280SE 4.5 (Mom's car)

Yes I have been seeing this flare, the transmission will almost let loose and the car will rev up significantly as though the car is in neutral.

The car has been serviced recently, and any parts put into it have ALWAYS been OEM Mercedes Benz, or what MB recommends, so cheap parts are not the problem.

__________________
-Sam
93 300D
210k - Sold, but not forgotten.

ive seen many of post about the unexpected shift from 4 th to 3rd, on 92 or 93 300e. i have that problem and would like to know what the problem was eventually traced to.


thanks in advance

I saw the same problem on my mom's 89 TE. Of course it started acting up right after I sold it to her as she was driving home, to another state. I hadn't owned the car long, and the previous owner had gotten the transmission resealed.
Anyway, what I found when I pulled the whole thing apart was that one of the seals (there are two of them) that is on the "snout" of the front pump that seals the snout inside the K1 clutch assembly was leaking pretty badly. It looks like the seal was damaged when the previous tech re-installed the front pump during the reseal. It worked fine for a while, but eventually the seal kind of eroded and while it worked fine some of the time, the pump wasn't able to deliver enough volume to reliably keep the K1 clutch pack engaged.
I'm no expert on auto transmissions, and I wouldn't suggest that this is for sure what is wrong with yours, but it certainly could be. The good (if you can call it that) news is that if this is your problem you won't have to totally rebuild the transmission. If you pull the transmission, remove and reseal the front pump you will fix this. If this is your problem. Hopefully someone (you reading this C32AMG?) with more knowledge than me will chime in on this and know of something else that could be causing this that would be easier to check out/fix.
I'm sure I don't need to say this, but it is obviously better to avoid that shift flare when you can. The steels and friction disks in my mom's transmission left no doubt that the flaring gets them nice and hot.
I was thinking about it a little more and thought that perhaps the friction disks inside the K1 might be worn out, which could lead to the same problem. That too would be an easy fix once you have the front pump out. What you have to ask yourself then is if you just want to go and rebuild the transmission now that you have the whole thing out.

__________________
Fourings

84 Audi Coupe GT with Turbo engine, EFI (buh-bye CIS), Jamex seats, Koni's/H&R's, e-code lights. 210k and counting.
1992 Anthracite 400E, 161k, "Grey Ghost".
1986 VW Quantum Syncro, 192k, gone to the crusher in the sky.
1989 300TE 172k. (Was mine, now also Mom's car)
72 280SE 4.5 (Mom's car)

cheap parts are not the problem.there are two tiny filters in the trans in the small valve body serving the govenor.the one on the input side tends to block up.clean them out and the small valve body and all will be well.you need a lift to do this and some good tools and a little know how.if anybody is interested and has access to the above i can post detailed instructions.david poole european performance dallas tx.214-9567007.

now thats what i call a great answer