Transmission swap

I've got a 1981 300SD, 126 series, and the tranny is acting pretty bad. This is my first Mercedes and I'm not real up on automatics. The first shift is really abrupt and jerky. Does the torque converter have anything to do with this? Also, I found a slightly wrecked 1980 300SD, 116 series -- same 5 cylinder diesel, that has a recently rebuilt tranny that is real smooth. According to www.germanstar.net, the engine # on the 1980 is 617.950 and the 1981 is 617.951. The tranny # on the 1980 is 722.120 and the 1981 is 722.303.

Does anyone know if the trannies could swap out without major gyrations?

Thanks,
cmaq

try it out, you may have to mod it to fit. the real question is is it similar or diffrent, take a look at yours and the one on the car and compare, take a picture if u have too

It could be the trans itself, but have someone familiar with mb diesels check it out, it could be vacuum problems causing it. when my boost regulator valve got clogged my car wouldnt shift, would jump back and forth between gears and would surge in bits and spurts. do a little diagnosis first before condeming the trans, its easier!

and in response to your swap out question, I'm almost certain all of the 116 trans were the 4 bolt pans, whereas the laters were the 6 bolts. You would have to modify wiring and maybe runs some extra lines and wires, but it could work in theory. I had an 83 300CD that had the engine replaced with a 116 turbo motor, but the car still had the 6 bolt later model trans. It almost fell out on me when I was replacing the flex plate after I had only removed the 3 bolts. I think 5 or 6 bolt holes will line up, but not all of them.

By the way I may have an extra trans if youre nearby.