w126 gearbox adjustment

[john rh]

Hi,

I think I'm missing something with the gearbox adjustment on my 1986 500 SEL.

If I adjust the cable so that part-throttle kick-down is responsive, and the change-up revs are correct, the manual hold on the gear-lever stops working.

If I slacken the adjuster cable, the manual change works perfectly, but the gearbox is reluctant to kick down and changes up too early, even on full throttle.

The gearbox was rebuilt about 25,000 miles ago and seems in good health otherwise.

Any help or advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

John

lakick

 

[john rh]

I got some replies on Retro rides... anybody here have any comments on these?

Auto gearbox experts out there? 1986 Mercedes 500 SEL | Retro Rides

Cheers

John

 

[219]

I don't really have much to comment as mine has always just worked fine .

I wonder if the S/E switch might be stuck on the economy setting ? When it is in this mode it tends to hang onto the highest gear possible and really only kicks down at full throttle .

I never really had any problems selecting and holding gears manually with mine and use the selector freely when wishing to 'make progress' ; I also hardly ever use the E mode since fuel economy is no different in either mode .

Snicking the lever sideways from 2 , then back , will engage 1st from a standing start and allow an upwards change to 2nd since 1st only lasts a second or so while you are pinned into the seat by G force and a manual up shift has to be well timed ; you can also move the lever all the way back to D and just keep your foot planted for max acceleration !

My 500 box has never given trouble and is now past 200K ; having had similar boxes in lots of other models , including the 300-24 which got to 430K on the original box before the car was written off , they are pretty robust .

There used to be a vacuum pipe on Mercedes boxes which used engine vacuum to control gear changes .

My 500 has been on SORN the last few months and is up for sale as a project/donor car - but I keep having second thoughts re just keeping it and fixing it up again ( mainly bodywork issues ) .