[pmenyhart]

Hi All
I am on the road 2000mls from home and my Transmission went out.I brought my SDS and it says TCM defective.It shows the TCM located in the right/passengeer side fuse/relaise box in engine compartment,but it is not there.Also looked in the passenger side footwell,not there either.Is it on the transmission in some kind of an enclosure?
Thanks for help in advance.

 

[Deplore]

04 S430 has the TCM in the transmission. It's the conductor plate.

Bad time for it to go out, expensive little bugger.

 

[pmenyhart]

Thanks Deplore,I was afraid that was it.

 

[nrphlly]

This is exactly why I’m going to an 03 with the 5 speed. I hate the 722.9 gearbox. They made it like this on purpose!!! 5 speed is a bulletproof transmission.

 

[pmenyhart]

yes, looks like a good idea

 

[Dave2302]

They made it like this on purpose!!

That's living in the past and reading internet bull that produces here-say like that !!

7 G tronic is a great Transmission, much better from performance and economy point of view, and whilst the TCU used to be a PITA for owners with SDS but no Server Access, there are plenty of ways around a dead one these days.

Many companies can now supply rebuild service on your own plate, also used and virginised / cloned / repaired units for them.

HTH,

 

[pmenyhart]

Thanks Dave,
I found a local indie shop and will visit them first thing today,I'll bring my sds with the fault codes and see what they make of it.If it works out tow the car there,

 

[nrphlly]

Lol 😂 no Dave the 722.9 is Mickey Mouse lol. I have no reason for 7 gears and better fuel economy. It’s a super inconvenience when it lays down.

 

[Dave2302]

I don't care about fuel economy I like the extra ratios and how goddam fast it changes gear, I will likely retrofit one one day into my V8 converted R170 SLK, the slow old 5 speed really lets it down cos it changes so bloody slowly !!

 

[nrphlly]

I bet it will come ALIVE WITH AN AMG CONTROLLER!!!!

 

[cowboyt]

Actually, @nrphlly has a point, and this is one of the two reasons why I have avoided the 722.9 transmission. Yes, MB did make it more difficult for DIY'ers like us to work on. Not only is it more difficult to get to the TCM with the 7-speed--there was nothing wrong with the 722.6 location--but also Daimler made not just the TCM, but also the conductor plate, a "Theft Relevant Part". When--not if--the speed sensor goes, we can simply buy a new conductor plate from any MB-part-carrying vendor and be done in a couple of hours. Not so with the 722.9, and your downtime with the car is thus longer, usually by a week or two while you wait for the repair folks. Same goes for the TCU; with the 722.6, as long as it's the same model, you can just swap TCU's and keep right on goin'. Not so with the 722.9.

MAVA has also noted that the 722.6 is built more sturdily, generally, than the 722.9. Since I haven't yet rebuilt a transmission, I'm in the position of taking his word for it, and since MB transmissions are one of his specialties, I do believe him.

Had MB not made hobbled those parts with that "Theft Relevance" nonsense, I would take the chance on a 7-speed, even with the less-convenient TCM location. But the 5-speed gives us enough performance for our needs, while being considerably more DIY-friendly.

 

[Dave2302]

You do know you can go to a helluva lot of Auto Trans Specialist Parts Suppliers and just buy a new aftermarket conductor plate / TCU, or a refurbished one cloned to your vehicle and simply swap it

 

[Triple cranks]

Dave, will the 722.9 handle 840 lb/ft of torque? I was thinking of trying one In the SL. Everything I have researched thus far has the 722.6 as “bulletproof”. In my case I may want to stick with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. 😁

 

[cowboyt]

You do know you can go to a helluva lot of Auto Trans Specialist Parts Suppliers and just buy a new aftermarket conductor plate / TCU, or a refurbished one cloned to your vehicle and simply swap it

I know that there are some independent guys out there who do repair jobs on 722.9 conductor plates and TCU's. There's a fellow in Southern California that does this. However, the shops in my area don't know or even care a thing about that. I actually asked a few that specialize in European cars like MB's and such, and they all said it'll require a brand-new part from the MB dealer.

For guys like you and me with A.) multiple cars, and B.) a "curious tinkerer" personality, sending the conductor plate/TCM to the repair-job folks is not so big a problem. We can do that and keep driving. However, I'd venture that most people who drive these cars only have one or two vehicles. For them, replacing a TCM in a 722.6, given its external location, is pretty doable. Yes, we both think that people should perhaps consider expanding their horizons mechanically, because a conductor plate really isn't that hard when you have the right tools.

