Here is some update about my buddy's '79 450SL that had a bad tranny.
(BTW you are all my friends but you are all jerks too, right wrong and
everything in-between at all times!) (guns, Bush, what oil to use?)
(there, that ought to start about 500 flame threads and debates on
various topics!)
So anyway, he orders a new tranny from Rusty a few weeks back, has it
delivered to this indy in town that is supposed to be the top deal.
Takes awhile but he gets it installed, works great. A few days later he
notices tranny fluid dripping and takes it back to the top-notch indy
who says the tranny is bad, leaking at some main seal, gonna need yet
another new one. So he talks to Rusty or whoever sent the tranny (might
have been both), quotes my buddy another $1100 or whatever to swap yet
another new one in (I guess Rusty or whoever was going to send another
unit down, warranty). My buddy chokes on that deal and takes it to an
Aamco or some such to get another opinion, some old guy there says he
has done lots of Benzes, knows the deal, will check it out. This guy
takes down the exhaust system or whatever is in the way, sees that some
doohickey the indy installed on the tranny (from the old one) is
leaking, tightens or seals it or something, and puts it all back
together, $400 for the time to do that, all fine. So now my buddy is
back and forth trying to get the $400 from the top-notch indy because
their stupidity or poor installation caused that expense, and has found
yet another mech that is reported to be good (this would be about the
4th one now). He is getting really upset at all these guys trying to
screw him.
Anyway, I drove the car today, it is running a bit rough at idle and low
RPMs, but that 1-2 shift chirped the tires when I stomped it! That
tranny was flaring and really soft before but is working fine now! Some
fun! I thought the rough running might be either/all 1) some bad gas
(it rained a monsoon here last week), 2) needs a tuneup (cap, rotor,
plugs -- the cap looks like it might be time for a change, kinda dirty),
3) maybe something got knocked loose (vacuum hose?) in all the tranny
stuff, 4) something else?
Ideas? Oh, I almost forgot -- how many gears does this tranny have?
--R
