Transmission oil change (Flush VS Drain)
 

I have 96K miles on the W210 E320. As I approach the 100K milestones, I took the car in (dealer) for transmission service and hope that if any serious problems uncovered may be corrected 50/50 with MB. I must be daydreaming
I assume the oil drain method:
Drain and remove pan,
Inspect solenoids and disc packs,
Remove and replace filter and gaskets, and
Refill
No, I got transmission flush. Am told that is the “official recommended MB way”. Correct?

I do not object to flushing but I hope flushing do not disturb the wear particles and contaminants (in their sleep at the bottom of the pit), and flush them into and between the disc packs. Not able to see the condition of the solenoid and disc pack concerns me. However, flushing could be a real better method of cleaning out the system. Draining unlike the flushing method could introduce a new gasket leak path into an otherwise dry joint.

What do the GGG (gals, guys, and gurus) think?

May be next time (2 yrs/40K miles later), I DIY it?

Oh BTW, HB was replaced earlier covered by the service recall. Nice. Due credits to the hell raisers on this forum (hear, hear!) and belatedly to uncle DCX.

Local AM radio station has a program on weekends hosted by an independent shop owner. You call in and ask questions, kinda like you do here.

He once mentioned that he had abandoned the flushing with a machine technique. He had one to many cars die while backing them out of his garage. Dirt had apparently dislodged and plugged a vital artery.

Local Valvoline Quick-Lube place was supposedly having people sign a waiver before flushing their transmissions. I'm not sure how they managed to sell that service under those circumstances.

Obviously a lot of people have not experienced this problem.

Personally, I would not go this route.

This is why I do alll of my own maintenance. In a case like yours and I'm assuming the converter has no drain plug, I'd remove and drain the pan and change filter - kind of a rotation scheme. I have an Asian vehicle that I've dome this with for 10 yrs. and 200,000 miles.

My 2 cents.

As far as mercedes benz are concerned, the transmission fluid is for life and doesn't require any servicing. This basically applies to all transmissions that don't have a dipstick.

Nearly any car you buy now has this same transmission policy, advancements in transmission design and fluid technology have increased their longevity.

So as far as the manufacturers are concerned, if it's not faulty, leaking fluid or have any abnormalities, then you simply don't touch it.

As long as it performs beyond it's warranty period. :cool:

Getting back to your car, there's no way I would personally just flush and change the fluid.
The filter is in there for a reason, makes no sense at all why someone would renew the fluid without replacing the filter, you wouldn't change the engine oil without replacing the filter?

I would suggest having the pan dropped and the filter replaced, should take less than an hour to do and about 3 litres of fluid.

ozzy

Topsider?????
 

Is the use of a topsider type fluid extractor appropriate for transmission fluid change? Say, drop the pan and change the filter every 50k miles and use the topsider every 10k miles in between. Since dropping the pan only gets at most 3 qts out of 8, the in-between changes of 3 qts-I assume the topsider would get 3- would help increase the turnover of fluid.

Unless you drive your car like Fangio :eek: , it really wouldn't be necessary to change the fluid in-between normal service.

ozzy

MB is using Mobil 1 type synthetic ATF in their newer cars, and it doesn't degrade like the older ATF did. I suspect they are also using better friction material so there is less sludge.

However, I would change the fluid, including torque converter draining, and filter, at 100,000 miles.

I would NEVER "flush" an automatic transmission. Anything but fresh ATF in there is a serious problem waiting to happen. Note that "flush" often means feeding fresh AFT into the tranny with the cooler return line off, going to a bucket, so that the tranny pumps fresh fluid into the torque conveter -- this is the only way to change the fluid in an American auto tranny short of drilling a hole in it (recommended for many years by GM, they even left a thick, flat spot for you to drill and plug!). MB provides a nice drain fitting.

Peter

Is flushing the correct method for MB transmission?
 

The work order say 12Q of syn. oil was used. I guess that means all the oil was flushed out including the TC. I was uneasy about flushing having heard stories. I am told the Tranny filter is just a wire mesh and not the tradditional filter media. I have not seen the 722 trainny filter.
Changing oil without changing the filter to me means an incomplete job. But if this the MB way maybe they know something that am not privy to.

My question is: So should I take it back and let them drain it the "old" way? or simply let it slide and do it "right" the next time.

How do you know when it is burnt?
 

Bribenz,
If you wait till your transmission oil is burnt or overheated, then the trainny is done.

If the transmission is sealed for life as you meant to believe. Then, how long or how do you define Life.
Is it:
50K (warranty/car lease life)?
100K ( I hope not)?
1Million ( now you're talking)?
The problem is no one know the definition of the MB transmission life.
If I remember right: 25 degrees F temperature increase reduces cooling and lubrication by half!

I have decided, rightly or wrongly, that my transmission oil change life is 100K,
Please for all you gurus(Gilly, Ray...etc) tell me am wrong.

Am still waiting for someone to tell me the correct MB way if you have to change the oil.

Funny Story
 

When my wife's ML320 turned 100k miles, I took it to my local Indy to see what he suggested needed to be done. I asked about the transmission fluid, and he said it has lifetime fluid. I asked the gentleman, who I guessed was in his late 60's/early 70's, if it was his lifetime or my lifetime. He got a good laugh.

The point being, some people keep these cars for a long time, some keep them until your lease is up. If you're going to have it for a long time, treat it like you want it to last.

Having run into this the other weekend, I think the only way to do a complete tranny fluid change is to have th dealer do it. There is no TC drain on my 2000 C280. I was only able to get about 2.5-3 liters from a pan drain. The car is MY 2000 with 36k. Fluid was a reddish brown, still relatively clear, in pretty good shape as far as I could tell.

I would hope Mercedes recycles this expensive ATF if they use 12 liters with every change.

glenmore
1991 300CE
1990 LS400
2000 C280

And changing on an interval can help to prevent that.

Extended change intervals were put together by auto mfg. marketing depts. in order to sell cars.

If you trade out for a new car every 3-5 yrs., then go ahead and forget about changing it. If you want to drive the car for many yrs., change it much more often that 100,000 miles.

You didn't mention the year of your W210. A 1996 would have the old 4spd with standard maintaince, every 30k I think. After that you get into the sealed for life stuff.

Why couldn't they just leave the dipstick and the drain plug and INFORM the buyer that the tranny is filled for life and never needs to be drained?

No no no thats just way to logical and besides they'll have to come to us to change it BUHAHAHAHAHAHA <- sadistical MB rep laugh ;)

Nahh..

They removed it for your own protection... if they had left the dipstick in place, you would have used that lint filled dirty shop rag that's been laying in the dirt behind the building to check your fluid level and destroyed their delicate electro-mechanical transmission.

When I talked to the parts guy- he said the failure rate was equal between what they see in the W124 and W210 bodies. Tech editor for the star ala Stu Ritter has suggested many times fluid change might be helpful. His old shop does lots of W210 trans in the 70-80 k mile range.

A fluid change to me is relatively cheap and easy insurance for the future. I don't care if it's synthetic or not- just makes sense to remove friction material from the oil by CHANGING it!

Michael

Far from perfect but sucking out as much as you can with a topsider then replacing the extracted fluid helps.

Do this every oil change & over time you will replace the fluid. Remember that with modern synthetic fluids unless you have really cooked the base oil it is the additives you really need to replace. But if you want to keep the vehicle for the long run best to do it properly.

Simple flushing can be a horror. So a flush should only be done AFTER dropping the pan, extracting the crud and changing filter. How many shops do that?

Sealed for life? They never said whose life.