S mode not changing up and "dying"

[ProfessorX]

Dear All
I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. After posting my little introduction as a newbie and praying to the MB people that the car I purchased had no major flaws I seem to have discovered one :sad:
I understand when the car is cold it will hold 1st and 2nd gear a little longer. However I have found when in "S" mode on the auto box and you pull away hard (i.e. using the kickdown) the car revs and goes very well but will then not change up and hence the rev limiter kicks in and the car slow down again (obviously). This happens when you are pulling away from standing or when you use it to pull out and overtake something once moving. No problems with W mode of the gearbox (at least I have not managed to repro this yet in W mode, it may well be the same)
I am sincerely hoping this is not a major gearbox fault and that somebody here will be the answer to the prayers for resolving this issue. Other than that the car drives fine, but a 230K should be made to be driven not as it is at the moment. The car is a 98 'S', 120K miles, 230K C Class.
Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED PLEASE

 

[television]

Good morning to you, we have a few on going threads of a simalar nature,but no answer for the time being.

The one thing that should be done is to change the oil and filter in the box.
this was once classed as a sealed for life box, but the rules have changed, and this should be done every 60k miles.

Malcolm

 

[ProfessorX]

Hoping to do this

I am hoping to do this on Saturday (if my Dad feels likes helping )
If not it will probably be in a couple of weeks. I think this will make the gearbox smoother but I am also considering looking at the MAF to ensure it is clean. My Dad put a new one in his 280 sport and noticed an improvement in running. I believe mine has already been replaced after going through the sales/service invoices but best to double check. As I say I am really hoping it is not a major fault as I spent most of my money on the car itself after deciding to buy quality instead of a runaround. Thanks for the reply and I have been unable to locate the other threads with the similar issues. Any pointer or search criteria appreciated. Thank you. Maybe somebody will find a resolution to the mysterious problem ;-)

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Could it be a fault on the selector electronics, ie behaving as though it were in '2' when in D?

 

[ProfessorX]

Hmmm

If it is the selector (electric) is that an expensive repair? OR a simple unit swap? Also is there likely to be something in the data logs from the car that would identify the problem? I am toying with the idea of taking it to an indie to get a print out of the diags

 

[Blobcat]

IIRC the codes from the electric box are reset on start up. So you would need it to be in fault mode when you take it in to see if there are any fault codes active.

 

[ProfessorX]

No fault mode

I have not seen it enter fault mode? So I assume it is not logging anything then :-( shame thought that may point me in the right direction to resolve the issue

 

[television]

When these boxes lock up they do not display a fault code, you cant just swap the ECU as the cost is £650, do the oil first and see what happens.

malcolm

 

[ProfessorX]

Thanks Everyone. I will update with the effect of the oil change.

 

[ProfessorX]

Airflow sensor

I have decided to knock both jobs out at the same time. When doing the ATF I will also take the rest of the time clean the MAF as per Parrots excellent/detailed instructions. (BTW I am aware already that the MAF sensor is in a different location on the 230K - just back from the RAD i believe)
Thanks alot

 

[ProfessorX]

OK so here is the update. I took out the MAF Sensor and I noticed quite alot of oil contained within it. I decided to make sure I cleaned as much as possible to remove the pipes further up the "chain" and clean these also. Now all the pipes are spoteless as too is the MAF sensor and she drives like a dream. After doing this my followup question or more importantly concern is the amount of oil found in the pipes. It looks very much like the original MAF sensor in the car and all fitments looked like they had never been touched. So I agree there may have been quite a build up of muck in 8 years, however the oil actually "dripped" out as there was so much. I am concerned if there is blowback from somewhere from the engine/kompressor? Could anyone put my fears to rest as to a larger problem being present? Thank you so much to all and special thanks to Parrot for an easy to follow guide (even though my MAF is in a slightly different location to the non-Kompressor cars )

 

[CLK Man]

Malcolm - your comment about "sealed unit" for gearbox oil - "the rules have changed - change every 60,000 miles..." - does this also apply to CLK 230K models (2000 yr model)??

also same question re a W reg E class (Father's)


Cheers,


CLK Man

 

[Blobcat]

Malcolm - your comment about "sealed unit" for gearbox oil - "the rules have changed - change every 60,000 miles..." - does this also apply to CLK 230K models (2000 yr model)??

also same question re a W reg E class (Father's)


Cheers,


CLK Man

Simple answer - Yes

 

[ProfessorX]

As an additional note I will be having the auto box fluid changed in about 2 weeks by a friend who has a ramp and workshop. This is not related to the oil I saw in the pipes and MAF though, so does anybody have any thoughts on that? I was wondering if there could be any possible blowback anywhere in the system to have caused the build up of oil in these pipes? Is this possible?

 

[Blobcat]

As an additional note I will be having the auto box fluid changed in about 2 weeks by a friend who has a ramp and workshop. This is not related to the oil I saw in the pipes and MAF though, so does anybody have any thoughts on that? I was wondering if there could be any possible blowback anywhere in the system to have caused the build up of oil in these pipes? Is this possible?

IIRC the oil in the MAF on the Kompressors has been covered before, pls have a search around. This is the one I was thinking about - Here

 

[ProfessorX]

Aha - VERY GRATEFUL. This sounds exactly what I was looking for, perhaps my searching skills in the forums still need some work themselves I will take these notes and find out if it could be the same fault(s)

 

[television]

Aha - VERY GRATEFUL. This sounds exactly what I was looking for, perhaps my searching skills in the forums still need some work themselves I will take these notes and find out if it could be the same fault(s)

Its easier to ask Blobcat to search than do it your self.

malcolm

 

[ProfessorX]

It's quite funny I have worked in IT for years and never had a problem finding anything I need but when I am searching for something not related to my job I seem to find it difficult to describe and be sufficiently articulate to locate certain items. Yes it does indeed appear easier to have Blobcat find something specific. I am hoping, having read the "found" post that there is nothing seriously wrong with my car as I unfortunately do not have the time or money to fix it at the moment giving the first time house purchase :-(

 

[jimsinessex]

If the oil in the air intake is caused by a faulty low load to upper part load crankcase system it can only get worse! As a VERY temporary measure to avoid immediate expense you could try cleaning the MAF sensor as shown at the head of this forum at the first sign of a misfire. In my experience if the contamination causes the ECU to go into "get you home limp" mode it is likely you will need a new MAF sensor which will still be at risk of contamination itself until the underlying problem is sorted.

There really is no alternative to biting the bullet and having the inlet manifold removed and the crankcase breather system underneath replaced.

If anyone with a high mileage (90,000+) 111 Kompressor engine has to have the head or inlet manifold removed for any reason then DO replace the breather system at the same time at minimal expense, it is probably going to fail soon anyway!

Jim

 

[ProfessorX]

What are the approximate costs associated with having the breather system replaced and the removal of the inlet manifold to do so? Is this definitely the likely cause of the oil or could it merely be a build up over 8 years of the car and the pipes/MAF never having been replaced? The inlet manifold and breather system I am assuming is beyond my skills/time. Thank you