Can any one give me some details on changing the transmission oil and filter on a '93 400E? Any input is welcome. Please help. Thanks!

First of all it takes only an hour to do the job to a pro,Are you sure you want the mess that goes with it? Then if you really want to do it,you'll need the ATF nice and warm (around 15 min driving should do it)Then you'll need the car up and in park.You'll need to crank the engine by hand(key off) until you see the drain plug in front of the opening at the front of the trany.A 5 mm Allen wrench will take it off,as well as the drain plug on the trany pan. Expect about 6 quarts to come out!!! After it is drained take the 6 13 mm bolts around the pan off and drop the pan.To remove the filter is only 3 Phillips screws And another quart gushing on you... Make sure those are tight when you're done.Clean the pan as well as you can and put it up with a new gasket! Put the plugs back with new seal rings and pour 4 quarts in it from the top run the engine and the trany in all gear ranges and then add another 2 quarts. Drive the car around the block(just in case you need to walk back)until nice and warm.check the level IN NEUTRAL,ENGINE RUNNING and adjust.Total capacity should be close to 7 quarts.Have a nice mess!!! I mean... Have a nice day.

Hi, rabbit:

Don't be scared by zmbtech. You will get a mess for sure but that's the fun of it, isn't it?

I serviced the transmission of my C280 the first time last year. It was just as described by zmbtech. The most difficult part for me was to turn the crank shaft to find the drain plug on the torque converter. If you search the (old) archive, you should be able to find a lot of information. Or you can just drop a line here. I'd be happy to look it up for you.

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Harry (94 C280)

Thanks you guys for the info. It doesn't sound too bad. It sounds like a little work but should be fun. This is what I love about this forum! Everybody is so helpful

Actually, the tranny on a 400E will hold 8.1 quarts...initial fill is 9+ quarts.

That job's definitely a mess. I've done the job, but I just did my 500E and paid a pro to do it (an MBZ tech that drives a 500E!)since it was relatively cheap (maybe $50 + fluid; I run Redline Synthetic ATF in both of my cars)

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All the best, Michael
500E
300TE