Auto trans questions

[69280sl]

While driving, my 68 280sl trans shifted to low gear and the speedometer went to zero, and stayed that way. Prior to this, I was hearing some squealing on acceleration that I atributed to a loose belt, but in hindsight it may have been a metal to metal grind.

I posted this information on a transmission forum, and there was a response that the governor had probably broken and that it can be replaced without removing the transmission.

My questions to this forum are:
Are the symptoms consistent with a broken governor?
Any other possibilities?
If it is the governor, can it indeed be replaced on a 280sl without removing the trans?
If it is the governor, what is a price range to properly repair/replace?

Thanks in advance
Gus

inspectorgm

[ja17]

Hello Gus,

The governor and rear pump are in the rear transmission housing along with the speedometer drive gear. It is probably likely the damage has occured here. It is removable without removing the tranmission but will be very tedius because of tight working conditions.

Basically you will need to un hook the driveshaft and push it rearward. The slotted transmission nut will need to be removed along with the out-put flange. The speedometer cable and all the housing bolts will need to be removed before the rear housing can be removed. Hopefully the housing has enough room to slide back and off.

Failure in this area of the tranmission is rare. You will probably need some expensive hard parts. Lots of good used parts like these laying around. Let me know if you need some help with these.

The danger is metal particles have been circulated to the other parts of the transmission (converter, radiator tranmission cooler, valve body) so removal may be the best option. Everything should be flushed.

You may want to remove the pan and drain the fluid before deciding which route to take.  



Joe Alexander
Blacklick, Ohio

[69280sl]

Thanks so much so your advice Joe, it is appreciated.

inspectorgm