Nice video Mark. I have a 280se 68. It does shift a little firm. There is an adjustment you can make on the vacuum modulator on the side of the transmission. Turn the screw about 1/4 turn out to soften the shifts. I did this a few times to get the shift i liked. There are other linkage adjustments that can be made, but as Gary suggested check out PIerre he's great. I've spoken to him personally several times and his always willing to help. Nice 108 :) Congrats. Cheers John.
Thank you. I'm an avid watcher of Pierre's videos. I'm not concerned about the firm shifts, but I am concerned about the late shifts. Engine is really racing as it doesn't like to make the 3-4 shift until it's at about 43 mph.
Just found this vid. Re your auto shifting. The 108's do start out in 2nd gear. All Mercedes automatics of that period did. To engage 1st gear you depress the accellrator to the floor and then even further to engage the kickdown solenoid switch located on the floor under the pedal. This is an electronic switch that engages 1st gear from start. Otherwise it starts off in 2nd. When the cars is set up right it can be a lot of fun once you get the feel of it as it has a kind of surprising slingshot effect catapulting you forward from 1st to 2nd as you let up on the pedal. Surprisd many a ricer at a light who was not expecting an old car like that to be capable of getting off the mark so fast. As for the late shifts. Bear in mind that in the US these cars had different ratio rear ends to the rest of the world because of the USA's 55mph speed limits when new. I'm from South Africa where the car had the standard German rear end and this gave it longer legs on the highway at the cost of some reduced speed off the line from a standing start. I guess Mercedes figured autobahn speeds were not a thing in a country with a geriatric speed limit so they went for more "zippyness" at lower speeds. That being said I do recall my own car (71 280S) holding the lower ratio quite often such that I became adept at letting up on the gas pedal a touch to cause it to shift up when I wanted. These cars are not Cadillacs (or any other Detoit luxo barge for that matter) and they are engineered and behave quite differently. Subscribed by the way.
Thank you so much for the information and support. I was aware that they start off in 2nd gear, but I wasn't sure if the late shifts were normal. It would be nice to have a tachometer, so I can see just how fast the engine is spinning.
Nice video Mark, I have a 72 280 SE and had similar problems with transmission shifting and starting off in 2nd gear, my mechanic had adjusted the transmission valve body and its a lot better now.Check the youtube videos of Pierre Hedary he's the Mercedes GURU and the most honest Mercedes mechanic on this planet.Enjoy..........
Nice video Mark. I have a 280se 68. It does shift a little firm. There is an adjustment you can make on the vacuum modulator on the side of the transmission. Turn the screw about 1/4 turn out to soften the shifts. I did this a few times to get the shift i liked. There are other linkage adjustments that can be made, but as Gary suggested check out PIerre he's great. I've spoken to him personally several times and his always willing to help. Nice 108 :) Congrats. Cheers John.
Thank you. I'm an avid watcher of Pierre's videos. I'm not concerned about the firm shifts, but I am concerned about the late shifts. Engine is really racing as it doesn't like to make the 3-4 shift until it's at about 43 mph.
Just found this vid. Re your auto shifting. The 108's do start out in 2nd gear. All Mercedes automatics of that period did. To engage 1st gear you depress the accellrator to the floor and then even further to engage the kickdown solenoid switch located on the floor under the pedal. This is an electronic switch that engages 1st gear from start. Otherwise it starts off in 2nd. When the cars is set up right it can be a lot of fun once you get the feel of it as it has a kind of surprising slingshot effect catapulting you forward from 1st to 2nd as you let up on the pedal. Surprisd many a ricer at a light who was not expecting an old car like that to be capable of getting off the mark so fast. As for the late shifts. Bear in mind that in the US these cars had different ratio rear ends to the rest of the world because of the USA's 55mph speed limits when new. I'm from South Africa where the car had the standard German rear end and this gave it longer legs on the highway at the cost of some reduced speed off the line from a standing start. I guess Mercedes figured autobahn speeds were not a thing in a country with a geriatric speed limit so they went for more "zippyness" at lower speeds. That being said I do recall my own car (71 280S) holding the lower ratio quite often such that I became adept at letting up on the gas pedal a touch to cause it to shift up when I wanted. These cars are not Cadillacs (or any other Detoit luxo barge for that matter) and they are engineered and behave quite differently. Subscribed by the way.
Thank you so much for the information and support. I was aware that they start off in 2nd gear, but I wasn't sure if the late shifts were normal. It would be nice to have a tachometer, so I can see just how fast the engine is spinning.
Keep up the great work. Cheers, Mark
Thank you!
Nice video Mark, I have a 72 280 SE and had similar problems with transmission shifting and starting off in 2nd gear, my mechanic had adjusted the transmission valve body and its a lot better now.Check the youtube videos of Pierre Hedary he's the Mercedes GURU and the most honest Mercedes mechanic on this planet.Enjoy..........
You bet... I watch a lot of Pierre! Thanks for watching and for the comment!