The one I used from the cheap siphon pump did not collapse under suction pressure. you have to try out different types. I started with the small tube of a cheap plastic spray bottle. But it was too narrow, it would have taken an hour to get that thick oil out.I found that too flexible of a hose simply caved under the suction pressure...did your hose function fine?
I’d like to do mine again soon as I feel like I want to get more out this time and can’t hurt to dilute again
Now that I have done it a couple of times already, I would not mind doing it every year to keep the drive train smooth. I wish the transfer case was as easy. I am still trying to figure out how to do it without removing the cross member!I just had the differential fluid changed on my wife's 2006 RWD. My service guy said that MB is now recommending that the change be done every 40K miles or (I think he said) every two years.
A heat gun? That's a good idea. I never thought of that.When I did that change on the 2004, I found that running the car to warm the diff up, and using a mityvac that had air compressor suction abilities was the best. I used a heat gun to warm the case of the diff further. That seemed to help.
In the 2004, there's a cross member that sits in a perfect position to wedge the heat gun in when you take the pan off to drain the engine oil. I started the mityvac, and the heat gun, and went on with draining the other oils while the thing sucked.A heat gun? That's a good idea. I never thought of that.
That was just a supposition from what I remember from when I did it on the 2004. Mind you, mine could be different underneath than yours. If you have your entire car sitting on jackstands (like I did. Also note these were 12 ton a piece jackstands with large bases), having a rolling floor jack underneath it when you remove the cross member is not that dangerous. You're only lowering it an inch, so no need to worry about the flex disk.Thanks, @amosfella for the details. However, I don't find it easy to visualize what you did exactly. Do yo have some pictures that you can share or some instruction pages from the MB manual? I deffinitely don't want to remove the cross member under the TC and I don't want to mess up with the drive shaft flex desk, etc. I will also be working under the car in the garage; so, I don't want to jack up the transmission if the cross member and mount are removed and want to keep it the safest in terms of avoiding things to fall over me. My local MB in Vancouver quoted $250 for the job (including the oil) but I just prefer to avoid paying them any cent. But again, if paying $250+tax will avoid having me killed under my car, then I'll just do it! :-/
Conclusion, if there was a way to get to those transfer case fill/drain plugs without removing the cross member, I would love to hear more details about it. I tried to search the forrum for any thread that talks about this, but did not find any.
Thanks!
Wow... That's an encouraging set of details. I will have to get the jackstands with large bases. I have only a pair of 3-ton stands (from princess auto)to hold the car up from one side only. I better get another pair, probably of a heavier grade too.That was just a supposition from what I remember from when I did it on the 2004. Mind you, mine could be different underneath than yours. If you have your entire car sitting on jackstands (like I did. Also note these were 12 ton a piece jackstands with large bases), having a rolling floor jack underneath it when you remove the cross member is not that dangerous. You're only lowering it an inch, so no need to worry about the flex disk.
Once I securely hold the car off the ground, I will endeavor to reach to the fill plug without removing the cross member.While I think that it could be possible to change the TC oil without removing the cross member, I think the first time will be very difficult. It's almost impossible to see in there without taking it off.
Noted.A lot of your danger will be limited by not twisting on things. So, that's why I recommend using an impact to remove the plugs. The top one will likely be a bugger. Also, the plugs are much less likely to strip out the head if one used an impact instead of a breaker bar. A flexible extension will be a great tool (they have these at princess auto). I couple or 3 wobbles and a few extensions of different lengths will help. As I recall, I had 3 feet worth of extensions and wobbles on mine to get the top plug out. It was routed up over top of the exhaust pipe. You can go to home depot and rent a cordless impact for the job, if you don't have an impact available. IIRC, you'll need 14, 15, 16, 17 mm sockets.
That's my objective to, to save the money towards tools and eventually save money, period. I've a good pump (in the pictures in my original post) from Lordco, which is quite sturdy and reliable.I've only done the job once, and it was over 5 months ago, and I've had a lot of creative solutions jobs since, so I might not be remembering everything correctly.
I look at it this way, If I do the job myself, I can put the money saved into tools for the job, and that can bu used for other jobs. Keep an eye on kijiji, etc for tools, or rent the ones you can't afford at this time. The hardest part will be getting the new oil back into the transfer case. Get a good oil syringe. Don't buy a cheap one. The cheap ones won't pull the oil up.
I agree. I got a set of allen head sockets from Canadian Tire.Also of note, buying a allen head socket from snap on may very well be worth the investment. For some reason, those sockets seem less likely to strip out the plug heads.
Not quite. I used the jackstands to hold the car off the ground as if it was on a lift. I used a rolling floor jack with a soft wood 2x4 on it to support the transfer case when I took the cross member out. Then I could control how much I lowered the transfer case, and get it back in easily.Wow... That's an encouraging set of details. I will have to get the jackstands with large bases. I have only a pair of 3-ton stands (from princess auto)to hold the car up from one side only. I better get another pair, probably of a heavier grade too.
So you are saying that if I remove the cross member, I won't have to hold teh transmission and TC with a jack? I saw a Youtube video and the guy was supporting the TC with a jackstand @1:04 https://youtu.be/IXfQ8h8TvSM?t=1m4s.
So, this means also removing the mount and bracket. So I should fill the fluid from the fill port until it starts to drip? sounds like the TC is underfilled by a substantial amount in your car @amosfella!You need access to the very top fill port. Filling via the inspection port ends up being underfilled based on the way internal design. Its an extra 10mins to do it right.
On the 2004, there was no top port that I could find. I filled the TC till it was to the top of the inspection port, then filled another 200 ml into the syringe, wrapped paper tower around the syringe hose and jammed it all in, and got the plug in very quickly. I lost maybe 20 ml doing it that way. There were just a few drops on the floor.So, this means also removing the mount and bracket. So I should fill the fluid from the fill port until it starts to drip? sounds like the TC is underfilled by a substantial amount in your car @amosfella!
On another note, in your opinion, how can the inspection port be so low compared to the fill port, @ps2cho? If someone needs to inspect from there, a lot of fluid can come out!