W124 Transmission Ready for Rebuild Pics
 

I finally brought my car out of storage today. The car was parked for the last 6 months in the same spot. I noticed that there was some transmission fluid under the car. The day that I stored the car there (back in 0ct-Nov 2004), I had replaced the transmission fluid.
I took the car to the garage immediately afterwards and had the transmission removed from my car. My mechanic noticed that there was a leak was coming from a bolt. Here is a picture:

http://img207.echo.cx/img207/8601/dsc029483oi.jpg
Has anyone had a leak from the transmission from this bolt? Do I need a new bolt?

I didn't have time to test it. I had to package it up and make all the transport arrangements to ship it to the rebuilder. It was picked up for delivery today. What a relief!

Here are some pics that I was able to take while packaging it up:
http://img207.echo.cx/img207/9743/dsc029678dj.jpg

http://img207.echo.cx/img207/4039/dsc029687oa.jpg

http://img207.echo.cx/img207/5937/dsc029694vp.jpg

http://img207.echo.cx/img207/4250/dsc029705qj.jpg

The bolt looks like the drain plug for the oil pan. It probably needs a new copper crush washer. Given what the bolt head looks like, it might be a good idea to replace the bolt too.

Perfect! Thanks for your help.

that pic looks like the engine oil sump, not the transmission. Are you sure you weren't leaking engine oil?

Chazola is right. I should've been more clear - that is the ENGINE oil pan, not the transmission oil pan.

Sorry guys, I made a typing mistake. It should have read:
Has anyone had an oil leak from this bolt?

I was tired and made a mistake. You are all right. It is the oil pan in the picture and that is where the leak is from. Initially, I thought the leak was transmission fluid when I looked at the stain on the floor.

Does anyone have the part numbers for the bolt and washer?
1989 300ce.

Thank You

Not offhand, but you should be able to get them off Fastlane up at the top. When I started doing my own oil changes, I bought a new bolt from here because I knew my old one would get mangled trying to get it unstuck (it did).

If for some reason you can't find it, e-mail Phil.

This screw you can buy at any auto parts store. It is 14mm X 1.5mm X 25mm.

All you need is the new copper seal, should come with a new oil filter. In the mean time, just loosen a bit and retighten, this will probably cure the leak.

Also, if you did have tranny fluid on the floor, likely the torque coverter leaked down. On a Benz, this will overfill the tranny body and cause fluid loss. Check the tranny fluid when you get a chance, it may be a bit low. Only cure is to start the car occasionally to refill the torque converter.

Peter

Update on the transmission
 

Update on the transmission

I called the transmission rebuilder today and he told me the following:

-"the reverse clutches were worn clean"
-"plates were locking up"
-"clutch material was all jammed up"
-"reverse band was locking"
-"forward gears were binding"
-"normal wear caused the failure"
-"nothing unusual just as expected. This is what we see all the time"
-"life expectancy on a 722.3 is close to 120,000 miles"

He is supposed to ship it out tomorrow. I will update you when I have more news.

Regarding the oil leak

I bought the copper washer from my aftermarket source, since I had to buy a distributor rotor from them anyway (saved $21.00). I wasn't sure which size I needed so I bought the 2 sizes they had available.They didn't have the drain plug. I went to the dealer afterwards, and they didn't have the drain plug in stock either. The service manager at the dealer told me that they replace the copper washer with every oil change. I never knew that.The Mercedes part number is 007 603 012 113 for the washer. Here is a pic of the 2 washers I bought.
http://img49.echo.cx/img49/953/dsc029913us.jpg http://img49.echo.cx/img49/7236/dsc029901mo.jpg

I think his life expectancy is quite poor... I expect 200+ out of a 722.3 that has been properly maintained. I know of some 'softer' drivers who has seen over 300K out of their original boxes.

Perhaps he's going on MB's new lifetime fill notion;-)

Jonathan

Is it possible up North we get less mileage out of our transmissions due to weather conditions?

I would be amazed...My 116 280SE lived on Long Island till a few years ago..it has over 220,000 on the original box.. The last 15-20K were more akin to 45-60K the way I drove it :eek:

Jonathan

I'm not sure if weather has as much to do with tranny wear as opposed to maintenance and driving style. I think 200k+ is pretty reasonable for this trans, our '91 is on the original box and, except for a short delay going into reverse, still runs pretty well. The '87 was rebuilt at 170k, but that was because the front seal was leaking and it was rebuilt while it was out.

Today's Update

The transmission has been shipped back. The rebuilder said that it tested well on the dyno and it shifted fine. All updates were done. So I should receive it on Friday.