trans. fluid ran dry in a 1995 C220.....TOAST?
 

my wife called on the cell, stranded, 3 miles from home because the car started slipping so bad it wouldn't move forward. i arrived to rescue. the car ran in reverse just fine but not forward. in drive, i revved the engine and it started slipping forward, then moving, still slipping. after a mad slipping dash home, i checked the fluid...dry. so i put in 2 quarts so it shows full on the stick.

BUT the car still doesn't move forward unless i WAY rev the engine.

what have i destroyed or what can i do? thanks

ps. i found a place online that says they can do a 'soft parts' rebuild for $1300...sounds good but i wonder how many hundreds more for hard parts....and the infamous torque converter....(is it toast?)

I would start hunting for a parted out vehicle and get the tranny. I'm not sure how far your wife drove it dry, but I'd say it's probably beyond a "soft rebuild". Pull the tranny pan off and inspect for metal shavings...that might give you a better indication.

I guess the real question is, how did the tranny run itself dry?! Hose? Gasket?

thanks....i'll start lookin. i guess i still wonder why, when the fluid was put back in, that didn't at least make SOME difference.

You aren't alone...mine flares a lot, and neither the K1 install nor modulator adjustments nor switching to synthetic fluid solved the problem. So my backup sits quietly in the garage awaiting a future swap:

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...r/IMG_0369.jpg

i would set aside any assumptions on the condition of the tranny until you make sure you have enough fluid in there.if it was dry to the point of not functioning 2 litres is not going to do it.i beleive more like 8 litres is needed to fill tranny and torque convertor:)

I have a 1988 420 SEL that quit moving forward one day right in the middle of heavy traffic near DC. I had the same thing of reverse but not much forward. I got it into a parking area and found a dry dipstick. I put in two quarts and it has run fine since. That was about a year and a half ago. Since then I put in part of a quart to bring it up. Also that was about 4 thousand miles back. Maybe I was lucky. Jerry