4 Seed Auto gearbox Jumpy in reverse??

[PINBALL]

Hi Guys n Gals
Have been off the forum for far too long - 15 month's.

My E280 Estate / Wagon seems to be giving up the ghost with over 230,000 mls notched up so far.
30,000 miles covered through Spain, Adorra, France, Switzerland, Italy & Sicily in past year!

Am settled in Antibes, France. and will be driving back to uk on 1st April (950 mls) for a couple weeks & MOT, befor coming back down.

Left UK Jan 07 & have taken this fantastic car all around Italy & Sicily down west coast & up the other side, turning off through Tuscany and returning back to Monaco & eventually Antibes near Cannes.

In short, over the last week the gearbox has been playing around with me in the form of when reversing the motion acts as if the handbrake is on causing the thing to jump backwards & stop!
Only when the gas pedal is depressed will it move plus a deep rumbling sound coming from below.
Theres no fluid loss that can be seen, and after taking to 3 Merc dealers in Nice, Menton & Albenga in Italy, during the last 5 days, (where the car reversed perfectly, I might add) they all said "Theres nothing wrong"!

A good contact made in Italy has advised me to eith get shot of the car due to its age OR contact a big Auto-Box dealer based in Lucerne in Switzerland called automaten-meyer.ch (hope the link works) who has been operating for the last 30 years or so only with auto gearboxes & can replace one in a matter of 4-6 hours = same day service.

Anyone know anything about these people, the service & quality of the boxes provided?

Have also found a UK based website affilliated to these people & marketting an additive for old n tired auto boxes called: LUBE GARD, has anyone used it? How much was it? and did it do any good?
Their website is: lubegard.co.uk
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TELEVISION: If your reading this, many thanks to you for your valuable advice back in 2006 amongst which I have constantly lubed the electric roof every 4-6 weeks with silicon spray as you instructed and used roof everyday for the past 14 month's (heavy smoker, cough-cough) the thing has worked perfectly!
Hows that SL500 going, have you blown it up yet trying to break the speed limits accross the continent?

HAWK: Without spending hours trying to catch up on what I've missed, are you still out there & hows that S class 320 going?
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Any comments gratefully recieved folks.

Keith.

 

[television]

Hello Kieth,first a happy birthday for a few days back

Re your box,,we do have some specialist guys in the UK that would either fix or replace your box, for the most common fault the box has to come out anyway. A new box cost around £1k-£1300 if you are interested just say and I will post the details.

When was the fluid last changed ??? as the recomended time is every 40-50k

 

[PINBALL]

Hi there Malcolm, Thanks for the answer

Many thanks TV, Your a STAR.

Yes please, would like those phone numbers & I bet theyre all miles away from Southern Gatwick Airport area?

Are you saying that this is THE most common problem?

Should be back in UK around 3-4th April with a twin axle box trailer in tow !! DO YOU THINK THE CAR WILL MAKE IT THERE WITH THE TRAILER = 950 mls from Nice area?
Trailer will be empty, however it weighs around 1/2 ton or a bit less.

I will be staying of Autoroutes to get Petrol cheaper in supermarkets & avoid ridiculous toll charges, it may take longer, but it makes for a more enjoyable "sight seeing" journey.

Just one thing though, if I stay off motorways will the gearbox stand up to all the stopping & slowing down for roundabouts & traffic lights?

Please spare me your valuable thoughts on what you would do in my place.

Money is tight, so do I get the car repaired by replacing gearbox (its going to cost more than the cars worth with 231,000 mls on clock).

Have no intention of re-registering it to French plates (estimated around 6-700 euros) as being on foreign plates means I can get away with a multitude of sins and advantages over other road users.

Will need to MOT it every year, but then I need to see relatives & friends at least once a year, plus to get things & shopping in UK that do not exist down here amongst other reasons.

Rest of car works perfectly & everyone loves its colour of mettallic red as most cars down here are either silver, black or white.

After owning her for 3 years, I'm still in love with it!

Gearbox oil n filter was changed 12,000 mls ago, if I change them both & put some LUBE GARD additive in, it may improve it, but upon returning back to France, a loaded estate with twin axle trailer in tow weighing in with at least 1-1/2 tons going over 950 mls is probably pushing the envelope a bit - dont you think?

BTW my Birthday is on November 7th, so thanks for regards, but you may have confused me with another Merc head out there.

Thanks again for your valuable thoughts & advice Malcolm.

Best Wishes,

Keith.