Tales of NEVER Changing ATF - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

shertex · #1 10-01-2010, 07:52 AM

These stories of people who never change their ATF amuse/intrigue me. In the car column of today's Wall Street Journal, there's some guy with a 1999 E320 with 175,000 miles on it who has NEVER changed the ATF. Boggles the mind on two counts: that he never changed it (though he apparently inquired about doing so on several occasions) and that the car is running just fine.

The fluid has just GOT to degrade and become contaminated. How do these cars keep going? It would be interesting to know the mileage record for a completely neglected transmission....

Anyway, I'll continue to replace my ATF every 20-25,000 miles.

vstech · #2 10-01-2010, 09:23 AM

My father was of this school... I KNOW his chevy trucks and vans went 140K plus between COMPLETE REBUILDS on original fluid.
we ran a service company, and put a lot of heavy miles on the trucks, so that may account for the failures and the lack of fluid needed...

Daman858 · #3 10-01-2010, 09:28 AM

Most of the new high end cars now have sealed transmissions and you couldn't change the fluid if you wanted to. Of course, the technology has changed a lot sine our older cars were made.

vstech · #4 10-01-2010, 09:30 AM

Sealed? I knew many came without dipsticks, but I've never heard of a transmission you could not drain and change the filter?

martureo · #5 10-01-2010, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

Sealed? I knew many came without dipsticks, but I've never heard of a transmission you could not drain and change the filter?

My wife's 2001 VW Passat had a "lifetime" ATF policy. But ZF finally came out and said that "lifetime" actually means around 90,000 miles.

chasinthesun · #6 10-01-2010, 10:14 AM

Another way the steelership can take your money ,service dept rip off.It was last year I heard that some car companies wanted to have exclusive rights on the repair of their vehicles, the unserviceable trannie is just one way they can steer that car so it comes in their bay.It also cost over $100 for the dip stick if you want to check your fluid in the trannie.This might be the next govt scandel for us to watch out for ,car companies that lawfully can subject their buyers to a said group of service companies for servicing their cars exclusively .They were trying to pass it here in Texas already.It will be the future of all car companies policy if its profitable ,if one is successful than all will follow.

Fulcrum525 · #7 10-01-2010, 10:28 AM

Too bad we can't use whale oil any longer......

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/392/almost-burned

cjlipps · #8 10-01-2010, 10:28 AM

My 1970 Chevy pickup (TH-350) went 165,000 before the first ATF change. It now has about 250K and has only had one since then (getting another next week). The trans has never been out of the truck and still functions very well.
I wouldn't have done this myself, my Dad was the first owner. But it seems to have worked out in this case. I normally go 30-40K on my Benzes and 60-90K on my other cars (all GM) and have used Amsoil fluids since the mid-late 80's.
With today's short-term mentality and the preponderance of leases and low-time trade-ins "lifetime" probably means "first ownership".

thayer · #9 10-01-2010, 10:32 AM

I'm in the midst of a neglected tranny. The new sealed for life deal is interesting. If you think of it like your cell phone (new every two) then yeah, any new car would totally make it two years without any need for tranny service. Of course, the person purchasing the used car will also need to purchase a new transmission but, it keeps the economy going.

John Deere holds the patent on grass that grows 3 inches and then stops.
Developers have constructed a 200,000 mile tire, I guess michelin has that patent.

shertex · #10 10-01-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thayer

John Deere holds the patent on grass that grows 3 inches and then stops.

I WANT THAT GRASS!!!

jonbobshinigin · #11 10-01-2010, 10:40 AM

On the sealed transmissions: Yes they are sealed, but they are technically serviceable. My brother 2001 Passat was like this but the factory process was to extract fluid with an evacuator. He sold it recently but in my research, the "stumble" we experienced around idle MAY have been something that could be resolved with changing the transmission fluid. The car had 75,000 miles and at some point a shop fixed a slight trans leak and topped it off...so they said.

Murkybenz · #12 10-01-2010, 02:23 PM

Most of them can have the oil changed.

My Bmw 525tds for example,1994 and a sealed box that required a good 20 mile drive to get it hot and then up on ramps and an assistant inside the car with the engine running and hand/ foot brake firmly on.

