Diesel RVs: [diesel_mercedes] Fuel Economy , Tranny Shifting Additive , leaks Etc.

O.K. :

356 miles , mostly with the AC running 28.5 MPG ~ the car is running great , I try hard not to exceed 60 MPH but it creeps up in speed on me with very little throttle .

I see the fuel economy is dropping again , as I checked the oil & coolant I noticed the 4MM fuel return hose from the # 1 injector to the secondary fuel filter was wet right where it meets the filter housing , I'm pretty sure I have spare fuel hose of both sizes in the car and will prolly change it to - morrow morning when I'm up in Newhall & Eggs & Things on Newhall Ranch Road watching a three day Road Rally depart without me .

I was talking to another Diesel Head and he said it's a good thing to add " Trans - X " to older , high mileage slushboxes to help dissolve the accumulated varnish & gum .

Monday afternoon I went to the Autozone FLAPS near my shop and they had _four_ different Trans - X products , all were stop leak and shift improvers , I read each label and couldn't figure out which one to buy , then I noticed a long pint bottle of SeaFoam tranny varnish treatment , it specifically said " NOT A LEAK STOP PRODUCT " so I bought that as I have experience using SeaFoam Gasoline treatment to get old gummed up carbys back working right without taking them apart .

I added 1/2 pint of this product , *just* enough to bring the ATF level up to " full " when fully hot .

In 10 minutes the tranny began to shift firmer , it has 343,XXX miles in it and has been flaring on up shafts for a few years now , it also weeps ATF , that's why I didn't want a ' leak stop ' product : those work by softening up the old , hard seals and often the seals get so soft they stick to the shaft on hot shut down then rip loose the next time you cold start the car , stranding you wheyou might be .

Anyway , this SeaFoam tranny additive works , I am well pleased with the improved shifting .

I hope to get the tranny and engine both rebuilt by August or November of this year .

Did I ever mention how much I like the bare bones base model Mercedes Diesel ? .