Tranny Oil change on 300E

[Agron80]

Im planning to take my baby this friday to get the tranny fluid changed. I have the filter kit which I ordered from Partsshop. My question is, do I need to use original MB tranny fluid, or should my mechanic use aftermarket fluid. The fluid seems to be fine, but i want to have it changed for a peace of mind. Should I have the fluid changed, or wait for another 6 months or so?? Some mechanics told me not to mess with the tranny fluid if its fine, because if you do, you will just make more problems. Can anoyone elaborate on this? Im most likely gonna change it this friday...

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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

[Aaron]

It's good measure to change the ATF and filter every 30K miles. Going over won't hurt anything, but we all should be AR about our maintenance rituals, seing as how we all spend time writing about our cars on this board. Dexron III/Mercon is the correct type of fluid to use. That's what MB uses at the dealers. I prefer Castrol, but any brand (except the cheapies) will do. NAPA fluid is also good, as it's made by Ashland Oil (a.k.a. Valvoline).

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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Precision Motorcars, Cincinnati, Ohio
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'86 420SEL
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'84 BMW 745i Turbo

Mobil 1 synthetic auto transmission fluid works well too. Great stuff. It runs about $6/quart but for how often one changes tranny fluid, the per mile cost isn't bad.