But what about when your TCM fails on you and you're 2,000 miles / 3200 km away from home and thus your toolbox, SDS computer, etc.? I can get a motel room, order a 722.6 TCM from FleaBay, have it delivered in a couple of days, and install the thing in about 20 minutes, right there in the parking lot. I'm now ready to drive home. The 722.9, you need to jack up the car and pull the whole valve body. And that's after waiting for your TCM/conductor plate to be repaired, which may take a couple of weeks, since your SDS is still back home. Ouch.

That's the danger that the OP is now facing head-on with his TCM. [EDIT: I see that OP has his SDS with him, but the other issues still apply.]

 

[cowboyt]

@pmenyhart , do you happen to have more than one vehicle at home? In your current situation, I can think of a few courses of action. I see that you do have your SDS with you, which is a good thing.

1.) Have that local indy repair shop order a reman TCM from someone like Berkeley Standard or similar. I think they have "virginized" units that will act like a brand-new one, so SDS should be able to "marry" it to the car. They might require your current, broken one to be sent back as a core.

2.) If those "virginized" units are a bunch of money (I hope they're not!), then there's the part from the dealer. Not sure how long it would take to get a new part that way.

3.) If your transmission is stuck in 2nd gear, then it's obviously not optimal, but you could drive the car home and just keep the speed relatively sane, then fix it when you get home. Fortunately, the M113 engines, and their cooling systems, are pretty robust and should be able to deal with this for that trip.

 

[Dave2302]

But what about when your TCM fails on you and you're 2,000 miles / 3200 km away from home

That is why I have a Recovery Plan, get it towed home and fix it in my workshop

 

[Dave2302]

Dave, will the 722.9 handle 840 lb/ft of torque?

I don't believe they fit them to V12's for that very reason Same with Kompressor V8's

Maybe the newer ones do ???????????????

 

[cowboyt]

I believe it was from the 2013 model year on that Daimler figured out how to strengthen the 722.9 so that they can use it with the S600 and S65 AMG. Until then, it was the 722.6.

 

[cowboyt]

That is why I have a Recovery Plan, get it towed home and fix it in my workshop

Ah, but Dave, you've got a few mitigating factors working in your favour.

1.) You're a professional mechanic, with a workshop. You know what to do, and you have the resources to do it. I do as well, to a considerably lesser extent, but enough to get me out of most jams.

2.) You also live in a country that is roughly the size of the States of Michigan or Wyoming. In your case, it's not going to be terribly far to get the car towed. However, the United States is, like Australia or Canada, comparitively quite large, and a distance of 2,000 miles or even more is not unheard of in such countries. When the S600 TT's ABC pump went Tango Uniform on me while in Florida almost four years ago, that was a nearly 800-mile car transport at US $550, and I was glad to get it for "only" a $550 cost. And that was only a trip to Florida. Had that happened out in, say, Las Vegas (Dad's residence) or California (Mom's residence), I'd been up Ye Olde Creek.

Not knocking you, brother; if anything, I'm a bit envious of your workshop and your mechanical knowledge base. It's simply that not everyone has those particular advantages.

 

[pmenyhart]

@pmenyhart , do you happen to have more than one vehicle at home? In your current situation, I can think of a few courses of action. I see that you do have your SDS with you, which is a good thing.

1.) Have that local indy repair shop order a reman TCM from someone like Berkeley Standard or similar. I think they have "virginized" units that will act like a brand-new one, so SDS should be able to "marry" it to the car. They might require your current, broken one to be sent back as a core.

2.) If those "virginized" units are a bunch of money (I hope they're not!), then there's the part from the dealer. Not sure how long it would take to get a new part that way.

3.) If your transmission is stuck in 2nd gear, then it's obviously not optimal, but you could drive the car home and just keep the speed relatively sane, then fix it when you get home. Fortunately, the M113 engines, and their cooling systems, are pretty robust and should be able to deal with this for that trip.

Cowboyt,thanks for this elaborate write up,Yes I have plenty cars at home.I have a small workshop with lift.(I owned european car repair shop,until 2003 when I sold it and retired).The local indies are no help,don't even have SDS and are not willing to work with customer supplied parts.....so after having payed exorbitant tow fees from Yellowstone national park to Cody WY and rented a uhaul truck and flatbed to go the 950 mls from Cody to my friends house in Wtsconsin where we spend the summer.My only option now is having a car transport company ship the car home to CA.800 to 1200 $ At home I'll deal with the TCM Valve body issues.I found,as you mentioned shops where I can send my valve body and a fleabay part and have it programmed to"plug and play" Lets see how that works out.I'll be home on sep 5 and go from there.
Thanks all for your input.