Hi all, I have a leak from one of the levers that come out of the manual transmission in my 240D as pictured below. The leak has been getting worse and now there is a pretty big pool of trans fluid (at least that's what I think it is, brake fluid level is normal) under the crossmember after a week of sitting.

I got under the car last weekend and the lines running to the clutch and clutch master cylinder seem dry. It looks like the leak is coming from the lever that comes out from the transmission and connects to the shifter linkage. The picture shows what I think is a trail of dirt sticking to the fluid that leaked out.

What do I do about this, is there a seal behind this lever that goes bad? Can this be done easily without a lift?

To my old eyes that looks pretty dry. As an old established seep might be. I might be tempted to look at the transmission a little harder. For a source.


Then it may just be my old eyes and the lack of wetness I think I see. I might pull the transmission plug and see if it is up to level. If not top it off and the source may be easier to identify. Others will know if you have to pull the transmission or not for that seal.

Thanks Barry for the reply, I strongly suspect that is where the leak is, there wasn't any other place I could see and a lot of wetness on the crossmember which is directly below this lever. Also that image will link to a higher res version that makes the wetness more apparent.

Those transmissions were usually filled with ATF. Catch some on aluminum foil if you can it will be easier to identify. I cannot imagine that there isn't a replaceable seal in there but....those minor windblown leaks prevent rust...just sayin.

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I brought it to my mechanic to check over, no obvious leaks besides that one so we have to assume it's trans fluid. That being said, when he took off the fill bolt trans fluid came out, so it doesn't seem like it's that bad of a leak.

He is having no luck finding the seals though, does anyone know where I can find those or have a part number?

If fluid came out from the fill port then it was over-filled to begin with. That in itself will cause weeping. Drain, refill to the proper level, drive it for a while and then check for any seepage.

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Thanks Mike, is that a normal spot it would weep from if it was over-filled?

Generally, an over filled transmission will leak from a higher area than an actual seal. It will be most noticeable/active when the transmission is engaged.

Seals usually leak when the transmission is at rest.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Yeah, that makes sense. Any idea about the seal in question? Source? Part #?

All the Seal rings supersede to the same part number - 0269971348

https://mercedes.7zap.com/en/eu/fg/car/240/240+d/222/123123/gm/716210/03g/26/0/590/0/0/#57

I don't recall for sure but when you unbolt the shift levers from the side of the case I believe the shift fork can move and you could have trouble reattaching the lever without opening the case. I had the whole transmission apart when I replaced my seals which is why I'm not sure here.

You can see the levers in the upper left of my photo below, and the shift forks attached to the driven shaft at the bottom

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Old Blue - 83 240D 6 speed manual trans, OM648
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Wow, thanks Birthday Benz. I will order the seals at least, so you're not sure if this can done with the trans still in the car?

I will have my indy mechanic tackle this, I guess I should ask him to replace all of the seals. Are there 2 or 3 levers on the 4 speed box?

I just replaced the seal on the reverse arm on my trans, it's just an O-ring. I had a green AC line O-ring that was the exact same size. No problem putting it back together after replacing the seal.

Tim

There are three arms. Gears 1-2, 3-4, and reverse.