slipping in reverse
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 285
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From: Richmond, Va.
1991 300E
slipping in reverse
my 1993 300E is not fully engaging in reverse. Forward gears work fine, but recently when I shift into reverse, I don't get a positive shift into gear. When I shift into Drive I can feel the tranny shift and the body lurch forward somewhat, nothing serious just that strong initial shift into gear. When I shift into reverse I get nothing. Reverse has always taken longer to shift into gear than drive, but now when I shift into reverse, the car just sits there, then slowly starts to move. If I hit the gas at all, it tranny then jumps into gear and tries to spin the tires. Is my tranny shot? Thanks, Matt.
Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 114
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From: Washington, the State
1993 300CE Sportline
slow shifts
snip ""Reverse has always taken longer to shift into gear than drive, but now when I shift into reverse, the car just sits there, then slowly starts to move. If I hit the gas at all, it tranny then jumps into gear and tries to spin the tires. Is my tranny shot? Thanks, Matt. ""Snip.
I have a 1993 w/ 80,000+ miles. I have very slow shifts between forward and reverse compared to ALL other cars I have driven. However, shifting to revere is the slowest. I am going to have the trans fluid & filter changed soon. While I won't use the MB branded auto trans fluid due to the cost I'll use a brand on the MB spec list, probably Castrol.
How many miles do you have and what have been the fluid change intervals? If the prior intervals have exceeded the max mileage reccomended I would suggest doing a fluid/filter change and driving for 1,000 to 5,000 miles and change it again. Depends on the condition of the fluid when it comes out. If you have a shop do it be sure and WATCH so you have first hand knowledge of the fluid condition.
kurt
I have a 1993 w/ 80,000+ miles. I have very slow shifts between forward and reverse compared to ALL other cars I have driven. However, shifting to revere is the slowest. I am going to have the trans fluid & filter changed soon. While I won't use the MB branded auto trans fluid due to the cost I'll use a brand on the MB spec list, probably Castrol.
How many miles do you have and what have been the fluid change intervals? If the prior intervals have exceeded the max mileage reccomended I would suggest doing a fluid/filter change and driving for 1,000 to 5,000 miles and change it again. Depends on the condition of the fluid when it comes out. If you have a shop do it be sure and WATCH so you have first hand knowledge of the fluid condition.
kurt
Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 229
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From: San Antonio, Texas
2006 E500 AMG PKG/2010 Camaro SS/RS - 2007 F-150 - 2007 Suburban
This same exact thing happened to me - 2 weeeks ago. Forward was perfect - reverese, sometimes it moved very slow/sluggish - had to give it gas to get it to engage and then it would spin the wheels, etc... Your reverse bands are shot. If you wait too long, you will break some more parts in the tranny and then the whole thing will be shot.
Just my opinion.
Just my opinion.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 285
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From: Richmond, Va.
1991 300E
thanks for the advice
My car has 140,000k miles on it. I have changed the transmission fluid and filter within the last 5,000 miles. I noticed that the problem seems to happen once the transmission has warmed up. When starting the car cold, it shifts into reverse with no problem. Once things warm up is when the problems start. Also, my gear selector is very loose. Once out of park, the selector can be moved about 1/2 inch fore and aft without shifting it into another gear selection. Could it be that the selector is not fully engaging the reverse gear? I'm praying that this is the culprit and not anything with the tranny. Any easy way to check?
P.S. How much did it cost to replace the rear bands?
P.S. How much did it cost to replace the rear bands?
Last edited by mhorn; Aug 22, 2006 at 01:43 PM.
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Joined: Jul 2004
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2001 c320 - 2002 ml55 - 2011 c300 - 2014 slk350 - 2015 cla45
reverse band adjsutment screw?
on my 79 300d (105K miles) i had reverse problems also.... forward gears would worked fine but my reverse would barely work... basically only work if i was on a level surface.... i could not reverse up any kind of incline...
turns out the reverse band was broken... i think it was called the b3 piston/band... on the 300d there is actually a reverse band adjsutment screw that some people say becomes lose.... so... if this trans has it you might be able to tighten it....
in my case... the reverse band was broken.. so i basically had to get my trans rebuilt.... if your in kc... i know a place you could get it rebuilt for 1200... with a 2 year warranty... they had mine rebuilt in a day...... drop the car off in the morning... picked it up that afternoon...
-carino
turns out the reverse band was broken... i think it was called the b3 piston/band... on the 300d there is actually a reverse band adjsutment screw that some people say becomes lose.... so... if this trans has it you might be able to tighten it....
in my case... the reverse band was broken.. so i basically had to get my trans rebuilt.... if your in kc... i know a place you could get it rebuilt for 1200... with a 2 year warranty... they had mine rebuilt in a day...... drop the car off in the morning... picked it up that afternoon...
-carino
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 285
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From: Richmond, Va.
1991 300E
thanks for the advice
I'm going to have the shifter bushings replaced first. I figured I'd start with the cheap fix. Hopefully that will solve things. If not, then I realy have to think about keeping the car. With 140k miles, I really think it would be better to replace the whole tranny rather than just the reverse bands. Looking like about $3500 if I go that route. I don't know if I want to put that much into this car, murphy's law would be that right after i replace the tranny, the head gasket would blow. UGHHH!, keep your fingers crossed that it's just the shifter bushings. This is my third W124, the other two gave me zero problems, I guess my luck had to end sometime. Thanks, Matt.
Trending Topics
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2006
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Just got my sl320 back last week Reverse band was shot after it was taken apart forward bands were badly worn I put 93,000 miles on it never driven in the winter and the only driver. 3000.00 later ,
works like new Good luck!!!
works like new Good luck!!!
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Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 285
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From: Richmond, Va.
1991 300E
S.o.l.
I got the shifter bushings replaced, tranny still slips in reverse. Looks like I've got to bite the bullet. WTF, I always thought the transmissions in these cars were pretty solid. I guess 140k miles is about average life. With that many miles would you guys try and get just the reverse band rebuilt or go with a bew tranny?
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Joined: Feb 2006
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From: Henderson TN
95 E320 Wagon
Take it to a trusted independant transmission shop. My reverse locked up in my 95 (180,000 miles) but forward worked fine. He fixed the reverse, replaced all the clutches, and replaced a few seals for $1100 total, with him pulling it and reinstalling. HTH.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 285
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From: Richmond, Va.
1991 300E
can't find a rebuild guy
Everybody I've talked to in town says they would swap the whole thing. Apparently nobody wants to or has the expertise to rebuild mercedes transmissions. That includes both independant mercedes reapir shops in town. I can understand why, if i just dropped $1200 to repair reverse, and then 2 months later the forward gears drop out, I'd be pissed, but have no one to blame but myself. If I just got the reverse repaired, I'd probably sell the car. At least then I could get fair value for it and let somebody else play russian roulette with the tranny.
