Hi All- Drove from Atlanta to Florida Tuesday no problem- 475 miles. Went out yesterday and after 20 mile drive pulled away from a slow crawl and trans acted completely disengaged. There's no chance the shifter got bumped, and dropping to 2nd or 1st did not get car moving. Stopped, put in reverse and backed up several feet then put in drive- all well. Same problem happened again about 15 minutes later, but drove fine for another 20 miles. Transmission service was performed two weeks ago, and fluild looks fine today. I drove the car this morning and it seemed fine, but am obviously concerned since I'll be driving the family back to Atlanta on Saturday. Any thoughts?

Hey,

Let me make sure I understand you correctly. It goes fine when driving slow. Then after about 20 miles of slow driving you sped up and the problem occured?

Steve

If the trans fluid is fine the other SIMPLE things I can think of are:

Shifter bushings - the shifter isnt quite selecting the correct gear.
Also check all vaccum connections, and basic things like that.

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1985 190E - Gone
1989 230E - Gone
1995 C200 - Gone
1993 280E 120000KM - Built like a brick, the best one yet

B2 piston is hanging up...common problem and there is a modified piston seal kit available.

Thats was the technical term I was looking for - didnt want to post with incorrect terms.

__________________
1985 190E - Gone
1989 230E - Gone
1995 C200 - Gone
1993 280E 120000KM - Built like a brick, the best one yet

So this B2 Piston- Assuming that's the problem can I drive the car at highway speeds the 475 miles back to Atlanta? I'm concerned that if I take it in to MB in Clearwater they might use the opportunity to insist I need a new trans. Would prefer my local guy to do the repair. As I said, it only happened at slow speed. Normal driving feels like it always did.

From what I understand, the B2 piston and band are required for all forward gears, and needs to be locked when driving to prevent wearing of the friction material.

If it's sluggish but eventually locks the band, you can drive it. If it slips while driving, you won't get very far, as the friction material will be wearing. It's hard to tell if it is slipping while driving since there is always some "slip" in the torque converter.

i would not drive it mostly cuz you've got your family with you ,
gonna have to take it to a shop b2 piston is hard to do if you don't have the right tools

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George,
96' bmw750il
2000 bmw 740i sprt
87' mbz 420sel
86' 560 sel
98 Ford F150 4x