I changed my oil or thought I did on my c230 but I drained the oil from underneath the car and it seems that was for something other than the regular oil, it might have been the transmission fulid that I drained not the oil then I proceeded to pour in oil into the part that has the oil cap with the oil jug image on it. Started my car and it is now smoking. I think I poured in new oil while I still have the old oil. How can I drained the old oil and then put in the new oil. I also now have to put in transmission oil, where do I put in the transmission oil. Help
Ikpa

Ikpa,

Sit down, take a deep breath and relax.

Always start with the basics.

With the car on level ground, open the hood and find the engine oil dipstick (should be near the front of the engine bay. Check your Owner's Manual if there's any doubt). Pull it out, wipe it off, reinsert it and pull it out again to check the oil level. It should be between the two markers.

Next, locate the automatic transmission dipstick toward the rear of the engine bay. (correction per BlackMercedes:

"The W202 C-Class and W203 C-Class C230 models do not have a dipstick for the tranny fluid as they use the 722.6 five speed automatic. You'll have to buy the dipstick from the dealer.

Also, on the 722.6, the tranny fluid level must be set while the fluid is at 80C. Use ONLY the MB synthetic fluid, or you'll probably wreck the tranny.

I don't recall the tranny having a drain plug.")

If you over filled the crankcase it will be immediately evident. If you drained the transmission, nothing will register on the stick.

Start by refilling the trans with MB Synthetic Trans Fluid.

(correction by sixto:
If you don't know how much transmission fluid you drained, fill in half quart increments until you get to 10mm below the lower tick mark on the dipstick. That should be enough fluid to get the car running (once the engine oil issue is resolved). From this point, fill only with the engine running and the transmission fluid at operating temperature. That means drive the car. The transmission doesn't get to operating temperature by idling the engine.)

Be scrupulously clean and don't let any foreign material enter the trans. Even lint from a cloth used to wipe off the dipstick can cause a problem. Use a lint-free cloth or a good paper towel and check it before you put the dipstick back in. If you really did drain the trans (the fluid would be red), you'll have to pour in as much as you drained. If possible, fill until it just registers on the dipstick. Later on, when the engine oil is taken care of you can drive the car for 10 min. or so and then recheck the trans fluid level and top it off.

If the engine oil reads overfull on the dipstick get the car up on ramps (running the engine the least amount possible), get under the front of the car, remove the plastic shield and locate the engine oil drain plug. It should be located on the side of the aluminum sump toward the front of the engine. Get a couple of drain pans ( you could have upwards of 10 quarts in there), unscrew the drain plug and see how much comes out. Engine oil, depending on how long it's been in the engine, can appear dark amber (newer) to almost black (been in there a while) or some shade in between. If you're draining transmision fluid, it will be noticeably reddish in color and doesn't really change much with age.

Once you've determined that it's engine oil you're draining, confirm that there's approximately twice as much as there should be, replace the drain plug, torquing it the proper amount (good and snug, not real tight) and refill the crankcase with the proper type and amount of oil. Start the engine (it may still smoke for a while), let it idle for a minute or so, turn it off and recheck the oil level. Also check for any oil leaks at the drain plug or elswhere. If any develop in the near future it's possible that you blew out a seal or gasket from too much oil causing too much crankcase pressure. If that's the case go see a good service tech and have it checked out.

In the future you might want to invest in one of the suction-type oil sump evacuators like the Topsider

http://www.skilimited.com/product.ASP?wc=true&clickpath=1012~&base_no=AA-OC&str_base_no=3IT-1M,BE-2869,XAC-1842,X2BS-FOB,DM-RWB,XHB-1000,HB-RF30,3LF-PWA,2OB-4B,BE-2682,2SS-TH,AA-OC,X2TY-DST,&header_title=&page_name=prod_list_display&search_type=L0~1012&ShowImages=yes&sq=8&cont=1&intPgNo=2

or the Mity-VAc

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/MIT-7201.html

which use a long tube inserted in the oil dipstick tube to suck the oil out. It eliminates the problem of undoing the wrong drain plug and saves you having to crawl under the car. They cost from $45 to $55USD.


Hope this helps,

Gary

Gary, can you verify that the lower tick mark is the appropriate mark to reference for cold fluid in a C230? If not...

If you don't know how much transmission fluid you drained, fill in half quart increments until you get to 10mm below the lower tick mark on the dipstick. That should be enough fluid to get the car running (once the engine oil issue is resolved). From this point, fill only with the engine running and the transmission fluid at operating temperature. That means drive the car. The transmission doesn't get to operating temperature by idling the engine.

Why? Some MB transmissions are spec'd to register as much as 12mm below the lower tick mark when the fluid is cold. It doesn't take long to blow seals with too much fluid whereas a transmission will go for quite a while with too little fluid.

