Transmission Question
 

On a very cold morning I drove my '94 E420 to work, drove fine. When I went to come home it kept 'slipping' out of gear. I would start to move, then the transmission would disengage. Put it into neutral, back into drive, wait for it to engage, then start again and it would disengage again. Tried it around the parking lot for 10 minutes, kept happening, The same happened regardless of the gear I put it into, but if I put it into first and started off slowly I could get moving, then I would carefully upshift and I was able to get home. By the time I got home, everything seemed normal, no problems. Checked the transmission fluid, it was fine.

For what it's worth the shifts have been occasionally rough for the last few years, but nothing terrible.

Any ideas? Similar experiences?

Thanks!! -- Greg

Low pressure comes to mind. Clogged filter, worn pump, or several other things could be the cause.

What pump would that be?

The main pump at the front of the transmission.

Sorry for being dense, are you talking about the torque converter? The vacuum box/modulator?

Thanks -- Greg

The transmission has a transmission fluid pump at the front of the trans that is turned by the engine. I would try a transmission service including a fluid and filter change.

Yes, a fresh fluid and filter change is the base starting point. Then we'll go from there.

Old fluid can cause a lot of shifting issues with the 722.3 transmission.


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You haven't even told us the mileage yet. We have no reason to guess.

Change the fluid first, it's important you do that anyway if it's been awhile. If it doesn't improve from there, report back.

Also, tell us how the fluid looks. Does it smell burnt? Any particles in the fluid?

The pump is behind the torque convertor. You have to remove the transmission to get at it, so a fluid and filter change is a good and much cheaper and easier first step.