1982 300D transmission engage problem
 

I have a 82 300D that has a small trasmission problem. When you put the car into gear, it takes about 5 seconds for it to engage. You can rev the engine up like the car is in nuetral for the time in between. the lag in between seems to shorten as the engine warms up.

What would cause this? It does this in forward and reverse gears, but transmsion shifts fine and dosent slip or stutter. its been doing this for about a year now. Any help is apprecitated..

slow to engage reply
 

Yea, I serviced the trans this summer, which really did not have any effect. And I dont notice much slop in the handle it seems about the same as my 300sd. I tried moving the handle around during the lag time before the trans engages and this does not help. In the notes I had from the prior owner he had listed on his to-do list to replace shift linkage , but I don't know if it was already done or the why behind it. Is this a critical point?

surely someone has run into this, please help!

if you haven't already done so, you may want to check your vacuum connections. these transmissions' shift/engagement points run entirely off vacuum. under the hood on the driver's side are the bulk of your lines. confirm everything is plugged in to vacuum. even if the lines are a little loose going into the rubber T's, this can dramatically affect system pressure. i fixed mine with a couple of small zip ties. the other thing to check is the vacuum modulator (name?) on the transmission itself. hope this helps...

thanks for the tips but I have already ruled out most of what the responses have been. I hope to run across some one who has had the same problem here and found out what caused it. I am thinking a torque converter or check valve in the valve body. any help still appreciated. thanks. I'lll keep checking.

wmsko, what did you find out on your transmission issue?

still hoping to find someone who knows what can cause this problem. My daughter is still driving the car about 250 miles per week with no noticeable difference in performance. ? anyone?

I have the same issue in my transmission. I replaced the k1 spring assembly and that fixed it, for a day. Now the problem is back. I have no idea what it is.