I am looking at buying a 1998 E300TD. It's been really well looked after for it's life, and is superbly tidy. Also very high spec, but has an odd fault. Driving along, it will just loose drive. If you coast to a stop and use the "manual" selectors, it will pick up drive again, and you're on your way.


I know this could be anything from low fluid level, through a cracked conductor plate, to a knackered trans. It has 195k on it, so could be anything.


Worst case, I have to pull the trans and swap it for a known-good one. (which I have in another car). How difficult is that on a W210 E300TD? Can anyone (who has actually done it!) give me a quick bullet-point howto? Things like, do you need to strip half the interior out?


I've had cars before where getting the box out means removing both front seats, most of the centre console and getting to the box from above. Is that necessary? Can you get to all the bellhousing bolts from below? Am I likely to rock the engine on it's mounts and rip the radiator to bits? Does the propshaft have to come off, or just tie to one side?



Any and all help most appreciated. The car is a beaut otherwise, and the other minor electrical gremlins don't worry me.. just how big-a-job is trans removal/refitting?

nothing removed from inside the car, the select lever has a bushing with a clip which you can remove from under, the front of the trans has a plug where the electrics go in, it has a park lever interconnect cable on the rear which you have to disconnect, then the dipstick tube too.

after that its pretty basic RWD transmission removal involving removing the D shaft, mounting and brackets, torque converter bolts and then unbolting from the engine - you will need some really long ratchet extensions to reach the top bolts from the very behind of the transmission.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Sounds straightforward enough. Presume you have to do the usual thing of unbolting the TC from the engine flexplate one bolt at a time by rotating the engine/gearbox as an assembly to get the bolt visible/accessable at the bottom, and then ensure the TC stays on the box and doesn't fall off.


Will the engine stay supported on it's own, or does that need additional support. I assume after the trans is removed it's just sitting on two engine mounts and hence can waft about rather a lot.

That is correct. Engine will stay in place but IIRC tilt forward which will require you to raise the front of the engine during re-install. As stated you will drop back of tranny and go over it from the back of the transmission to get to the upper tranny to engine fasteners. Straight forward job and with a lift and the right combination of jacks should be doable in about 4 hours (for me anyway).

__________________
Jim

Mine did that before the trans took a dump. Sometimes Felt like it was partially in gear and neutral. Wasn’t the gear shifter.

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1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero

Interesting. I am planning to just change the box out for a known-good unit, so may never actually find out what the issue is.


One thing that others have mentioned is the possibility of a split in the trans oil cooler built into the radiator side tank, and hence the trans full of water from the coolant. I may get a new rad just in case.

If there was water in it - you will see very milky ATF in there and if driven for about 100 miles or so - you would have a transmission that goes

P
N
N
N
N
N

rather than
P
R
N
D
3
2
1

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

That made me laugh rather more than it should have!



Given that it does drive, Maybe it's just a low fluid level. We'll see..