luvdubs

Hi guys! I recently did the unwise- I bought a German car with unknown issues. The price was definitely right, though. I have a 98 ML320 that had a pop spilled into the console. After some research, I changed the shifter assembly and was able to drive it up and down the road a little bit at around 50 mph. There was an alarm beeper going the whole time I was moving faster than about 3 mph, both in Drive and Reverse. I suspect the beeper may have been related to the parking break, which was minimally engaged. I parked, then tried to put it into gear again. No gear will engage now. Should I be thinking low transmission fluid causing issues once it was warmed up? At start-up I noticed that in the odometer window it flashes a wrench and -32800. My generic OBD 2 scanner shows no DTC's. Thoughts?


More: Started it up this morning and it will go right into gear, but as it warms up it reverts to not engaging.

Maj. Dundee

When you say engaging, are you referring to the shifter or the transmission, or both?

luvdubs

The shifter moves through the range of gears just fine, but once the car has warmed up a little bit nothing happens when the shifter moves to each slot.

Maj. Dundee

I'm leaving in a short while and will be back at about 2PM. Can't answer now.

Maj. Dundee

Did you have this problem before you changed the shifter?

luvdubs

Before the shifter change, the previous owner says that it would drive normally sometimes, but occasionally the shifter would stay locked in drive, but it would act like it was in Low, which I'm thinking might have been limp mode. He said that he would occasionally take it 20 miles to the nearest town and it was often just fine.

Maj. Dundee

So does that mean that changing the shifter did noting at all. You are having the same problem as the previous owner.

When your turn the key to pos. #2 (not starting the eng.) do all the telltale lights illuminate, especially the CHECK ENG. LIGHT?

luvdubs

At the last position before engaging the starter all of telltales, including the check engine, come on.

Maj. Dundee

If there was a problem with the trans., especially if it goes into Limp Mode, the CEL would light up.

I have never heard of the shifter locking up in drive and not being able to shift into another gear.

Let me research this and I will get back to you.

Maj. Dundee

When the problem occurs, how do you get the shifter back into PARK?

luvdubs

The new shifter moves through the gears normally, whether the vehicle goes into gear or not.

luvdubs

The car will go into Park. This morning I drove it for about a mile and as I pulled into my driveway it must have been getting warmed up, because while in Drive it started slipping. Almost felt like it just faded away. I coasted down the driveway. I reved up the motor while I was coasting in drive, but I may as well have been in Neutral.

Maj. Dundee

This is very confusing to me. I was under the impression that once the truck got hot you were unable to move the shifter.

If I don't understand you, I cannot help you.

luvdubs

I'm sorry if I was unclear. Once it's hot, the truck doesn't move, no matter which gear I select. It won't roll when the shifter is put in Park, but I can move the shifter normally through all other positions and nothing happens.

Maj. Dundee

This is going to turn out to be a bad transmission. How you decided to buy this truck with a trans. problem is beyond me.

The first thing you must do is purchase a Dip Stick for a 722.6 trans.and with it you will be able to check the level, color and smell of the fluid.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...ick&_sacat=631

When you get the dip stick it, you must remove the protective cap lock, if it hasn't already been removed, and slowly insert the stick until it bottoms out. Understand that the dipstick is longer than the tube and does not remain in the trans. tube.