Bowden Cable Fixes Transmission Hesitation

I can't believe what a difference 0.5 cm can make. I adjusted the so-called bowden cable that adjusts the transmission's shift points. Well actually, it adjusts how soon the transmission shifts when you have the throttle pedal at X %.

It used to hold third gear almost infinitely unless I almost released the throttle. Also on second I had to be very careful if I wanted to shift early. Early shifting is necessary to achieve any kind of fuel economy and I've got enough low end torque to use the higher gears.

After the adjustment, the transmission works like a dream. I can apply something like half throttle and I still get shifts at about 2k rpm. I can go full throttle and the trans will apply low-end torque without kicking down. The kickdown switch still works of course.

It feels like I just had a transmission job. I used to shift with feathering the throttle. This put slack in the powertrain so gears went in with a clunk. Now, with power on, it shifts smooth but fast. I still need to get rid of that slack, though.

This all made a difference in drivability too, since in leaving intersections, I can now just keep my foot in it and it'll shift.

For information on how to do this on your W126, see this thread on BenzWorld.