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thanks, great help



the pictures and the advice are amazing. thanks for the help.

 

G-AMG, you're destined either for sainthood or defendant-hood...

Seriously, thanks for another addition to our DIY sticky.

I would point out for those wishing to follow this procedure, don't shortcut it. You have to measure the fluid level accurately and at the proper temperature. And cleanliness, and all the other warnings G has supplied.

Also, note that if you have a post 99 MY 722.x transmission, you won't have a drain plug on the converter, so you'll only be able to change out approximately 1/3 of the fluid unless you pick a way to flush out the cooler/converter/cooler lines.

Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg

 

Greets,

I opted for the "new" type fluid, designed for the new 7-Speed boxes. I had a long discussion with one of the engineers at MotherShip Montvale, who confirmed that the use of the "New" fluid- A.001.989.45.03.10 (which is also only 1/2 the cost of the "old" fluid A.001.989.21.03.10) IS ALLOWED!!

This is interesting and is probably a smart move.

I understand that the new fluid can be used in the 5 speed tranny and not the other way around. Most likely the new fluid is better than the old fluid. However, drain and fill does not drain all fluid, now you have the old and new fluid mixed in the tranny. Will this be okay?

 

G-AMG

Thanks for the DIY, however, your W210 is a 98 which suppose to have a torque converter drain. Why don't you drain your converter also?
I know it's your DIY but would mixing old ATF and new ATF not very beneficial?
Anyway, does your transmission shift better afterward?

Regards,
JeffreyP

 

Thanks G-AMG for another excellent DIY - What nice Hazet tool$ / garage you have!!! :thumbsup:

Gregs210 - any specific / prefered method of getting the remaining fluid out of the TQ for MY post 2000?

Additional pictorial DIY perhaps?

 

nice, I plan to do this this weekend.

When you say "break off the tab and pry up the clip (make sure to catch the remaining piece)", do you have to worry about it falling into the tranny, or just into the engine bay?

Thanks.

BTW, working on a car with the rolex on? yikes.

 

Rolexes are made for wearing ALL the time... in bed (heh heh), in the garage, in the sea... it's just a watch. A very NICE watch... : )

 

To answer a few questions:

1. No, for some reason my '98 does NOT have a drain bolt for the Torque Converter.

2. It is MY UNDERSTANDING after speaking with Mothership, that it is not a problem mixing the old and the new.

3. The MB techs I have spoken to say their standard change is just a pan drop, filter change, and 5 liter fluid change. Yes, SOME advocate a system flush, but apparently has it's own set of dangers, mainly having the pressure "dislodge" material from the old hoses, etc, which will quickly kill your box. Yes, there will be roughly 2.5 liters still "in the system", but that is what is done.

4. No, the safety tab piece will not fall into the trans, just into the engine compartment.

 

To answer a few questions:

1. No, for some reason my '98 does NOT have a drain bolt for the Torque Converter.

2. It is MY UNDERSTANDING after speaking with Mothership, that it is not a problem mixing the old and the new.

3. The MB techs I have spoken to say their standard change is just a pan drop, filter change, and 5 liter fluid change. Yes, SOME advocate a system flush, but apparently has it's own set of dangers, mainly having the pressure "dislodge" material from the old hoses, etc, which will quickly kill your box. Yes, there will be roughly 2.5 liters still "in the system", but that is what is done.

4. No, the safety tab piece will not fall into the trans, just into the engine.

Excellent DIY!

I did the transmission oil change last month and there was no drain plug for the torque converter. My car is a 1998 E300 Turbo-Diesel.

HDen

 

Thanks for this post. You've converted me with your caution against flushing for fear of dislodging some material. I have an 05 CLK 320 with 140k miles and zero transmission problems, so I think your method is probably safest for me.

By the way, I drove a 98 E300 Turbodiesel for ten years. LOVED that car; only reason I got rid of it was that the A/C went, and it's apparently an extreme job on that model.

