300E Trans Flaring
 

I have been fighting with flaring in the shift from 2nd to 3rd. The vacuum modulator is new. It has been adjusted several times and the flaring continues. The vehicle has about 150K miles and every other function of the trans is smooth and tight. Is there a band adjustment that can be made to fix the flaring? I recall reading somewhere that a tech from Peter Schmid suggested that this was a very early sign of the trans needing to be rebuilt. He suggested that once the bands start to get hung up it was a sign of expensive things to come.

Can anyone verify that there is a temporary band adjustment that is possible?

Have you had the control pressure cable properly adjusted??

My tech has played with advancing the shift time and delaying the shift time, it corrected it to some extent, but the flaring lives on! It only flares when its cold, once the fluid heats up, it shifts better.

Well??. Try a fluid and filter change...Also, have the operating pressures checked.

I have had the trans fluid flushed 4 times in the last two months and the filter was also changed the on the first flush. Its very frustrating... I can live with the flare if I have to, but its disappointing to think that it can't be fixed without rebuilding the whole trans.

I'd have another tech look at it before condemning the transmission. Find someone who knows MB transmissions. The vacuum modulator could be out of adj or the Bowden cable as was suggested earlier.

How's the fluid level? 10mm below cold line at first start-up and at the max line after 15-20 miles on the highway?

Mike: The fluid is right on the cold line. Should it be below the line? If so, what does this affect?

MB maint manual indicates that on a cold start-up, the fluid should be 10mm below the lower line(cold measurement). Once fully warmed up(15-20 miles of driving), the line should be at the top mark.

I've heard it said here and on other sites that the most accurate measurement is taken when warm. I'm not a professional tech., but from my experience, I see the same whether the measuremnt is taken cold or warm. If I measure cold and it's 10mm below the cold line, it will also be right on the upper line(hot measurement) after 15-20 miles of driving.

I suppose yours could be slightly over-filled. I recently paid to have some work done and after picking up the car I discovered the tech had over-filled the transmission. The fluid was a good inch to inch and a half above the full line for a hot measurement. I didn't notice any difference in shift quality, but I did immediately remove the excess by draining some from the transmission pan. In my case that involved the removal of a drain plug accessed with a 5mm allen head wrench.

A great resource might be www.transonline.com.

Once there, on the left side, click TransID; ID your trans and it should have all the help you need.

Good luck!

David, I just tried the www.transonline.com and it wouldn't come up. Are you sure of the spelling? It sounds like an interesting site.

I just tried www.transonline.com, and it worked for me??


**2 minutes later**
I just clicked on the link, and it wouldn't work either... hmm? I just typed it in and it works for me, so give it a try.

or http://www.transonline.com

SOLVED! CLICK THIS!
 

Ok, the http seemed to do it!

http://www.transonline.com

There was a DTB on the .3 trannys doing this. K2 accumulator spring kit. Available for about 5 bucks from Benz. Follow the instructions in the kit or if you can find them I'll fax you a blow up of the valvebody and the accumulators location. There also is a kit for 3-4 upshift.

However, its its been doing this for awhile, the clutch pack is probaly worn and the apply piston leaking as well whichh means overhaul time. Do yourself a favoe, KEEP the old spring and piston as you'll want them if you do overhaul it. I fought one for a couple days with a super hard 2-3 shift that turned out to have this kit in the valvebody. Once I reinstalled the old style spring and valve in K2 accumulator it shifted great.


Joe