Auto Box Problem 4th to 5th to 4th etc...

[Tha Knows]

Hi Everyone,

Im new to the forum and would firstly like to say Hello I am anew proud owner of an E320 which is awesome if i do say so my self....

I have a few problems with my W210 E320 CDI and hope some of you guru's may be able to point me in the right direction, heres a few details:-


in between 60mph & 70mph the auto box changes to 5th for a split second then back to 4th again and toggles between the two until i slow down to the right speed for 4th its pretty undriveable on the motorway

If i try and accelerate past it, this is fine however it stays in 4th, but when i let off the gas it developes a judder until the car slows to say 40mph, pain in the butt to say the least :sad: also the judder is there on the slightest load (inclines etc) only when doing say 65ish down hill im not sure if its in 4th or 5th cant tell from the revs?

I also have the glow plug light staying on 20-30 seconds after start which i guess one or so plugs are fbar'd

Things that are fine

• Kick down is fine
• Tip is fine apart from changing to 5th
• all gear changes are smooth although a little jump into 1st every now and then
• There is NO judder when setting off only deceleration and on inclines around 65mph

Any help would be most appreciated as i have read most other comments re auto gearbox problems and mine seems to be slightly different. :-?

Cheers peeps

P.s im used to manuals so dont have a clue on the guts of an auto box they are very new to me

 

[jberks]

Lets start with the basics. Have the gearbox oil and filters been changed?
Has the Pilot bush been seen to?
I'll leave the rest to the more expert guys on here, though I do wonder about the speed sensor.

 

[Tha Knows]

Hi Jbeks thanks for your reply,

Unfortunatley its hard to tell as as ive only had the motor for a week but will be bringing her up to scratch with new fluids etc very shortly.

:arrow: Just a quick one it seems to change lower down the rev range (2000-2500rpm) when cold if that helps to diagnose any underlying issues. I get gear changes when hot around 3k so it may be a bit slippy too?

 

[dieselman]

Have the codes read, this is a gearbox electrical fault.

 

[Tha Knows]

Have the codes read, this is a gearbox electrical fault.

Cheers Dieselman i will get the codes checked asap :smile:

 

[rayhennig]

Mine's doing something similar ...

Mine's a 300CE-24 with 722.5 gearbox. Yours is likely to be the 722.5 too.

I slackened off the control cable and improved the 4th/5th situation. Worth a try, I think, especially if you think the change-up points are a little high, as I did.

Box and torque converter fluid change highly recommended plus MB genuine fluid filter. I would do this before assuming anything drastic has broken.

Mine would not hold 4th for more than half a second before changing to 5th. Downchanges were also very ponderous. The cure for this was to clear the codes - after that all was almost 100% OK.

Good luck and keep us posted.

RayH

 

[bigasotonuk]

Mine's a 300CE-24 with 722.5 gearbox. Yours is likely to be the 722.5 too.

I slackened off the control cable and improved the 4th/5th situation. Worth a try, I think, especially if you think the change-up points are a little high, as I did.

Box and torque converter fluid change highly recommended plus MB genuine fluid filter. I would do this before assuming anything drastic has broken.

Mine would not hold 4th for more than half a second before changing to 5th. Downchanges were also very ponderous. The cure for this was to clear the codes - after that all was almost 100% OK.

Good luck and keep us posted.

RayH

Hi,
The O/P's gearbox will be a 722.6 not 722.5.

 

[rayhennig]

You're absolutely right ...

Hi,
The O/P's gearbox will be a 722.6 not 722.5.

I really should have read the OP's details!

Oh well,hope you get it sorted.

RayH

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I have one in at the moment doing almost the same. Slips out of 5th into 4th and sometimes loses drive altogether. Star test reads transmission slipping and impermisable shift ratio. Could be looking at a valve body on this but I will let you know when I have diagnosed and fixed it.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I have condemned the hyrdaulic plate in the W210 I have here. Thought this might be of use to you.

Steve

 

[Tha Knows]

I have condemned the hyrdaulic plate in the W210 I have here. Thought this might be of use to you.

Steve

Hi Steve im quite lucky as i havent lost drive as of yet, in my ignorance could you please tell me what the hydraulic plate is (Is that the valve body) or a piccy would be good ive also read a reference to an elctronic plate whats this if you could? im quite good with repairs but never delved into an auto box :Oops:

I need to get these codes read asap does how much does this usually cost ?

Cheers

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Everyone calls them differently!!

I refer to the Hyraulic plate as the valve body, what holds the shift valves into the gearbox. The electro plate is the printed circuit board attached to the valve body that has the electrical plug attached to it.

When I strip it I will try and post some pics up.

Its dead easy to remove and install once the sump pan is off.

Just a star test would cost you Around £25. To diagnose your fault I would imagine around an hours lablur would be needed which would be no more than £60+VAT at an independent specialist

 

[Tha Knows]

Have the codes read, this is a gearbox electrical fault.

Right Just got back from local indie had the codes read

Oil Level was spot on, Pilot Bush very slight leak but nothing to worry about just yet

ETC

P220A The speed comparison of y/6n2 to y3/6n3 is implausible STORED
P2500 The transmission has an impermissible transmission ratio STORED
P2502 The gear is implausible or the transmission is slipping STORED

P2404 The stop lamp switch signal sent from the traction system via the CAN bus is implausible Event STORED
P2600 The Voltage Supply of circuit 87 has undervoltage
P2314 One or more messages from control unit N73 (EIS [EZS] control unit) are not available on the CAN bus. (CAN Timeout fault)

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Same fault codes as I had on the W210 that I replaced the hydraulic plate on.

 

[Tha Knows]

Did you have the judder too? im concerned its the valve body AND Torque convertor :-(

 

[pitch1]

Hi and welcome.

There will be greatknmowledge coming to you on thjs site so I will not comment.

BUT I will say persevere, if your E320CDI is as good as mine its a flier!

 

[Tha Knows]

Actually i have just noticed it is actually getting to fifth but seems like it wants to change to another higher gear, it toggles between 2200rpm and say 1900rpm?

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Did you have the judder too? im concerned its the valve body AND Torque convertor :-(

I was talking with Alex Crow a few months ago and he had this dilema. Turned out it was both. I would say your hydraulic plate is the fault based on your codes though.