i will drain my ATF and put on new transmission filter and gasket this weekend. read the procedure. seems simple and straight forward. my only question, what are there torque specs in tightening filter and pan? thanks for any help.

The most important thing about changing your filter is to also drain your torque converter. There is more than half of the total fluid capacity in the converter. Stretch the new gasket slightly and tighten the bolts evenly to only a few foot-pounds until you can feel the gasket start to bulge slighty. The feel is the most critical thing to observe. Torque should be less than 15 foot-pounds. Fill the trans with 3 quarts of fluid ,then run the engine for about 15 to 20 seconds. Then add one more quart start the engine and slowly add the remaining fluid to the bottom mark on the dipstick. The final level should be checked after a test drive and should not top the upper mark. The total amount should be about 6 quarts.

thanks rocket for the tip!! i've read the difficulty of getting the torque converter aligned to the small rib opening, any ideas?

joel,

No problem. Just rotate the engine with a socket and ratchet at the main bolt on the crankshaft pulley. If you have the car raised enough you can get underneath the engine where you can see one of the plugs in the converter come to the bottom while your turning the engine slowly. Be sure to turn the bolt clockwise as your looking at the front of the engine.

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Larry,

Good advice! Not having worked on that many MB's, I assume that the reason is the cam shaft drive sytem and the belt/chain tensioning. Turning in the wrong direction can unload the tensioning and cause the system to jump a tooth! Then you have real problems. It also helps to remove your plugs so you are not fighting compression. Larry or others, please correct me if I am wrong!

Also, lets not forget safety. I hear of people getting hurt and killed by cars falling or rolling on them during maintnence. I know of two personally (both professionals) that narrowly escaped death! Here are the rules: Always set the parking brake, always have an educated assitant in the immediate area with the knowledge and tools (jacks) to extricate you from a vehicle that slips off jacks, chock the wheels, use quality ramps and jackstands on solid flat ground (not dirt). These are simple, cheap, and effective!!!!!

One more question for the members - I have a 300TDT, what is the best way to rotate this engine to gain access to the torque converter drain?

Thanx!

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Deezel
87 300TDT
150,000 miles

now my confidence is shaken!!! is it bad to manually rotate engine as larry suggested or not?

Joel,

There is no problem with rotating your engine as Larry said. You slip a socket over the crankshaft pulley bolt which I believe is 27mm and crank the engine clockwise as you face the front of the engine. At the same time, feel for the torque converter drain plug to come around to the opening with your other hand. You can also work the drain pkug over by inserting a large flat blade screwdriver between the fins under the converter and "prying" it until the plug gets to the access hole. That is a tricky method, as those fins can break, so if you do that, be careful! The easiest way is to use a remote starter, but unless you are going to buy a good one from Snap-on, I'd just stick with rotating the engine via crank bolt. Good luck!

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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Precision Motorcars, Cincinnati, Ohio
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'72 Alfa Romeo 2000GTV
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12

thanks aaron and larry for your input!!