Jonathan has recommended Valvoline maxlife for my 88. I haven't yet purshased any becasue I'm not sure which one to use. I keep meaning to email Valvoline but...
Vehicle: W124 E320 Coupé 1996, W124 300E twin turbo 1990, W126 300 SE 1991, Ford Capri 2.8i 1984
Location: Harpenden, England
Posts: 136
Why is cost is so important on something that is scheduled for change only every three years or 36k miles and costing only about $100 (Can.?) and therefore perhaps less than a fuel fill-up. The difference between cheapest and MB's own (or direct equivalent) can't be more than a few tens of bucks at most on the 6 litres you need; spread over three years, that's of no consequence. With such a complex and critical component, I'd rather forgo a few beers and be secure in the comfort of knowing that the best stuff is in there. No, I'm not rich.
Yup anything better than Dex II is good. Why not get the best stuff? Because you're only paying $20 a L for the Febi ATF or mercedes ATF because they're importing it from Germany. It's not hard to manufacture ATF. I'm not going to throw $80 away on 6 L of ATF. Maybe if my car was worth 100K I would. But it's not even worth $2500.
When you buy Febi auto trans fluid you're not getting the same thing as domestic ATF. I can't say that the Febi stuff is better (or worse) but it sure is different.
When I put the 3.0L drivetrain in my 260E I wanted to do a job that lasted a long time. It's been 4 years and 40k miles since the swap so I guess I did okay.
I drained the atf and changed the filter before adding the Febi fluid. It looked like Dexron for sure. But when that trans failed a couple of months ago I was surprised by what I found in the pan. The fluid looked like it had been contaminated with coolant but I don't think it was. The trans was slipping and the fluid got so hot that it boiled out. The stuff that I drained later was very milky but didn't have the burned smell that I am familiar with. I put a quart of the drained stuff into a clear jug and it's been setting for 3 months with no separation. Also, I've pressure tested the radiator (3.5 years old) and there's no discernable leakage. Plus there was no coolant consumption at all since July of 04. With all these factors in mind I've come to the conclusion that I *didn't* have coolant contamination. The fluid just boiled and changed somehow. Keep in mind that the original automatic transmission fluids (40s and 50s) weren't mineral oil, they were whale oil (or so I've been told). Maybe, just maybe, that's why the Febi stuff is so expensive. I'd love to know for sure.
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