wh, just saw the bump so here is what happened;

I had heard about how great this MB mechanic was in Nashville, and I went there to talk to him about whatever issue I was trying to resolve. Since I was there, I had his guys change my transmission fluid and filter which was probably overdue. I noticed his guy removed my transmission pan with a cordless impact wrench and then I was called back into his office (I think I was looking for an entire lock set off a junk car of which he had a few).

The trans guy where I finally had the car towed reported that the trans pan was warped. I can only imagine that it was from re-installing it with the same cordless impact wrench (I do recall it was a Snap-On) which removed it. Apparently inconsistent torque among a number of bolts warped the pan after it stayed hot a sufficient period of time and sprayed the trans fluid out on the exhaust (which explains the cloud of smoke I saw out the rearview). The trans guy replaced the trans pan and there were no further problems.

I have not driven this car more than locally (~50 miles at a stretch or so (long story) but that should change in the next month or so) so don't leave for California with this advice without testing it.

I have since learned that there is only one crew in this town I trust to work on a German car and since that painful revelation, they are the only ones who touch any of my fleet and they do that infrequently (not because of any lack of confidence).

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1988 300E
1993 300SL
1994 540i

If I have a problem with my Mercedes, I go to MercedesShop. If I have a problem with my BMW, I go to BimmerNut.
If I have a probem with my Dell, I reboot it. I was an engineer for them for 10 years and we blamed everything on Microsoft.