You fill it from the drain plug. You will need a pump to pump the fluid into the pan. On the inside of the pan there is a plastic tube that fits onto the drain hole. the colour of this tube indicates at what temp to check the fluid level at. The most common colour I have come across is white which is checked at 45 deg cel. Once you fill the transmission hook up a scan tool that is capable of checking the transmission fluid temp. At the corresponding temp you remove the drain plug and let the fluid drain out until it is just dripping. At this point the transmission is filled to the correct level and you replace the drain plug.

 

Thank you very much for the info.

 

If you are just doing a filter change just pump 5.5liters into it and your level will be correct, I am a 15 year master Benz tech, do these daily

 

2008 CLK63 - same thing, just pump in 5 liters and be done? All I have done is take the tranny pany off, and I will be replacing the filter. Nothing more.

Oh the tranny pan is plastic, flat, with small dimples and the drain tube is (was) white.

Thanks.

 

I have a 2008 ML 320 CDI with 42,000 miles on it, and want to change the transmission fluid and filter. My research has resulted in all kinds of confusing crap.

1. Is there a new oil pan that is sloped, with a white overflow tube that replaces the old pan and black tube? BT27.10-P-0006-01W. "Oil pan and overflow tube modified" for 722.901.

2. M-B dealer service rep tells me there is no such new pan and tube, and that a transmission service costs $355, and includes only 4 quarts of M-B fluid (@$34per quart!) and a new filter. He says they do not drain the torque converter. I know this tranny holds 9.5 quarts and this makes no sense to me. He says there is no way to drain the torque converter without using a flushing machine and about 20 quarts of oil!

3. An independent mechanic says that Chrysler ATF +4 from AutoZone is ok for this tranny, but I can find nothing that says it meets any M-B spec, as opposed to
AMSOIL which says it meets the M-B 236.1 and 236.4 spec.

Who the )(*&*(&%^ do you believe. Can anyone blow the smoke away from this nonsense?

 

The torque converter can be drained by letting the starter go up to 200 RPM and this will drain it! Definitely do not allow to start the engine!! You are correct to say the total is about more than eight litres and mixing old and new oils is not good. Four quarts is absolute rubbish! Please look up the new auto oil specification called MB 236.14 and you will find all the oils Merc recommends, such as Mobile ATF 134, Shell ATF 134, Shell Spirax S6 ATF 134M and many more including Valvoline, some in the USA sell for US$5/quart!! DO NOT GET RIPPED OFF! I have read most Merc auto trans oil change recommendations on Google and I suggest you do the same.

 

per SI00.40-p-0014a

722.9 serial number up to 2834526 use 236.14 spec. red fluid, white tubed pan
722.9 serial number as of 2834527 use 236.15 spec. blue fluid, green tubed pan

Might point your Dis-Service Advisor to AR27.20-p-0200-03r for torque converter draining.

American refiners on 236.14 are Mobil ATF 134, Shell ATF 134, Valvoline Synpower ATF 134
American refiners on 236.15 are Shell ATF 134FE or Shell Spirax S6 ATF 134ME

Per SI27.56-p-0001a
Oil pans without beveled edge and black pipe must be replaced by new parts in order to be able to install new filter.
oil pan w/ bevel a221 270 09 12
overflow pipe ( white ) a251 271 00 97
2 magnets a000 988 01 52


That help any ??

 

It helped a lot - thanks.

 

As others have said you pump the ATF in through the oil pan drain hole and it uses the overflow method to set the level. I did my own 722.902 service on my 2008 W204 C320CDI and the transmission runs like a Swiss watch now. I improvised and came up with my own very simple and quick method to pump the fluid in. You'll have a TC drain plug I'm sure.

I even flushed new ATF through the oil cooler so my job was very thorough.

I used between 8.5 and 9.0 litres of Fuchs 4134 ATF. You will probably have the white overflow pipe and already have the beveled pan so 45C will be the temperature. I used the temperature probe on my digital multimeter taped to the bottom of the oil pan with some insulating foam over it. You don't need the software to measure the ATF temperature. I won't get into degrees of accuracy and methods of measurement but when you set the level by overfilling slightly and then draining the excess until you get a "spitting intermittent flow" is subjective to say the least. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and my transmission is running like a new one using the method I dreamed up.

I made a video of the job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-72EN_pqUU

 

It helped a lot - thanks.

