i know this is an enthusiast site, but imo many of you are over-thinking this. remember that the dipstick has a range on it. minimum to maximum. so if your fill is off by 100 cc or so, it doesn't matter. at all. so long as you are still within the range. just like engine oil, you don't have be exactly precisely on the maximum line all.of.the.time. you can be a 1/2 quart below that and still be within the acceptable range for healthy normal operation.

I usually just fill it up until the light goes out. I just realized about a week ago that my tranny was almost 2 quarts low. I just did something about it yesterday.

You guys act like your car is going to be launched in to outer space.

If the tolerances on these cars where that strict, NONE of them would have survived the 20+ years that they did.

__________________
Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

I agree with the last couple of comments about just needing to be approximately right....all the more reason simply to do cold measurements.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Youse Guys.
" 'Doan has ta" work very hard to make me "Bat Guano in the Belfry"
CRAZY !

Today is NOT one of them.
The little red and green lights were already flashing behind my Ocular Sockets
when I woke up.(Other matters,Stupid Pols)

Howeveah,
[Analogy:
I don't wanna do something CORRECTLY (for whatever ass-i-nine reason),
So I'll warp the underpinnings of Physical Science of the Cosmos to suit my
CONVENIENCE!]

1.Does your Mercedes (Was it even designed to) run at less than OPERATING
Temperature? EVER? [Other than when it's warming up]
2.Could it POSSIBLY be that the LESS THAN OPERATING TEMPERATURE(s)
measurement figures published are for the "Filling" of the Transmission.
Which would be COLD.
(Is there an ATF Pre-Warming accessory available from D.B. ?)
with the EXPECTATION that any Wrench with a I.Q. over 50 would then
VERIFY that the level is correct WHEN THE SYSTEM IS AT O.P. Temps ???
3. I'm not even gonna address the Muffin Headed suggestion that I run my
Tranny "In an Operating Range" "Somewhere" "In the Neighborhood" of
the CAREFULLY PRODUCED SPECIFICATIONS.

Replys #31-33 Doth the the Footgear fitteth correctly? Then wear it with Pride.

"Hear Ye", A Bone to the concept of Good Samaritanism:
Used Mercedes parts, rebuilt mercedes transmissions

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

I think ill just go home and neurotically check my oil again and again...

Then ill stuff a million probes into my car to make sure it is at the *perfect* operating temperature While I check the transmission level with a micrometer.

My shoes fit fine, thank you. I would still prefer to jump in my incorrectly filled MB and drive it home as I have reliably for the past 5 years.

__________________
Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

It's SO Bloody EASY...

The Engineers in Stuttgart care enough to publish the foolproof method of
filling and checking your ATF levels.

Yes,it does require a little effort.
(Forgo the effort,
and even a Mercedes,
will not keep running flawlessly underneath you for long.)

As the Valley Girls were rumored to have said: "Whatever".

YMMV

"Your Mercedes,Your Pleasure."

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

Mercedes has made it fool proof to get the level right on the 722.9 transmission as long as you follow the proper procedure and it doesn't even have a dipstick.

__________________
Jim

Correct answer: toss that automatic!

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

You can do both ways.

The dipstick is calibrated according to how the manual states to read the ATF level. If you know what the ATF level should be when the measurement is taken while the engine temp is at operating range and idling, shut it down and wait a few hours until it's cold. Measure the level again. Note the difference between the level of ATF on the dipstick on an engine running and warmed up, and with the engine off and cold. Then you can measure both ways.

It's the same when measuring the oil level. The manual states to measure the oil when warm, with the engine off. Note the level it stays when measured this way. Let it cool down and remeasure. Note the difference. So whenever you measure the engine cold, remember how high it was supposed to be compared to the max/min marks, and if it's within this "cold range" then you're fine.

The only difference is, you need to remember the difference between the two readings. If you forget this "cold range" reading, then you'll have to default to reading it the proper way.

Agreed

How much would you guess (in fluid oz) is the difference between hot/cold oil and trans fluid?

Let me rephrase: if it shows full (middle of dipstick) trans fluid when cold, how much overfilled is it?

__________________
Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

Clearly, some people have no idea what actually happens in a shop. If you are crazy enough to think they are driving every car around for some significant length of time to hear up the fluid, please don't drink kool-aid.

A run through the gears and letting it idle will bring it to temp quickly enough, without the possibility of accidents, etc. If you wait until the cooling fan has cycled twice, you will be as close as you need to get, but 80C at the pan is good.

Remember, there is no thermostat in the transmission. So at 20°F, how long would you have to drive to ever get the fluid to operating temp?

That's the point. Either you are doing something to follow a process tied to a standard, or you are just guessing. And if you are guessing...

No idea, that probably depends upon transmission type. But considering one type of transmission, with no leaks, the ideal answer would be zero. The hot and cold difference would be measured using the same volume of ATF. Only difference is heat and time of measurement. As mentioned, the thermal expansion is what allows the owner to measure the dipstick properly, because the dipstick is calibrated to be read when the engine is warm.

One needs to measure it per the manual first, to make sure the level is correct. When it cools down, and is remeasured, then this would be the difference of the same volume ATF between measuring hot and measuring cold.

On average:
In Michigan at -20°F ambient, a 722.xxx will reach operating temperature in 3-5 minutes driving.


.

Do you have some empirical evidence to support that claim, like measured fluid temp after 3 -5 minutes?

Circulating AT fluid through a cooler that is below zero isn't going to get the fluid to anywhere close to operating temp in 5 minutes or even much longer.

Based on my experience servicing transmissions over the past year or so it seems to take anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes with the car on the lift, idling, for the fluid to get up to temperature at which you set the level.

__________________
Jim