E320 CDI Five-speed Holding On To Lower Gear

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E55BOF

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Oh B***R! I know I've just sold the car, but the buyer is a decent, honest bloke and I feel obliged to help.

The gearbox would sometimes hold on to (particularly) first or second for longer than I would like, especially after a cold start, but I put that down to the way it was set up with the diesel engine and the need to reduce emissions. It occasionally did it when warm if it dropped down to first, but the Tiptronic shift would always sort it (and probably still will, for the moment; the buyer didn't know about the Tiptronic facility. I've told him about it now.).

There was never any problem cruising on the motorway. However... I had a text from him this morning: "Nice car. Powerful car I must say. Very weird gear ratio on this one. 90 mph 3500 rpm!"

As I said, Oh B****r! It never did that to me, but there's obviously a problem, and I have to help. My first thought is that a gearbox oil change should sort it; am I likely to be right? And secondly, he lives in SE15, so can anyone recommend a good indie in the area?
 
Gearbox fluid may sort it, More likly the Conductor plate
 
The plot thickens... The buyer says h'e had it checked over - no idea by whom - and it appears to have a faulty torque converter. Would that fit the symptoms?

I really do need to find a good indie in his area; I'm not trying to get out of it, but I'd like to have it looked at by somebody I can trust to get a diagnosis.
 
The symptoms and his description of the car feeling really powerful don't readily indicate a torque converter - I'd be expecting flared shifts etc.

Conductor plate is the most likely culprit, STAR codes should give warning signs. Possibly check the wiring harness connector for signs of leaking too.
 
Checked over by a company called General Transmissions in Brockley, SE4.
 
He's just taken it for a local run, and says it seems to be revving up during upshifts, which could be the TC, I suppose, but could equally well be low fluid. There are no funny noises, and it is selecting all the gears. There's an ex-MB tech indie local to him that he knows, so I've asked him to go there for a diagnosis.

And apparently it's an intermittent fault.

The local man is Prestige Auto Service Centre, Brockley. Does anybody know of him?
 
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Prestige Auto Services are useless; they don't have a Star, but they use the same diagnostic kit as main dealers do, which isn't a Star...:rolleyes:

Anybody know an indie in SE London who DOES know what he's doing?
 
I reckon he's telling the truth, and it was stuck in fourth on the motorway; he didn't know about Tiptronic.

I don't think he knows a great deal about cars, but an intermittent fault sounds more and more like an electrical fault, i.e. the conductor plate. Unless, of course, it's filled up the transmission ECU with leaking fluid from the connector plug wicking up the cable sheath. I'd forgotten about that possibility until now.

If only he were just round the corner from Terry Gates...
 
If the conductor plate (which it sounds like) then it will stick in the gear it is in when the fault occurs. He needs to have the codes read and printed so you can see them and confirm the faults. It's nice of you to offer some help after a private sale - hats off to you.

Doesn't sound like torque converter to me, that info may be coming from someone who is not familiar with MBs. No point doing an ATF change if it's the plate as you need to drain it anyway.
 
Terry reckons it will be the valve bodies.

And it gets worse... I've just had a text from the buyer showing 120 on the temperature gauge. Oh b****r B****R B****R!

He's going to get the codes read on Monday, and we'll take it from there.
 
Possible, but I hope not. There was an old thread (dating back to 2012, I think, and posted by Black C55) which contained the MB bulletin relating to this problem, and as I recall, the symptoms were quite different from those this car has shown.

It hasn't lost any coolant, he says, and I suspect the overheating problem may well just be a duff fan - poor connection, or duff fan control module.

I think the best solution may be for me to bite the bullet, take it away and have Terry Gates put it on Star, and make a decision to repair or scrap it based on what he finds.
 
Drove completely normally this morning, except for what he describes as being 'a bit sluggish in second gear'. Coolant level normal, coolant pink and no sign of oiliness. Temperature held at 90 degrees throughout. No 'coolant visit workshop' message yesterday either, but the electric fan was not running when it was indicating very hot.

:dk::dk::dk::dk::dk:

Going up to Terry Gates on Wednesday, then we'll see.
 
Terry reckons it will be the valve bodies.

And it gets worse... I've just had a text from the buyer showing 120 on the temperature gauge. Oh b****r B****R B****R!

He's going to get the codes read on Monday, and we'll take it from there.

This sounds more likely that the plate actually. Depends if it is sticking in gear (eg if stuck in 4th when you come to a stop it will move off in 4th and no manual controls) or if it's sluggish.
 
The 'box responds normally to Tiptronic commands.

The temperature shot up again later today, and dropped again when the car moved off, so that issue is the fan, which is definitely not working, though he definitely isn't getting the 'coolant visit workshop' alert on the dash. The fuse isn't blown, so he's getting it bodged so that the fan stays on all the time as a temporary expedient, and we'll see what codes come up on Wednesday.
 
My liability has ended. He had a mechanic look at the car, and try to jury-rig the fan; it is definitely U/S. He asked me to pay for him to have a second-hand fan and radiator fitted, and he'll take his chances with the transmission, which is OK most of the time. I did say to him that if the fan control module is U/S that won't resolve the cooling issue, but he's willing to take his chances on that too. I've just made the payment, and that's that.

If I'd known, I'd have sold the car to one of the several hopeful tossers who made me silly offers with a view to making a quick profit, then when it went wrong I could with a clear conscience have told the buyer to sod off...

I do hope it all goes well for him; he loves the car, a W211 is a really nice car to drive, and that one is clean and pretty presentable.

I've still got that slot with Terry Gates on Wednesday. Maybe I should get Terry to do an engine oil change, and change the gearbox fluid too (which is now due) on the E350, then book it in to MSL; they've resolved the DPF issue with remapping the Euro VI engine, and reckon on 30-40 bhp and 40-50 lb ft more for £450. Hmmmmmmmmmm...
 
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^ A happy conclusion in the end. Fair play to you for offering and paying to repair the car after it was off your hands.
 

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