Last night I drained the fluid, dropped the pan, put a new filter in, and put in the k-1 kit. I went to drain the torque converter and my 5mm allen snapped. So, while I wait for a ride to home depot, I figure I will ask a series of questions:

1) My Febi AT filter and Gasket kit did not come with any replacement crush washers. Is it okay to use the old ones? If not, can I find these at home depot? The ones that came off my car are not copper, they are silver.

2) What is the procedure for starting the car up for the first time after a trans fluid change? Should I add 4-5 quarts (before start-up), shift through the gears and add the rest until it is some distance under the low mark? (what distance would this be on a 722.317, anyone know?).

3) I don't have a torque wrench that reads down as low as 7 nm. How finicky is the gasket when it comes to leaking? I tightened all of the bolts very similarly (not too hard), and I'm hoping I won't leak out all of my new mobil 1.

4) Is there a torque spec for the trans and TC drain plugs?

Also, it IS possible to turn the crank bolt over without removing the fan on the 603. It just requires a lot of wiggling and a fair amount of above-the-car/under-the-car interplay.

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1987 300D wvo on the way!

Anyone?

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1987 300D wvo on the way!

fill it up like you said... on level ground.. shift.... maybe take it for a spin around the block... test the level and add accordingly.

my filter kit didnt come with washers that I recall... so I just used the ones I already had in the car

tighten the pan in a criss cross pattern... I didn't use a torque wrench, just the ole tighten then back off a hair.. no leaks from it at all.


you should be able to crank it over by hand with a 27mm socket on the crank bolt

Cool. How long should I let it idle so as to let the the torque converter fill up? I'm really worried that I'll run something dry.

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1987 300D wvo on the way!

Got everything running nicely, thanks for the help! I'm still having a little trouble getting the fluid level right. Fortunately I just bought a nice mityvac and I can pull up small amounts of fluid from the dipstick tube.


One thing to note: Before I changed the trans filter and did this whole service, I noticed a screech, or howl, coming from the trans when giving the accelerator a decent kick under load (in my case, going up a hill). I was always worried that the sound was a foreboding one, that it was indicative of an old, dying trans. However, it has gone away after the service, and incidentally, I just read here

http://www.w124performance.com/docs/mb/other/tranny_722_Mitchell.pdf

that changing the filter eliminates the noise. So yeah, if you notice any sort of howl or screech coming from below the car under strenuous conditions, change the trans filter!

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1987 300D wvo on the way!