Hey guys,
I need some group expertise here...
Yesterday my 1999 C43 (722.631) went into limp home mode. I "rebooted" (turned car off/on) it was OK for a bit, then it started surging & searching for gears and the CEL went on. Got it home. Took it in to an indy shop today, the guy said that the ATF was a little low, topped that off and read the codes. Nothing definitive so he wasn't sure what to do. There were a bunch of codes that related to limp home mode, but the significant ones were:


116 - Engine starts with a delay
Shift linkage adjusted incorrectly
Adjust shift linkage
Plunger of starter lock out is stuck Replace electrical conductor plate

151 - selected gear not attained ATF oil level
Shift pressure regulating solenoid valve
Command or regulating, shift control valve

He wrote:
could be a number of things: MAF, transmission conducting plate, or needs a transmission overhaul.

So basically he said that he didn't know what it was. Since I do want to get this fixed with a minimum of pain, I figure that I either have to go to a MB only shop (he does Porsches, BMW, MB) or go to a high volume stealership (i.e. Smythe) that might have seen this before. I really don't have any confidence that a stealership would do a better job, and like this guy might just start replacing random stuff to see if it fixes the problem, on my dime of course (do techs even troubleshoot any more??)

So I guess that I am just looking for suggestion/other options to get this fixed without chasing a bunch of very expensive wild geese. And with the thing only being worth $10K now, is it even worth spending $6K on a new transmission (if it comes to that?)
Thanks for your help.