You then remove a fill plug on the side of the transmission and while the assistant works the shifter through the gate add oil until it dribbles out of the hole and jobs done.Another way is to connect hose to the trans cooler and let it pump out a specific amount whilst taking new in,obviously there is a trans filter to consider along with both approaches.

Downside is the oil costs a lot over say £150 here in the Uk,no scrimping and using the wrong grade as the box will fail or start to slip shortly afterwards.

Also at high miles there is a lot of clutch fibers floating in the oil and removing the oil takes these out of the box,the consensus is that replacing the oil can or will make the box slip at a high mileage.

It is 50/50 whether it slips or drives ok,the fact that these boxes and the one in my 94 Bmw monitor for slippage with speed sensors and once detected go into limp mode does not help.

Common thinking in Uk and Europe based forums is if approaching 150,000 miles or just under and no documentation to show it has been changed then leave it well alone.

69shovlhed · #13 10-02-2010, 01:14 AM

what the MB factory scumbags have done is they deleted the dipstick and you need a special machine to pump atf in through the drain hole in the pan. there is a stand off tube on the drain hole to keep the fluid at the correct level. so you start w/ a cold trans, connect the SDS diagnostic computer to the OBD connector, and dial up fluid temperature on the screen. pump about 7 L of fluid into the pan, fire up the car and at 113°F disconnect the filler machine and let the fluid drain down till you get that first air bubble. shove the drain plug in and drive for adaptation. its a pita, and simply a scam to keep harry homeowner from servicing his own car. the right wing capitalist ass holes among you will say thats just good business strategy. bs. its a rip off, and sad that companies will treat their customers that way. it made me very angry every time i had to go through this nonsense because some greedy nazis thought it was a good busines strategy. i hope someone nukes stuttgart (first they need to evacuate all the brew meisters and brewery equipment) as punishment. and then those goose stepping douche bags came up with the "intelligent servo module". this f'ing abomination is a $1000 control module that takes the place of the good old fashioned shifter. so instead of the driver selecting the gear they want, they flip this stupid little stalk on the steering column, and the idiotic servo module grinds its way to the selected gear. like a shifter didn't work perfect enough? strudel narfing butt wipes should all be drawn and quartered for designing such nonsense. you know they all still goose step around in swastika jammies at night before bed, heiling fervently until they're tuckered out. then its off to bed, clutching their teddy bears and hitler youth daggers. ftfftf

TheDon · #14 10-02-2010, 01:19 AM

Doing my transmission fluid sometime this week. Picking up a new filter today.

johnathan1 · #15 10-02-2010, 01:42 AM

Wow...rant much?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 69shovlhed

what the MB factory scumbags have done is they deleted the dipstick and you need a special machine to pump atf in through the drain hole in the pan. there is a stand off tube on the drain hole to keep the fluid at the correct level. so you start w/ a cold trans, connect the SDS diagnostic computer to the OBD connector, and dial up fluid temperature on the screen. pump about 7 L of fluid into the pan, fire up the car and at 113°F disconnect the filler machine and let the fluid drain down till you get that first air bubble. shove the drain plug in and drive for adaptation. its a pita, and simply a scam to keep harry homeowner from servicing his own car. the right wing capitalist ass holes among you will say thats just good business strategy. bs. its a rip off, and sad that companies will treat their customers that way. it made me very angry every time i had to go through this nonsense because some greedy nazis thought it was a good busines strategy. i hope someone nukes stuttgart (first they need to evacuate all the brew meisters and brewery equipment) as punishment. and then those goose stepping douche bags came up with the "intelligent servo module". this f'ing abomination is a $1000 control module that takes the place of the good old fashioned shifter. so instead of the driver selecting the gear they want, they flip this stupid little stalk on the steering column, and the idiotic servo module grinds its way to the selected gear. like a shifter didn't work perfect enough? strudel narfing butt wipes should all be drawn and quartered for designing such nonsense. you know they all still goose step around in swastika jammies at night before bed, heiling fervently until they're tuckered out. then its off to bed, clutching their teddy bears and hitler youth daggers. ftfftf