Out of curiosity, what tool did you use to remove the plug to drain oil - a wrench or conventional socket, or a hex bit socket or allen key?

Sixto
95 S420
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

Sixto,

Yours is the better advice. Quoting the Owner's Manual for my '86 300E:

"If the transmission fluid cools down to 20-30 deg. C (68-86 deg F), which is the normal shop temperature range, then the maximum fluid level will be approximately 10 mm (0.4") below the minimum mark on the dipstick"

and

"The fluid level must not exceed the dipstick maximum mark with the fluid at operating temperature"

Thanks for the correction. I should follow my own advice about checking the manual more often.

I've edited my post to reflect the changes suggested by you and blackmercedes.

Gary

The W202 C-Class and W203 C-Class C230 models do not have a dipstick for the tranny fluid as they use the 722.6 five speed automatic. You'll have to buy the dipstick from the dealer.

Also, on the 722.6, the tranny fluid level must be set while the fluid is at 80C. Use ONLY the MB synthetic fluid, or you'll probably wreck the tranny.

I don't recall the tranny having a drain plug.

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

The 722.6 does have a drain plug, it requires a 5mm allen socket (or possibly 6mm) to remove. Starting about model year 2000 they eliminated the drain plug in the torque converter though.

Drain out ALL the engine oil and start over. If you already replaced the filter, I'd leave the new filter on, drain the OIL pan and put in about 5 qts, total capacity with filter is 5.8 qts. DON'T start the engine until you've done this.

Next I'd go to the dealer and get 3 quarts of the MB ATF for the 722.6, put in 2 of them and start the engine. See if it's moving/shifting OK. At that point I'd get it to the dealer to get the AT fluid level checked.

Gilly

he says he MIGHT have drained his tranny and then proceeded to fill oil.did you spill oil ON the engine while pouring in new?what makes you think you drained your tranny fluid?it seems your tranny has an odd bolt(hex) to the pan and i find it hard to believe that you'd just come upon the allen key matter-of-factly.i'm guessing this is your first change and maybe(hopefully) you've gotten confused in all the excitement and started to second guess yourself.like phalcon says sit down,take a deep breath and relax-but don't start that car 'til you know what you've done!good luck!

__________________
'95 s500 (bought for wife but can't bear to share!!!) 125kms
'92 legend 180kms
'88 tbirdturbo(fantastic car-only regular maint.)120kms
'87 mustang gt(gone)
'86 tbirdturbo(gone)
'85 mustang gt(gone-but not forgotten)

I am really gratefull to all of your advice. I feel good again. I drained the oil this time and changed the oil filter and then without went to the MB dealership got tranny oil got the car towed to the nearest mechanic who then put in the oil for me! The car smoked for a while, checked all the fluids and everything is running fine Gary My hat off to you and all the other guys that helped. I guess I am off to my next project, changing the plugs. I will do a new post on this. I have never done that before for this car. Thanks all.
Ikpa

I have a 95 C220 and unfortunately I do not have a manual. While reading your threads, I noticed that it said 722.6 five speed auto tranny. My car is only 4 speed (or that's what I feel it is). Is my car supposed to be 5 speed or is there something wrong with my tranny?

The C220 never had the 5 speed auto, it came later with the C230.

Gilly

thanks. I thought W202's came with 5 speed.

They did in model year 1997 on. The C230 debuted in North America in 1997 and with the small bump in displacement and a slight increase in torque, it also got the 722.6 five speed auto that was made standard for all MB models in the US and Canada.

__________________
John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

Can you guys clear something up for me? You mentioned there isn't a dip stick for the tranny and you have to buy one from the dealer.

Is there a cap or something to cover the hole where you would put the dipstick? Is MBZ being cheap about not giving out dipsticks with the car?

Right, there's no dipstick, but there is a dipstick tube, which is capped, and the cap has a one-time use breakable seal on it (which should be replaced if the cap is removed)
The transmission is very critical on fill level, it is very temperature dependent, so they chose to not have a dipstick for fear it will not be filled to the proper level. To fill it to the proper level requires monitoring the fluid temperature. The temperature sensor is built into the transmission, and is read out using the shop computer (SDS=Star Diagnosis System).
If you buy the special tool dipstick, you'll find it's about 1 or 2 feet too long for the tube, it is simply pushed in until it won't go in any further, it's not like the cap which covers the top of the tube or anything, it can't stay in the tube, it's too long.
Hope this clears up the confusion for you.
I don't recommend trying to alter the fluid level or trying to drain and refill the transmission fluid without these 2 tools (SDS and the dipstick), the transmission is a scavenged case design and it's critical to get the level correct.
Gilly

Thanks Gilly. Now I understand.