Parts Catalog Accessories Catalog How To Articles Tech Forums
Call Pelican Parts at 888-280-7799
Shopping Cart Cart | Project List | Order Status | Help



Go Back   PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum > Mercedes-Benz Tech Information and Support > Diesel Discussion

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 05-12-2009, 12:43 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Martinez
Posts: 67
ATF fluid?

What brand of ATF should I use in my 85 300D? I don't want to spend a fortune so I think synthetic is out, I will probably change it reasonably often and the car is only lightly driven.

I did a search but didn't come up with much, I did read somewhere about supertech from walmart being an ok brand to use. 6 quarts should be enough for a tranny and tranny filter flush??

Thanks



__________________
Current Rides:

2004 BMW R1150GS Adventure
2005 MB W211 E320 Cdi
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 05-12-2009, 01:30 PM
snookwhaler's Avatar
Linesider
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Treasure Coast, FL
Posts: 1,417
I always run the cheapest crap I can find from Autozone or Advance that is Dex 3 rated. I have been running that stuff in all my auto's for years without a hitch (hundreds of thousands of miles). I have yet to have a auto. tranny failure. But, then again, I change it religously.

Watch out buying oil from walmart. Be sure to check the seals on all the bottles. Zipper seals on the small bottles and foil seals beneath the cap on the big bottles.
__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 05-12-2009, 02:18 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: San Diego
Posts: 3,537
Quote:
Originally Posted by snookwhaler View Post
I always run the cheapest crap I can find from Autozone or Advance that is Dex 3 rated. I have been running that stuff in all my auto's for years without a hitch (hundreds of thousands of miles). I have yet to have a auto. tranny failure. But, then again, I change it religously.

Watch out buying oil from walmart. Be sure to check the seals on all the bottles. Zipper seals on the small bottles and foil seals beneath the cap on the big bottles.
x2
__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 05-12-2009, 04:22 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 477
Quote:
Originally Posted by snookwhaler View Post
I always run the cheapest crap I can find from Autozone or Advance that is Dex 3 rated. I have been running that stuff in all my auto's for years without a hitch (hundreds of thousands of miles). I have yet to have a auto. tranny failure. But, then again, I change it religously.

Watch out buying oil from walmart. Be sure to check the seals on all the bottles. Zipper seals on the small bottles and foil seals beneath the cap on the big bottles.
Have you added any inline filters or transmission coolers? How often are you changing the ATF and Filter in the pan? I have typically done changes every 15k on my jeeps and 25k on just about everything else. I have heard that the mercedes trans will last a long time if you change it often. but how often is often?
__________________
1987 300D 180k
1985 300SD 330k Helga
1992 300D Lola 269k- Sold
1986 325 coupe Bessie >300k Original engine(ODO Broke) sold
2006 2500HD Druamax Linda- Tows boat and looks pretty in garage thats about it
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 05-12-2009, 04:47 PM
oldsinner111's Avatar
lied to for years
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Elizabethton, TN
Posts: 6,243
I used Coastal Sync.Blend at Autozone,same price as regular,and MB approved.
__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 05-12-2009, 05:36 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,971
Quote:
Originally Posted by snookwhaler View Post
Watch out buying oil from walmart. Be sure to check the seals on all the bottles.
Why should bottle seals at one store be any more problematic than another store?
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 05-12-2009, 05:59 PM
oldsinner111's Avatar
lied to for years
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Elizabethton, TN
Posts: 6,243
The Red Chinese will fill the bottles with powdered lead.
__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 05-12-2009, 07:58 PM
snookwhaler's Avatar
Linesider
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Treasure Coast, FL
Posts: 1,417
Quote:
Originally Posted by tangofox007 View Post
Why should bottle seals at one store be any more problematic than another store?
The WalMart where I live has broken seals on their bottles on a regular basis. The local autoparts stores don't. I used to buy the stuff weekly when I was pulling all the time.

As an example I have seen 40 or 50 broken seals on WalMart bottles and I have only seen one broken seal at my local Advance. Most of the broken seals were on the ATF, Delo and Rotella Dino. These are a few that I look at to include Delvac and Mobil 1 for my other Truck.
__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 05-12-2009, 08:22 PM
snookwhaler's Avatar
Linesider
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Treasure Coast, FL
Posts: 1,417
Quote:
Originally Posted by polarisrmk View Post
Have you added any inline filters or transmission coolers? How often are you changing the ATF and Filter in the pan? I have typically done changes every 15k on my jeeps and 25k on just about everything else. I have heard that the mercedes trans will last a long time if you change it often. but how often is often?

I follow a 15k change interval and drop the pan at that time. If for any reason the oil starts to look brown (on a white paper towel) or smells bad (like it got hot), I change it.

I used an inline filter on my Volvos. But, that was because there was no filter in the trans.

Regarding the filter. When I got the 300D, I could tell that the ATF or the filter had not been changed in some time. When I changed the oil and filter, I cut the filter open and it was amazingly clean considering the condition of the oil. This made me feel pretty confident that the stock filter could go for a while without being changed. But, that would depend on the overall condition of the trans. and the actual service it received over the years.

You can't go wrong if you follow the manual's service interval and just change the fluid if it is looking rough in between.
__________________
AJ

1985 300D (SOLD)

Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 05-12-2009, 08:37 PM
Simpler=Better's Avatar
Ham Shanker
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 2,544
Powdered lead melts when you get up to temp, goes into cracks, and when the transmission cools again heals the leaks right?
__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 05-12-2009, 09:49 PM
Oldwolf's Avatar
124.128/602.962/722.418
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 1,017
Dexron 3 rated. I use Castrol.
__________________
1993 W124 300D 2.5L Turbo, OM602.962
2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2.4L DOHC
2002 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC
2005 Toyota Prius, 1.5L

http://www.fuelly.com/sig-us/40601.png
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 05-12-2009, 09:56 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 678
Anything dextron III rated, changed at 15k miles, changed and new filter at 30k miles. Transmission fluid is cheap, the transmission isn't.

I drained the torque converter and pan & changed out the filter, took around 6 quarts to refill. I used valvoline Dex 3.

Maybe it's a walmart phenomenon? My walmart too has broken seals on many jugs of oil like Rotella and Mobil 1. I only go there since I like buying the 5 quart jugs of oil instead of quart bottles. Walmart tip: Park and enter at their tire change shop where the auto department is, there is a cashier there, it's almost like not going to walmart!
__________________
1980 240d
1999 SL500
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 05-13-2009, 11:18 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 477
Has anyone ever used a Synthetic? I tried a Synthetic (redline) on my jeep and it was not very happy with me. switched back to dex 3 and problem went away.
__________________
1987 300D 180k
1985 300SD 330k Helga
1992 300D Lola 269k- Sold
1986 325 coupe Bessie >300k Original engine(ODO Broke) sold
2006 2500HD Druamax Linda- Tows boat and looks pretty in garage thats about it
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 05-13-2009, 01:40 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Martinez
Posts: 67
I bought 2 gallons of supertech dextron III last night at mao-mart, it was about $9.90 per gallon, I checked the foil tamper proofing and it was all intact.
__________________
Current Rides:

2004 BMW R1150GS Adventure
2005 MB W211 E320 Cdi
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 05-13-2009, 01:41 PM
mplafleur's Avatar
User Friendly
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Lathrup Village, Michigan
Posts: 2,939
I bought Mobil synthetic ATF. It is Dexron III rated.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:30 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2018 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Peach Parts or Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page