 

I just drained the ATF on my 2001 E430 4 matic a few days ago mixing the new 7 speed ATF with what ever was in there before and have driven ~100 miles with no difficulty. The only hangup I had doing the change was when I replaced the pan, the front passenger side portion of the pan got a little tangled on the metal frame thing and left a gap I didnt catch until I poured 2 L into the system. A expensive puddle formed on the ground. No worries though because I bought 2 L extra and managed to catch about 1 L of the fluid in a bucket. Great DIY, wish I had it a few days ago:thumbsup:

 

G-AMG,

How's the condition of the old filter? Is there a need to replace it? I've done many transmission work and they were all clean. So, I stopped replacing them, I only drain and fill the tranny every 10K miles.

As far as the temperature meter, I use a infrared temperature meter and just ping at the bottom of the tranny pan.

(The building maintenance guy at my work place uses the same infrared temp. meter to measure the temp. of the AC outlet on the 20 feet high ceiling. Pretty handy tool.)

 

I just drained the ATF on my 2001 E430 4 matic a few days ago mixing the new 7 speed ATF with what ever was in there before and have driven ~100 miles with no difficulty. The only hangup I had doing the change was when I replaced the pan, the front passenger side portion of the pan got a little tangled on the metal frame thing and left a gap I didnt catch until I poured 2 L into the system. A expensive puddle formed on the ground. No worries though because I bought 2 L extra and managed to catch about 1 L of the fluid in a bucket. Great DIY, wish I had it a few days ago:thumbsup:

So how much fluid came out total? How much new fluid did you end up using vs G-AMG's 98 320?

ALSO - is this the right dipstick tool?

eBay Motors: Mercedes 722.6 Transmission Fluid Dipstick Repair Tool (item 120151364488 end time Aug-21-07 05:08:46 PDT)

 

Reyna7,

It is my understanding it IS the correct dipstick.

Since these transmissions are reportedly hypersensitive to the correct fluid volume, I PERSONALLY didn't want to take the chance buying an "aftermarket" dipstick.

Sooo, I went to my dealer, and gave them my "you pride yourself on meeting/beating prices,,,,,," speil, and they gave me the MB unit for around $35.

Caliber motors (Anheim Hills, California) is also a good reliable source of "discounted" MB parts.

Cerritos, I don't know about concept of NOT changing the filter. I have read alot of transmission problems arise from a mucked-up filter. I think I would change it! Just my .02, though.

 

Reyna7,

It is my understanding it IS the correct dipstick.

Since these transmissions are reportedly hypersensitive to the correct fluid volume, I PERSONALLY didn't want to take the chance buying an "aftermarket" dipstick.

Sooo, I went to my dealer, and gave them my "you pride yourself on meeting/beating prices,,,,,," speil, and they gave me the MB unit for around $35.

Caliber motors (Anheim Hills, California) is also a good reliable source of "discounted" MB parts.

Cerritos, I don't know about concept of NOT changing the filter. I have read alot of transmission problems arise from a mucked-up filter. I think I would change it! Just my .02, though.

That's my concern too (the old get what you pay for scenario) - I checked online and even at autohaus its 60 bucks!!! Made me wonder why the eBay one is so cheap but then the dealership sold it to you for 35 (roughly same as ebay) and probably still made a profit at that. I cant see anything that would suggest its worth that much vs the ebay version. Is there any way you coul tell how long yours is? The eBay one states a length of 45 1/2".

Also how much fluid would you suggest I purchase since I wont be able to get to the TQ?

 

Reyna,

Call Caliber. I think they wanted $45, if my memory serves me correctly.

I would not want to rely on me measuring mine. Just think about it, if I am off by even 1 or 2 mm, you could be "overfilled".

I would suggest buying 6 litres.

Good luck!

 

I bought one on ebay that was from a seller with 100% feedback. Since the only thing that matters is the length of the plastic, I can't imagine it would be off. Especially if none of the other buyers of the item had issues.

 

Hey thanks a lot for the tip G-AMG!!! I called my local stealership and they wanted 70 bucks for it!!! What a rip-off.

So far the price list I've compiled for the job looks like this...

Fluid = 65.00 (6 @ 10.67ea)
Cap / Safety Clip = .88
Filter Kit = 15.54 (filter & gasket)
Drain Plug = 1.91
Copper Drain Plug Seal = .20
Dip Stick Tool = 45.00
Total = $130 (rounded up)

Oh and I need to get a temp gauge / tools...

