HELP!!! Recently purchased a 93 300E 3.2L for my wife (our first MB). This evening while leaving our townhome complex, while turning, I all of the sudden had no forward gears. Reverse works fine, just can't go forward.

I was at barely a crawl and no load on the RPM's. Shutdown and restart has no effect. Locks and brakes still work fine which I thought would suffer if this was a vacuum issue?

Did notice on one previous occassion, again at low RPM, that the tranny clunked and even slipped a bit before going from 1st to 2nd. At all other times, the trans shifted smoothly. This was a one owner car, per carfax, and the owner clearly was meticulous about maintaing the car. Clocks in at 114,000 on the OD and absolutely everything functions, which shocked me.

Please, someone tell me I'm not looking at replacing a tranny ... no warranty on this used purchase and only a week into ownership.

Wow, it sure sounds like a B2 piston failure in this transmission.

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1960 MB 190Db w/ full sunroof
1985 Toyota Pickup
2006 Honda Odyssey EXL R&N
2001 VW Jetta GLS TDI

Check out this site to learn more about the B2 piston problem. The good news is that, if this is what the problem is, you don't need an overhaul. The transmission may, however, need to be removed to access the B2 piston (I am not sure about this).
Steve


http://business.baylor.edu/Richard_Easley//autofaqs/b2piston.htm

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Steve
'93 400E

Oh Well, One has to assume that a B2 failure is better than the entire tranny going "Kerplunk". I printed out the article that was linked and will call up a flatbed to haul it over to the local MB repair shop which has an excellent reputation for not "sticking it" to their customers.

Thanks for the help and related link.

Randy

Yeah, not the best possible news -- but not nearly the worst, either.

The good news is that if we're right about this, for a few hundred bucks you can get your transmission back, and with good maintenance probably get another 75-100k miles before overhaul/replacement. Not a bad deal if you look at it that way!

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Steve
'93 400E

which shop in santa clarita? i live nearby and am still scouting for a shop.

you can do a search for a thread called "best shops in your area" or something. theres a few good shops mentioned there that are relatively close to you.

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

Neanderthal,

Word around town for several years is that BensTek in Canyon Country is a really good place to take your MBZ.

I emailed the dealer where I bought the car and said that I realized that they are under no obligation to do so, but if they could see their way clear to extend some goodwill and meet me half way on this, then it would sure go a long way toward me sharing my experience as from being absolutely horrible (original sales meeting was a disaster) to actually quite well (re-contact with the actual used car salesman patched some hard feelings).

I, shortly after sending the email, received a call from the above mentioned sales manager who said he would see what they could do. He also is taking another Benz (just taken in) to Bens Tek in the morning and said he would probably see me there. He also said that his dealership sends all incoming MBZ's to Bens Tek, which in itself was a not too bad endorsement.

I'll let you know how it turns out with both Bens Tek and the as yet unnamed dealer.

Randy

Well, here is the current status. The #2 band busted (a not too common occurence according to the mechanic). As for Bens Tek, so far I'm impressed. Small Merc certified shop with 2 Merc mechanics. The owner/head mechanic has been very informative and has shown me a lot about my engine since he had one in the shop that was totally torn down. He is going to do an onsite complete rebuild of the tranny and will warranty it for 4 years and 100,000 miles with the caveat that oil and filter are changed every 30,000 miles. Not a bad warranty as far as I can tell.

Now as for the dealership, they are Power Honda of Valencia (formerly Valencia Honda). They came just short of telling me to go pound sand up my a$$. They at first told Bens Tek that they were going to do everything possible to help me out on this since they felt really bad. Then I delivered the check the bank had sent for the car and they suddenly forgot how to pronounce my name. They told me there was absolutely nothing they would do for me to help with the $3,300.00 outlay of cash that I now have to cough up. Now, before they got their check they did decide to rent me a car for 3 days. So in the end I end up with a 3 day rental car for a two week job and the full burden of the financial blow. Oh well, lessons learned in life.

One thing I can now say, is I should have listened to the two separate persons who told me to avoid doing any business with Power Honda of Valencia. So let me add my own warning, if anyone out there in So Cal is thinking of doing business with Power Honda of Valencia .... DON'T DO IT! SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT, IT WILL BE LESS PAINFUL!