240d manual trans lube

[michael rybikowsky]

A friend of mine recently bought a 77 240d manual trans He wants to change the trans fluid.He asked me what to use.One of my books said auto trans fluid,another said motor oil.Which is proper for his car.Thanks Michael.Carpe Diem.

[william rogers]

I ended up calling the local MB dealer when I bought my 74 240D and they said ATF...
William Rogers.....
74 240 D
81 300 SD
81 2wd Blazer hot rod (454)

I have a 78 240-D, manual tranny. The repair manual that I have says to use 10w transmission fluid. I found it at a tractor supply store but only in a five gallon bucket. So I decided to use ATF, Its about 10w. No problems yet, and that was two years ago. I was wondering if maybe the transmission is a tractor tranny. That would explain why I found the 10w where I did as well as the slow shifting.

[william rogers]

I often call my beloved 74 240D "pearl" a tractor my son calls it a racing tractor "Pearl" don't seem to mind....
william Rogers......

The lubricant specified in the 123 owners manuals that I've seen has specified an engine oil weight. I don't remember exactly what weight, I believe 10W30.

I would have to look at my 240D log book again to see when I did it, but I believe it was around 225,000 miles, I put in 10W30 Mobil one in the manual transmission. That was over 300,000 miles ago, and the transmission is still perfect.

Good luck,

[bennett]

This old thread proves I did a search... 81 240D manual 4 speed

Just want to confirm 10-30 Mobil 1 is the way to go?

going to change mine this afternoon... why such lightweight gear lube..?
BYW.. is the rear end gear lube similar?.. I'll go search that as well..

Bennett

[leathermang]

There are some good threads on this.... JimSmith recommends Redline ( something ) mt90 I think...

[estod]

I just changed my manual tranny lube -- put in Mobil 1 10-30. ATF came out --- less than 1 qt (supposed to be 1.7 qts). I seem to have a slow leak -- I suspect tranny front seal -- have clutch chatter in the morning, too -- then it goes away ....
The car seems noticeably smoother with the Mobil 1 --- tho shifts are notchier. I'm tempted to go to Redline MT as one thread swears that is the slickest shifting of all -- and I would assume also good lubrication as it's synthetic.

[Rick Miley]

Originally Posted by estod

The car seems noticeably smoother with the Mobil 1 --- tho shifts are notchier. I'm tempted to go to Redline MT as one thread swears that is the slickest shifting of all -- and I would assume also good lubrication as it's synthetic.

The reason for the notchiness is because that Mobil-1 is too slippery! The synchros need to be able to grab, and the oil prevents them from doing it, which is why it takes longer to shift. There's a great explanation of it on Redline's web site. Stop fooling around and just get the right stuff.

[TomJ]

Originally Posted by leathermang

There are some good threads on this.... JimSmith recommends Redline ( something ) mt90 I think...

I'll put in my vote for Redline MTL (it's the one to use for the low viscosity spec - as opposed to the MT90.)

Most of the (edit: Mercedes) manuals I've dealt with call out ATF (not Dexron, not Mercon, not ATF3, just ATF.) Since plain "ATF" is not available anymore, the only thing close is Redline MTL, but I have also run Mobil 1 Synthetic Dexron 3 in the alum trannies.

The older iron one I rebuilt for the 300D gets the Redline stuff and it really did make a profound difference in the way it shifts and feels compared to the Mobil 1 I had in it.

The trannies I've torn apart that had motor oil in them (maybe two out of the dozen or more so far - the rest had ATF) also had light pitting on the bearing surfaces of the synchros (unique to the amber/brown oil lube trans.) Not sure if this is attributable to the oil, or just from it not having the proper lubricity needed to prevent galling or just that it was never changed?

[crash9]

Redline's got the ticket. Not sure of the number, but give them a call. It's syn and they've also got a great gear lube.