I've heard that about the manuals not being able to take the torque,
but I've also heard its a legend. I they're that fragile, as I bet
they used basically the same tranny in lots of vehicles, including
those with more torque than the 617 turbo, but I'm just guessing there.
What I have heard from an excellent source (Marshall) is that
performance for the 617 turbodiesel is actually BETTER with the auto,
as you can hold the throttle wide open during shifts, eliminating
turbo lag. That's not true of newer TDs with less lag, but it is of
this engine. He had 0-60 numbers to prove it. I had thought about
switching soon after buying my 300SD, but for those reasons have not.
I've actually come to like the MBZ auto quite well.
Dan
