Good Manchester garage for W124 gearbox issues

[Hyena]

Hi all, first time poster here and new owner of a '95 E320 W124. Can anyone recommend a good Mercedes indie garage for gearbox issues around the Manchester area? The car seemed ok on the test drive but it's now apparent the 5-speed autobox has seen better days (hesitant to go into reverse, not changing smoothly etc). The car has done ca. 140,000 miles and to my untrained eye seems pretty solid apart from that. Thanks in advance!

 

[GP801]

TM servicing in kirkham (previously 124 works) You will be hard pressed to find anyone better for a 124 in the North West. Might be a bit far for you though - just outside Preston

 

[219]

Fluid & Filter change first thing to try .

 

[redbaron]

Take it up to TM at Kirkham... They are a top bunch...

 

[Hyena]

Cheers guys, I'll give them a call. I'm up that way on Monday anyway. Hopefully I've not bought a bad 'un!

 

[jay1983]

Spr autos in Stockport. Great service

 

[Hyena]

Booked into SPR in Stockport for tomorrow morning. They seemed very helpful on the phone, so fingers crossed it's a cheap fix! Thanks for the advice gents.

 

[Hyena]

Well I got SPR autos to give the car a once over, and I was very impressed by their service. However they mainly told me bad news, the car needs a new gearbox and lots of other bits and bobs doing. But fundamentally the car is sound, the engine and bodywork are great. So I'm going to price up a 2nd hand box and take it from there - anyone know of a decent, cheap 5 speed auto box?

 

[redbaron]

Ouch, what did they say is wrong with the box then they dont often fail?

 

[Hyena]

Just that it is knackered, and that a gearbox service would be a waste of money! It could be reconditioned, but a cheaper option would be a decent 2nd hand box. There were quite a few other (minor) problems with the car too, but obviously these costs add up.

I don't know what to do now to be honest, overall the car is solid (not a drop of oil leaking from the engine, bodywork sound) but I bought it as a cheap runaround. All the repairs might be more than I paid for the car!

 

[redbaron]

if you love it fix it... if you dont break it for bits or punt it on to someone who can/will.

 

[Ian B Walker]

5 speed box's have always been a little tempramental, why not drop in a 4 speed box.

 

[Hyena]

Hi Ian, I wouldn't be against that idea but was told that only a 5 speed box would be suitable - you'll know better than me! I tried to send you a PM, not sure if you recieved it (do I need 30 posts?).

 

[bolide]

The 5-speed box in the E320 is different to the one in the E280. Quite a rare beast

In my experience a repair is a waste of money. I'd only ever get a rebuild with guarantee

I hadn't thought of swopping one for a 4-speed. Plenty of those around secondhand

Nick Froome

 

[hotrodder]

Aren't the final drive ratios different for the 4 speed versus the 5 speed? According to this site the 5 speed has a lower ratio diff... W124-320E-2-Getriebe/en

If the numbers there are accurate then a 5 speed box should be showing around 3500 rpm in 4th @ 70mph. A 4 speed is near as damn it 3000rpm @ 70 and (using the numbers from that site) by my reckoning a 5spd should be around 2700 @ 70 in 5th

 

[bolide]

Aren't the final drive ratios different for the 4 speed versus the 5 speed?

AFAIK yes, they are different

Nick Froome

 

[Hyena]

Well it's booked in for a replacement 4-speed box this coming Monday. Thanks to Ian for the sound advice on the 'phone!

 

[kth286]

the main engine ECU may need to be reprogrammed for a 4 speed box OR it may even need to be a different ECU.

Has Ian actually done this conversion himself ?

 

[Hyena]

Ian said he'd done it before, and it's not a problem to swap to a 4-speed. I guess I'll find out next week! Hopefully he'll be along here at some point to explain.

 

[kth286]

I dont feel you have done enough research on your g/box problem and are acting too quickly.

there is plenty of info on these forums relating to 124 gearbox issues, and there are plenty of tests to do first before a g/box change.

Good vacuum is vital for starters.

Good fluid and filter is vital.

the 5 speed auto has an electrical ECU for the top gear, which has a diagnostic pin for testing purposes.
Has anybody tested the output for trouble codes ?