I don't know about the V8's, but I always used a large screw driver levered against the outside of the torque converter. Gently of course. Never had a problem on 300E's or long ago American metal.

On my S320, new to me, I was going to do the crankshaft bolt routine.
Not wanting to be crawling under and out several times, this is what I did.
Bought a small $20 web cam. Plugged it into my laptop. Taped it to a shovel along with a small flashlight. Slid it under and aimed it at the TQ. That's how I found the Torque Converter plug lined up in the casting.
This coincidence has never happened to me before and I doubt it will happen again.

When I crawled under to remove the plug I saw screwdriver marks on the TQ made by the Dealership mechanic (fluid only changed once)

Steve

did it tonight
 

I did the transmission fluid change tonight....

just some thoughts... i do have a plug in both the converter and pan.

the plug at the converter was within eye sight..so i didn't have to turn the engine much... (screwdriver leveraging at the converter). the pan plug came out easy...probably close to 3.5 quarts...

pan came off easy... still got some fluid on me... filter looked like it was ready for a change... i guestimate the fluid had 25-35k on it... i bought this car a little over a year ago with about 127k on it... so this is a baseline for me..

filter was a meyle...stamped germany.... slightly heavier tin gauge than replacement. i forgot there were three screws holding it in... on the Ford Expedition it just gets stuck up in there...

the torque converter plug needed more torque... i was afraid i was going to strip it... i gently hammered the 5mm piece into the plug.. no problem...

i guess 3 qts came out of the converter.... i put in somewhere close to 6.8 quarts of fluid....

one interesting note: very little grey clutch material in the pan... I hope that is a good sign..

i am good to go for 30k with this car... ... my wife drives it 35 miles to work and another 35 home... mostly highway driving...

i still want to do motor mounts, shock mounts...and i fear the water pump may be on its way out.... a bearing noise from that area is the clue....

all in all it's a good car... i allocate 100 dollars a month for each of our cars for repairs and maintenance... it's a pretty easy target to stay within...

...thanks to the people on this board....

she gets new tires in a week or so... then i am back to working on my house...

It will be when you remove the plate that is covering the pan.

On your other question, I understand your problem but I was very bad when I did my car and didn't drain the converter. Unless you go under the car (which I hate doing) with a 27mm on an extension to the crank, it's a PITA to "jab" the starter to get it into position.

Alkraut....the 560SL is a real pain to drain the torque converter due to the exhaust cross pipe that sits almost directly under the torque converter (slightly to the front of it). Removing the bolt isn't that bad, but getting the right angle to screw it back in is tricky (the last think you want to do is strip the threads)! This is a situation where a lift would make things a lot easier.

Although I like to perform maintenance myself, I think I'll send this job to the shop next time or just not drain the torque converter (which would probably concern me being a maintenance fanatic).

I will be anxious to hear other responses...perhaps there's a trick that I wasn't thinking of! :wacko:

That's not much. 5 ft-lbs only.

Yes - 60 inch pounds = 5 Ft. Lbs. That is the correct torque per MB Specs.
I have it written inside my little torque wrench box.

An inch pound torque wrench solves the problem for occasional wrenchers.
Mechanics doing these all the time , no doubt, have the touch.

As I understand it, you can easily bend the pan if you over tighten the pan bolts.

Steve

i did it by touch.... you can get a good feel for it... i just did them in a criss cross pattern.... i was carefull not to overtighten... it seems like you could crimp the rubber gasket and cause a leak that way....

i'll have to double check in the daylight..but this morning everything looked fine with the driveway test..

I do a lot of things by touch, but folks who have never in their life been taught how to recognize the feel thing could really overtighten something like this.

Eons ago I was a sheet metal mechanic at Boeing. The training school for new hires spent a fair amount of time on torquing bolts etc. So experience and stripping a few threads teaches when a bolt is approaching it's correct torque.

Steve