Dear all,
the transmission of my 89 560sel is leaking...... about 1 qt per 1500 miles. i let the mechanic to check and he quoted $850 for replacing the rear seal and the front seal... and also the front pump seal. will it be the right price in northern CA? or i should just live with it and save the $850 and pour one qt of atf per 1500 miles? or i can try those sealer that for sale in auto zone?
thank you!

I have a hard time living with the leaks influenced greatly by my wife and desire for a pristine garage floor.

If you plan on keeping the car for 5+ more years, why not consider a rebuild for $1400? IF not, I'd opt to keep putting fluid in. As was mentioned in a prior post, all the rubber parts are the same age so internally, you have equal wear.

__________________
Mark Herzig
1995 E300D 153K
1985 300D 142K (sold)
1979 450SL 122 miles (sold)
1992 500E 127K (sold)
1987 300SDL 132K (sold)
1986 300E 161K (sold)

Irrespective of what motivates your final decision, I just had the same seals replaced in the '87 SDL for $350 from my local mechanic in the Sacramento area.

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Chris

'04 ML500 - 53k, Inspiration Edition, Desert Silver
'11 Audi A4 Avant - Brilliant Black
'87 300SDL sold
'99 C280 Sport sold
'85 190E 2.3 sold

Thanks for the opinion Mark! I am thinking the same thing too, why pay 850 or i can get a rebuilt for $2000 in N. CA... but do u think those atf sealer works with benz?

And i have a question for goldenbear, i am willing to pay $350 but i am not sure if i have the exact same problem as you did. Did u remember if your local mechanic needed to bring the whole tranny down in order to replace the seals? i am living in oakland so i don't think i can drive such a long way to sac...

thanks you again and looks forward to hearing from you two!

PS my 560sel is a 89 and has 116k miles on it

Yes - tranny was dropped. Quote from dealer for the same work was $950-$1050.

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Chris

'04 ML500 - 53k, Inspiration Edition, Desert Silver
'11 Audi A4 Avant - Brilliant Black
'87 300SDL sold
'99 C280 Sport sold
'85 190E 2.3 sold

Thanks goldenbear!! Sounds it is more expensive to maintain the big benz in the bay area than in Sac! maybe i should ignore the problem until the tranny goes south.

The R & R of the transmission is a 6 hour job. The proper reseal requires the removal of the front of the tranny to access the front pump from the rear. This is necessary to replace the large O-ring that surrounds the steel front pump and seals it to the aluminum case. This is probably the leak as often as not.

This is an easy two more hours work. Skilled transbuilders usually get 8-10 hours to do this and the seals are cheap. Labor at Ca prices will have that part of the bill higher than $350.

I can only say that someone doing the job for 350 is either doing it in their backyard or is living in poverty. Not a welcome reference to his skills in my opinion.

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Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician