Hey Matt just trying to clarify yours and my trans are the same or yours and the above poster?? Just trying to figure out?


Also does anyone know what this transmission is exactly called for a 92 s600? I think its like a 722. something??

Without looking it up, I would guess 722.3. Mine is a 722.4. Both of these take Dexron 2 or 3, whereas the 722.6 takes MB fluid only.

Cool, so basically I could go into any kragens or part store and buy dexron 2 or 3 and it would be fine??

Yes. I would still recommend Mobil 1 ATF, as it's synthetic, but it's your transmission.

If I bought the mobil 1 atf theres no special brand/type?? Just mobil 1 atf synthetic or what?

That's right. It's just called "Mobile 1 ATF." We have it easy, compared to folks with the electronic transmissions.

722.6 transmission requires MB fluid according to MB. The earlier W140 transmissions use Dexron III according to MB.

Brett

__________________
1997 S600 sedan

how do i tell if i have a 722.3 or a 722.6???

You do not have a 722.6.

The transmission in that car is a 722.3, and yes it has a drain plug. You can use dexron III, because of the HP of that engine I would recommend synthetic ATF. I charge $250.00 for a Transmissions flush with synthetic ATF with a filter and pan gasket.

I noticed some people dont advise a trans flush? But do recomend a filter and pan gasket with a drain and fill? Im not sure if your talking about one of those power flushes? Or just a drain and fill?


Also if I can ask why 250.00? NOt that im questioning your price or anything but I know a reg. place charges like in the neighborhood of 150 bucks? Myself and a previous poster were wondering if there was extra labor or why the dealership would be charging 425.00 for a trans filter, gasket, fill?

Thanks.

I did mine on my 1992 300-E the workshop manual calles for 6.5 quarts with the tork converter drained and a new filter.when tighting the bolts to the pan donot over tighten it can cause the pan and gasket to warp. I used Red line transsmission fluid .
I suggest you consult your workshop manual on the correct proceeder and fluid capacity be for attemping to do this service. Buy a roll of the desposable blue towels at you auto parts store you will need them and a large capacity dain pan.
Best Regards
Bob Geco

See Im starting to debate weather I should do it myself or not, because of many reasons. 1) I would have to jack my car up and lay in the street underneath the car to do the pan and converter. 2) I never did a transmission filter or gasket on a mercedes and dont want to mess anything up or have leaks. 3) supposedly a few shops around here will do it for about 150 bucks or so, which doesnt seem like much since the filter, parts and fluid probably run 50-75 bucks or so.


So I'm kind of torn on what I should do.

If you have to jack the car up, it's gonna be a pain. The drain plug for the pan (if it's the same as mine) isn't at the rear of the pan, it's on the side. So with the car at an angle, there's still gonna be plenty of fluid left in the pan even after it stops running out of the pan drain plug. This equals real mess when you drop the pan. Additionally, there's only 1 drain plug on the torque converter, and likely, it's not going to be visible through the access hole when you cut the motor off. On my '92 300SE, I think all I needed was a 27mm socket and wrench on the crankshaft damper bolt to roll the motor around until the plug was visible. I don't know if that's how you'd do it on a V12. I seem to remember it's exceedingly bad karma to roll a V8 the wrong way using this method - something about timing chains skipping teeth, etc. - don't know if this applies to the V12 motor. When a torque converter can be drained, it's a complete waste of time (in my opinion) to service the transmission without draining the converter.

The work is "uber-easy" if the car is on a lift. What I do recommend is a torque wrench that measures in inch-pounds. The pan bolts only require 6 ft lbs of torque (72 inch pounds). The drain plug for both the torque coverter and the pan only require 10ft pounds (120 inch pounds). Under tightening the drain plugs results in leaks. Over tightening risks stripping the heads or the threads - BAD in either case. On the pan gasket, over tightening crushes the gasket = leaks. Under tightening = leaks, but at least you can snug it up a bit and get rid of the leaks.

Over-filling the transmission is also a VERY bad thing - causes foaming and all sorts of other bad things inside the transmission. On my 300SE, I added 3 or 4 quarts initially, then started the car and let it idle while I added up another quart or so (I think). I stopped adding fluid as soon as the level registered on the tip of the dipstick. Then I ran the car through all of the ranges on the tranny and let it idle some more. When the fluid was finally warm, I made sure there was some showing on the tip of the dipstick and then drove it around VERY gently to heat the fluid up. Once the motor was up to operating temperature, I checked the fluid and ended up adding about a pint more fluid to get to the full mark.

I just don't enjoy this type of work enough to get back under the car and do the work twice just because I over or under-tightened a fastener.

Unless you can fully flush the transmission, I'd stick with Dexron 3.

According to AllData, you have a 722.362 transmission. Far as I know, this transmission is identical to the ones used in the 500SEL and 400SE cars, except for stronger internals to support the torque load from that massive V12.

Honestly, there are plenty of places that should do this work for $150/200 max. The filter isn't cheap from MB, the fluid can be purchased from any auto-parts house, even WalMart will have it. The problem is that some shops jack the labor rate and/or the time when they see that 3-pointed star pull up in the lot. Any competent mechanic can change the tranny oil on this car and no reasonable mechanic should want more than 1 hour for the labor to do so. I try getting quotes from mechanics for labor-hour rate only - don't tell them what you want done or what they're gonna work on. A good mechanic is going to charge at least $60-70/hour - possibly a little more or less depending on your location in the US.

While it can be a pain, if you're not going to do the service on your own car, I'd find 2 types of mechanics I could trust - one to do mundane things like oil changes and tranmission services. The other needs to be a MB-specific mechanic - he's going to be much more expensive than the other fellow, but he's also going to have all the necessary computers required to effectively diagnose and fix problems on your car when they arise.

DO NOT take your car to Jiffy-Lube or some roll-in-roll-out shop for oil change and transmission work.

There was a "good california shop" place that was recomended on this site in benicia california. I believe it was called star motors or something like that. He wanted 190 bucks for an oil change, and yet the DEALERSHIP only wanted 90 bucks. I was happy at first when I found that shop in benicia but it seems he overcharges by way way way to much. It sucks cuz I would love to find a good shop in the vallejo/benicia area that doesnt overcharge and does good work.