Tranny makes sounds like power steering pump when low
 

My Tranny in my 500E makes sounds like a power steering pump does when they are low., even though th tranny is completely full.All was fine as I took the old girl on a cross state road trip. I left houston and Drove to San Antonio ~200mi. Seaworld Yeah!. Left Seaworld and drove another ~200 mi to The Soth Texas Coast (Padre Island, the girls the bikinis....Oh yeah wake up...back to the car) All was fine till the next morning, As I'm driving I begin to notice this low level whinning. I park the car and listen a bit. We go into the Texas Aquarium here in Corpus Christi and return an hour later. Now I'm praying mind you that the noise is gone. Fire 'er up and d.a.m.n. its still there. Its HOT folks let me tell ya and I'm worried about how I'm gonna get back to Houston ~200 mi. Oh did I mention that it was 95+degres while I was making these jaunts and that i was cruising at speeds of UP TO 100mph???:rolleyes:
Any way, so I call my Dad and he thinks its the front pump straining due to a clogged filter.(Once I heard the noise, I only drove it maybe 20 mi's till I could fashion a band aid) So I look for a place that does tranny fluid changes, did I mention that this was on a Sunday) No Luck. So finally I go to the parts place and buy a 5 gal jug of DextronIII, and a small drain pail and do the bloody job myself. did you know that you can remove you pan with the very basic tools that come standard in your MB. I bought a set of tools(cheap like ~20) just in case but discovered that the "handle" part of the tire iron fits the bolts of the pan. I did ned the hex wrench for the drain plug and a cheap set , set me back for ~$7. So $6 for fluid, $for the allen wrenches,$3 for the drain pan, $1.50 for the funnel. 1 hrs later I'm back in business. It still was whining but my Dad said and he was right(man will miracle never cease) that the car absolutely would make it back and he was RIGHT! So I made it back, bu the ol' grey mare she ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be....., . she shifting sluggisly and still has a faint whine.
to the MB Docs of the forum...what say you.......What's the diagnosis. Bullet to the pan? Or is there a more humane remedy...

*note, I did notice that there was the faint mist of transmission overflow at the rear of the car that was visible after the 1 st leg of the , er, race. Nothing major, I just thought that was evident of the extreme operating conditions. we all know these cars run hot.

whine
 

I have a 90 420sel that for the last 2-3 days, it has been rather chilly in the morning and I have noticed for about 1-2 minutes that I have this whine when backing out of my drive, usually when turning the steering wheel. I quits, once I begin to roll forward pretty good down my street. I had a nissan once that had a slight power steering pump leak and when it got cold, if the fluid was not maxed out, it would whine until the motor warmed up a bit, sort of what I am experiencing now. Did your tranny fluid change help things? Did you whine continue on and on when you were driving. I have not had a chance to check my fluid level, but I will do that this evening when I get off work.