Now I wonder how much the stealership would charge for the job? I'll call tomorrow to ask just for kicks.

I bought one on ebay that was from a seller with 100% feedback. Since the only thing that matters is the length of the plastic, I can't imagine it would be off. Especially if none of the other buyers of the item had issues.

Hey OliverK- how did it work for you / how much $? No issues?

 

I have gotten it yet actually. I paid $20 plus shipping.

 

Another idea - would this be of any benefit?

Could an oil vac be used to pull any more oil out of the tranny via the dipstick tube that wouldn't get out via dropping the pan? This might help folks who don't have the 'drainable' torque converter?
Also since the oil's cheaper now maybe the old method of following G-AMG's excellent guide first, then repeating 2 more times would be a good idea because then most of the old oil would've been changed out....

Thanks again G-AMG (& everyone else) for your contributions...

Regards,
Walter

 

Could an oil vac be used to pull any more oil out of the tranny via the dipstick tube that wouldn't get out via dropping the pan? This might help folks who don't have the 'drainable' torque converter?
Also since the oil's cheaper now maybe the old method of following G-AMG's excellent guide first, then repeating 2 more times would be a good idea because then most of the old oil would've been changed out....

Thanks again G-AMG (& everyone else) for your contributions...

Regards,
Walter

Hi, Walter, haven't seen you much on the forum lately, good to have you back.

In this case the vacuum wouldn't do much because there's no way to get it into the converter.

There is a way to probably get another liter out, pull the cooler lines from the transmission and then use gentle pressure to blow them out, that will drain those lines plus the cooler itself.

You certainly could do multiple changes, but that is a lot of work. At least a few folks advocate the DIY process of G-AMG's change, then another at 10,000 miles, then another 10,000 and then just doing it every 30,000 after that, these intervals are not hard and fast, just figure one that makes sense to you.

There are shops that have a proper machine, they drop the pan and filter, then only open one line, using gentle pressure they clear out the converter and the cooler lines but they are hard to find.

Another method is to fit the new filter and reinstall the pan, then fill with estimated amount. Then remove the return cooler line from the transmission and put it into a measured catch receptacle of a few liter capacity, but you need to see how much goes in it so you want something you can see through. One of your wife's beloved tupperware containers would be perfect. (Just kidding of course but you can use one of those poly pitchers you can buy at Target for $5-10, mark the outside with a sharpie so you know where 1L, 1.5L, 2L are at a glance.) When you're a bit over a liter shut down and add a couple, empty the container as necessary, then restart, get to a couple, shut down and add another, then run out another, repeat the process until you see the new fluid cleanly coming out. Then reconnect the return cooler line, check/set the level as normal, triple check for leaks and you're done.

Hope that all makes some sense.

Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg

 

reyna, I got 3 L of fluid out that includes removing the pan.

 

reyna, I got 3 L of fluid out that includes removing the pan.

Thanks Ryanoscerous! 3 Liters is better than none (damn TQ)! Does it drive any better?

 

I could say it seems bit smoother shifting especially when cold, perhaps a small increase in fuel efficiency too. Of course time will tell. I will do it again in 30,000 miles. Good Luck

 

Excellent write up!:thumbsup: Thanks to people like you who take the tie out to each us things that we can do. I don't really care about saving money when it comes to my cars but I love that I can count on people like you that enable me to do some things to my own car and enables me to do it better than a professional with greater care. I am sure that a professional would not wait so long for every little drop to trickle out when he has to work on and move out 10 other cars by the end of the working day and I am sure that the professional would not be able to practice "surgical-like" aseptic technique.
I like to also drain my oil from the bottom for oil changes instead of letting the dealer just suck it out. This way I can wait 1/2 hour or so and let the old oil drain out as much as possible. I am sure I remove more contaminates this way.

I will definitely be reading this post again as soon as I can find some time to do the tranny fluid change.
Once again, THANKS!:thumbsup:

 

I'd like to thank you as well G-AMG. Overall, I had a positive experience with Caliber Motors (as I think you'll remember) so I am willing to recommend them.

 

I have very good experience with MB Anaheim Hills (Caliber) too.
(Be aware that they list the address of their new building on MBUSA website. The repair and parts are at the old building. )