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W211 E55 Transmission Problem

14K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Mr.Speaker 
#1 ·
Hi Guys, My name is Vipin and I am new to this form. I purchased a 2005 E55 and been having some problems with my transmission. The transmission was shifting fine from 1st-3rd gear, but when it would want to shift from 3rd to 4th gear, it would just free rev and act like it had gone into neutral. I got the entire transmission rebuilt because it was having shifting problems. While I was getting it built, I also upgraded my torque converter to 3000 stall and got the valve body ported from IPT along with the blue top solenoids. Long story short, after the rebuild the car drove fine for about two months and then it started doing the same thing. One day I was driving to work and the car just free revved again when it was trying to shift from 3rd to 4th gear. I was told by my mechanic that it was an electrical problem and that i needed to change my converter plate...So i did. They also found some fluid in the 13 pin connector and the TCU module. My mechanic cleaned the TCU and changed the 13 pin connector along with the converter plate and did a full transmission flush and filter change. The car was driving fine for 5 days and the problem came back. Whenever I was driving in the S mode, the car would repeatedly free rev while shifting from 3rd to 4th gear, but when driven in M mode, the car would drive fine. Few days ago, I was driving on the freeway in M mode and while shifting from 4th to 5th, the transmission seemed to hesitate while shifting into 5th. The shift was delayed with a hard kick. After a few minutes when I tried to shift again from 4th to 5th, the transmission popped out of gear and just free revved. This was the first time it had done this to me. After parking the car and shifting it back to Park and shifting it back to Drive, the car started moving again, but this time i did not shift the car into 5th, but it seemed to shift fine from 1st to 4th. The car does not seem to be in limp mode but something seems to be going wrong with the transmission. I also bought a second TCU module but it did the same thing when I replaced it with the current one that I was originally running in the car. I been researching about this problem for a while and just cannot get around to finding out what the real problem is. The 13 pin connector seems to be fine and not leaking and neither is there any fluid in the TCU module. Could it be that i would need to replace the wiring harness which goes from the 13 pin connector to the TCU module or could it be that I need to replace my Valve body? But the transmission had this problem before i got the valve body ported and rebuild as well. I need your guys help in desperate measures since I am tired of spending so much money on problems which are solving my issue. Thank you.
 
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#3 ·
Vipin,

Welcome to the forum, and sorry for your problems. I would really go after the easy tests, yet I would start with reading the codes like Noodles said since this transmission does not have a dipstick. How is the fluid level? You need one of these to do it:

722.6 dipstick | eBay

Wrong fluid levels will cause all kinds of problems, so check your fluid first.

A) Did your car come with "Blue Tops"? or did you get new ones? If your car never came with blue-tops their may be a possibility that they draw too much current, and the TCM could be shutting down.

B) Slipping out of gear is not a conductor problem!

C) Because you are slipping out of gear on the upper gears to me it sounds like one of the rear clutch pack K3 has too much of a clearance which is manually set by selecting the right width spring clips. K3 gap is 0.7mm to 1.9mm, and on assembly of K3 one has to get as close to 0.7 without going under 0.7 as K3 wears out fast.. So.... How is reverse in winter mode when the car is all warmed up going up a slight hill in reverse? Slips out of gear?

D) The 722.6 has lots of seals along the drive train of the transmission, but one of the seals on the shaft is real easy to miss, and I have missed this seal a couple of times as it is buried on the shaft and in the planet gear housing maybe that seal has not been changed...

E) The other possibility which is a problem with all these solenoids, but especially the torque converter lock-up solenoid on any 722.6 is the seal get brittle hard, and you could be having a internal leak as the torque converter starts to get pulsed by the TCM which triggers the torque converter lock-up solenoid on the later gears...

With all your modifications, and this car came to me. I would swap valve bodies out as it is quick and easy. If I did not have a valve body at hand, I would go to the junk yard, and get one from +2000 Mercedes with a 722.6. The valve body's on these cars is not specific to any model Mercedes, so any would work. Their are lots of W210s and W220 in the junk yards in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a cheap way(under $100). I would check how malleable are the solenoid seals are.