 

:thumbsup:

 

Here is a step by step video that will blow the myths away...

 

That vid was made by our own member Scott from down under.

He has many other useful DIY threads on the forums.

 

I've been using the Valvoline for years with excellent results. $20 gallon jug at Auto zone

 

Hi,

Thanks for info for a 722.9 box. To quote a precise figure for the oil change is interesting as on my 722.6 box, there are probably more than a few pints of oil always left in the torque converter and unless you use a flushing machine, you can never get all the oil out as a DIY mechanic.

One chap suggested turning over the motor via starter to 200 RPM BUT definitely no starting to get all the oil out of the torque converter??

Can a 722.9 box really be emptied completely to quote a refill figure?? All I can suck out of my 722.6 box is 3.5 litres, might be 7 pints? Then I fill the same amount in again, drive a bit and suck out another 3.5 litres and do it all again. Oil is never quite red as it should be as it mixes with the old "black" stuff.

Help!

 

I have the 722.6 5GTronic in my 2006 W639 115CDI Vito van. The TC has a drain plug and holds about 50% of the ATF. To do the total change including flushing the transmission cooler is about 8.5 litres.

For information I've been using this ATF (meets MB236.14) in my 722.9 and my 722.6 which both specify MB236.14:

https://catalog.lubricants.total.com/en/products/9rv/FLUIDMATIC-MV-LV

Does your C220CDI not have a TC drain plug?

I made a DIY video which is relevant for the W204. The only difference I suspect would be you won't have an external thermo valve in series with the oil lines to and from the oil cooler. I would take a guess it would be the same as the 722.9. You have a line coming from the transmission straight to the oil cooler and return line back to the transmission. Those lines and oil cooler hold about a litre so why not get rid of that old oil? You'll be able to flush in one step.

I find it interesting that transmission service instructions in the older WIS document for the 722.6 in my Vito says to flush the lines to the thermo valve and the lines from the thermo valve to the oil cooler. The WIS also says to drain the TC and the transmission thus changing 99% of the ATF.

Over the last ten years Mercedes dealers have "progressed" to the point they only change 50% of the ATF! Will they soon be only changing 50% of the engine oil!

The only explanation I can dream up is Mercedes make transmissions. It's not in their interests for our 722.6's or 722.9's to last. They want to sell $10k transmissions when they fail early due to "filled for life" nonsense or 50% servicing.

 

Chamfered pan means the bottom of the pan slopes. Should be quite noticeable. Without chamfered pan means the bottom of the pan is flat, i.e. more or less horizontal when the car is level.

Additional oil cooler means exactly that. The stock transmission has one oil cooler, and the "additional" is a second one. I THINK it's probably only fitted in either very hot climates (like the Middle East) or to the AMG variants. I doubt the ML350 is "high performance" enough to require the additional one, but you can always trace the pipes to verify.

 

It gets worse! Two different Merc dealers did not change the trans oil at the recommended 60,000km (~35,000 miles) as per the service manual. When I bought this C220 CDI 2007 W204 with 120,000km on the clock, I should have checked the manual, bad luck. Those two dealers also did not change the fuel filter.

The trans oil was black and smelled like a Turkish tram driver's jock strap! I cut the fuel filter open and it showed lots of contaminants. When I asked the service manager at Bentley (Western Australia, Diesel Motors) why those items had not been done, I was told they asked the customer if he wanted it done and he said "NO"?? In other words, people drop their car off for service and then are being asked: "Do you really want a service?". Hardly!

Worse, front brake rotors, the service invoice at 120,000 km claims the front rotor's thickness is 25.3mm and as min. is 25.4 (1"), the rotor is out of spec. Wrong! I measured 26.1mm, so it is within tolerance. Greedy b..........!

 

^ Car mechanics everywhere, methinks.

Probably descended from some of those who got a "free passage" to Aus in the first place....

FWIW all transmission fluid smells horrible even new and turns black over time. What a Turkish tram driver's jock strap smells like I am glad to say I have no idea.

That the fuel filter was full of stuff shows it was doing its job.

On my CLK63 and the R350, both driven in normal suburban areas, I got 100,000 miles out of the front rotors. So at 120,000 km (75,000 miles give or take) yours should be okay but near worn out.

 

How do you ensure the torwque converter if full on a 209 CLK (63)?