tda1

Got the diagnosis...
Basically the trust converter bearings were shot as everyone on here mentioned. then they said the flex plate bearing was warn and the a clutch plate for a gear was warn. They said it would come to $2900 for everything. I asked them where the noise was coming from. They said the thrust bearing...so I told them to fix what was broken and not what appeared warn. Brought the cost down $1100. to $1800

jeff spahn

You could also get a rebuilt one from Constantine and go full zoot with the super bearings and new driveshaft!

jeff spahn

Are you sure they said thrust bearing? That can be an engine killer if it is the engine thrust bearing. If it is the torque convertor cover bearing that is a totally different animal. You are going to want to check crankshaft endplay for piece of mind.

killav

You really really need to get them to drill out the metal rivets on the triangle shaped rear flex plate that the torque converter bolts to and replace with nuts and bolts. It is very easy to do since they have to press it out to replace the bearings in the aluminum housing that bolts to the front of the transmission anyway.

It is very likely that the car will still rattle if they don't do this......

Captain_Slow

I know you want that super charger, but it's WAY more important to make sure your car is perfect where it counts (from the radiator to the rear differential) before you go down that road. Now is the time to do it right as this is the mother of all examples of fix everything While You're In There. Lots of labor to go back in later. Replace ALL the worn stuff, rebuild the torque tube (probably should go with Constantine Super Bearings if you plan on supercharging). Most of all...make sure they said "thrust bearing". I'm wondering if you meant Throw Out Bearing. This would make sense if you have a 5-speed. A worn TOB will growl (the one on my 66 Unimog did, and it also has a torque tube which resulted in strange resonance making it hard to figure out where the growl was coming from). If you have an auto trans then it starts to sound very ominous if you were told the noise was the Thrust Bearing.

BTW...$2900 doesn't seem out of line as far as shops go.

snoz

+1 on this. It's literally just an extra 20 minutes to do this while they have it apart.

tda1

Correction...it is the torque converter bearing not the thrust bearing. And third gear is pretty much shot. the clutch plates for that gear are done so basically the car was going from second to 4th. I felt the slipping so I believe it. I asked them to cut me some slack on the price but it looks like I'm in for the rebuild.
I'll know more later this week. Thanks for all the feedback guys...You all were accurate with the majority of the repair. You couldn't have known about the gear....OR COULD YOU HAVE??? jk...thanks again

Avar928

Glad everyone got it spot on. Sucks that the transmission has to be rebuilt so soon. Just another step up to that supercharger and a well-sorted car.

SMTCapeCod

Would be interested to know the shop that is providing the trans expertise, if possible. Sorry for the tough news.

If its a rebuild...while suggestions for more work stink when you are trying to keep control on pricing- the B2 servo upgrade deptailed in a different "Landseer" thread is a good idea imho.

tda1

The company is called HiTech Transmissions in Merrifield Va. They don't have a website but ASG (AutoSportsystems group) sends their transmissions to them.

Imo000

What do you mean thirs gear was so worn that it went from 2nd to 4th? I never heard a worn automatic transmission do anything like that, ever.

tda1

I was told that the clutch plate for third gear was completely burned and essentially there was no third gear. That was evident when driving it. It would quick shift and go almost immediately to 4th. I drove it...trust me...it did it.

SMTCapeCod

Looks like the you've found a great shop to handle it, the 'yelp' reviews trend to very positive. Posting a url for the shop (not the reviews) for posterity:
http://www.httrans.com/

They can add a M-Benz logo to their site after this..
:-)

tda1

I feel very comfortable that they know their stuff...and heck..the wallet can use some alone time (sans cash).
Looking forward to getting my car back...not looking forward to the bill however...getting the CV boots done while they have the rear end off. That should about do it.

Avar928

Nice. My inner boots are torn and I believe you need a press to tackle that job by yourself.

Brett,

Do you mind letting me know how much the CV boot replacement cost? If it's cheaper than buying a pair of rebuilt half axles to swap and send back the cores (about $600 total in parts and shipping alone), I might just let them do it.