Row52 | Search Results

If you get your codes read, a loose solenoid will show-up, but it could be possible that the hold-down bolts could be loose or stripped too...

Many moving targets, but get your codes read, and check your fluid level.

Lastly, how are you as a driver? Lead-foot driver? Hot-doggin it? :nerd:devil

All the best,

Martin
 
#5 ·
I havent had the chance to get the codes read, but the e55 originally did not come with the blue top solenoids. The valve body was ported so IPT suggested that i should get blue top solenoids since the valve body would need more pressure. Maybe i should go back to the stock valve body? Also i think i forgot to mention that i have 3000 stall torque converter as well. Would that make a difference? While reversing up my driveway, the car rolls forward and feels like its a stick. Sometimes it seems like the car wants to die out while reversing but it doesnt. I have a dip stick so i will messure the fluid level of the transmission. I will also get you guys the codes asap. Thank you so much guys for your help.
 
#6 ·
A) Do check your fluid level as wrong level does all kinds of weird problems

B) I would find the Transmission Computer(TCM), yet I'm not totally sure where it is, but I think it is behind the passenger foot carpeting behind the metal plate. If the TCM get contaminated with oil it cause all kinds of problems, and this is common problem with every 722.6 transmission on any Mercedes Car no matter the year. The TCM look like the attachment, but the numbers will be different. Oil get in the TCM because the circular connector starts to leak, and the oil rides up the wiring to the TCM, and the net result is what happens on post 5(look at the last five pictures). If yours is dry, no need to worry. If it wet, it has to be cleaned with electrical contact cleaner, but repair shops charge $800 or so for a TCM, but it can be cleaned with electrical contact cleaner from Fry's Electronics, but you need to let it dry overnight.. Anyways this caused by the transmission connector leaking which Post1 shows how to replace it...

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1570724-my-attempt-replacing-transmission-plug.html

C) Next, i would put a normal valve body, and Pick N Pull has a 2004 722.6 E class in the junk yard in San Jose, but the car may be there for one more week or two as San Jose changes cars every month.. Go pull it out, and the valve body will cost you under $100

Row52 | 2004 Mercedes-Benz E-Class at PICK-n-PULL San Jose North WDBUF65J94A579413

Any of these valve bodies from these cars will work too..

Row52 | 2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class at PICK-n-PULL Newark WDBNG70J2YA122883

Row52 | 2000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class at PICK-n-PULL San Jose South WDBNG70JXYA005990

Too bad you do not live near me as this is not to difficult of a fix...

Let us know what you find,

Martin
 

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#7 ·
It's a conductor plate. Mine did the same thing. It would act like it was in neutral. Had to shut it down and restart it. Kept putting it off and finally code set and it went into limp mode. Had to replace the conductor plate and reset the tcm. Get it attended to and have the codes read. God Luck.
 
#8 ·
Hello, I see this is a pretty old thread and this has just happened to me on my 2005 e55. Did you ever find the culprit to this? My car started this, it also dosent really shift right, as it's always trying to shift up. But the going into neutral after 3rd is recent. Any update would be amazing. Thanks
 
#10 ·
About 10k miles ago (137k when purchased) I dropped the pan, no metal, and filled 3qts of fluid. The weird shifting was always constant, but going into neutral happened once maybe 2 weeks ago, and now everytime the car goes into 4th (not 3rd like before) it jerks and then neutral until slowing down and going back to 2nd or 3rd gear.
 
#12 ·
Hi guys, my name is Joe and I noticing 2 issues with my 2005 w211 E-320. First is when getting out in the mornings the transmission change erotic for about 5 seconds or so, but when it changes all it's gears it runs very normal for the rest of the day if I drive normal, but if I am coming up behind a car and hit the gas to overtake, goes into neutral most times, and when I pull over and put it into park and shut it down and then restart it, it's good again, sometimes I don't even have to switch it off, I just put it into park and then back into drive and I am on my again, but as I said, once I hit the gas for that extra power, it falls into neutral. There is no check light comes on. Change oil and filter, and oil level is good. Thanks you all for your help in trying to help me solve this problem.
 
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