Is there a recommended frequency?

Officialy MB says life time fill, however if you check with any dealer they will have fluid, filter, & needed parts in stock. Doesn't come with dipstick, so special tool is needed. IF I owned any car (truck) with this trans it would get serviced every 45K-60K miles. $200-225 for service sure beats $4000+ for replacement. Part number for dipstick is
140-589-15-21-00 & SHOULD COST ABOUT $30.

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What type of fluid does MBZ use.

Thanks for response.

back of one of the bottles of Quaker State ATF it says specifically for Daimler-Benz cars. That is the one I use. It is sold at WalMart.
Jim
'95 E320
'97 Honda CRV

That might be for the early ones, but the later 722.6 uses a special formula synthetic. It is very expensive...I would ONLY use this specail fluid.

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Use MB part # 001-989-21-03-10 for the 722.6 transmission. The fluid lists for $14.50 a liter & for complete service you will need 8 liters. That is why the service will cost $200+. As stated this will go 45-60K between services. The gasket & filter costs less than other MB transmissions. Labor for this service is around 1 hr.

I've got a 1998 ML320 - waited for it on order. Do the newer ML320 use different oil or the dipstick?

Thanks for response.

I finished putting everything back together this evening and went ahead and put the QS ATF in it. Took it for a test drive, got it good and hot and made sure the level was where it is supposed to be. I will run it for a couple hundred miles then drain, change filter and put the MB synthetic in it. From everything I can tell it is the 922.3 tranny. Thanks for the heads up.
Jim
'95 E320
'97 Honda CRV

If you're referring to your '95 E320, then hold off using M-B's synthetic ATF. The W124 chassis was never equipped with the 722.6 electronic transmission, which uses the synthetic fluid. The synthetic's coefficient of friction is different from standard Dexron III and you will experience degraded shift quality if you utilize synthetic in your 722.3 transmission.

I will say I have been running the QS ATF in it for the past 10k miles and have not noticed any problems. I will leave it alone then.
Jim
'95 E320
'97 Honda CRV

This thread started out asking about the 1998 ML320 and now I'm confused. I don't think the ML320 has the 722.6 transmission which requires the synthetic fluid, although the manual does say the fluid doesn't need replacement. I checked my manual and can't find the transmission designation like I can on my 99 E300 which does have the 722.6 tranny. Which tranny does the 98 ML320 use? Final answer please.

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99 E300 133K
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87 Saab 900 Turbo Conv 123K

722.6 Final answer Regis.