Is there a transmission leak preventer that's ok to use?
 

A year ago when I bought my 1991 300d, the power steering pump was leaking, a common problem for Mercedes. I was surprised (and delighted) to find a power steering leak stop that wouldn't hurt the seals. The old stuff would puff the seals temporarily, then you ended up with a real problem when the stuff wore off. The new stuff I got, they said it simply rejouvenates the rubber seals. I've had it in for over a year, and it's certainly helped.

Has anyone tried anything like this for their transmission? And/or, how hard is putting in a new seal for a transmission? I'm sure it's not a DIY project.

Thanks,

Jeff 1991 300d, 111k

The dipstick tube and pan gasket are diy, but the shift shaft and front/rear seals are more involved. The front seal means you have to pull the trans, a big job.

A tablespoon of brake fluid in the trans oil might help.

NO! DO NOT DO THAT! :eek: If you put brake fluid in your transmission, you will have one of those "it works fine and then when it wears out you have real problems" problems!:mad: Use Lucas Transmission seal conditioner and lubricant improver. :idea3: This will rejuvenate the seal, but eventually you will need to do a repair here.;) Don't expect it to totally stop all leaks, but it will slow them down quite a bit! :D

i would suggest nothing and just fixing the leak.

I thought the transmission in my 300SD was completely gone. The shifts were awful and it constantly surged, I was actually almost to the point of selling the car, worried that it would be almost worthless if the transmission went out completely.
I tried Lucas Transmission Treatment and it is nearly perfect, best of all the effects were immediate. I think that it is also a stop leak agent, just be sure to get some trans fluid sucked out before adding anything. It has been working great for around 7000 miles.

Don't be afraid of getting into your tranny. find a good repair manual and get a digital camera and take a lot of photos as you go along. I rebuilt the TH350 in my Chevy truck, took a couple of days, but was really not that hard to do.

Counting on "liquid solutions"
Living in fantasyland

Same things.

Professionally done, its 2 hrs labor to pull transmission + 2 for installation. I'd opt for brand new seals, knowin the car's good for another 200k miles at least.

How to pull the transmission?
 

Pulling the transmission sounds like a big job. How would you even do it? ... in short, that is? Seems like the car would have to be jacked up in the air at least 2 feet.

jeff

Counting on liquid solutions????
 

No, no, no, compadre.

The new seal stuff is really good. And it's like, $4 vs. $500 to have a transmission seal replaced.

jeff

Jeff, thats 2 hrs to drop tranny professionally done not DIY. Betcha new seals cost ye less than $500 total. And yer car's got only 111k miles???

Flat rate is much higher than that, at a real shop. Try seven hours or so.

I pulled the tranny out of my 300D in 2-1/2 hours without any special tools. Yes I jacked the car up nearly two feet but that's no big deal when you have a good set of jack stands.
I have yet to change the seal that leaked and reinstall the tranny.
I had no choice as no snake oil would have helped for any period of time.

My Transmission removal quote
 

Hi all,

My Transmission removal quote came as I was getting the Transmission serviced . After the guy did the Fluid and Filter he noticed that it was leaking from the front seals. He first told me it was Pouring out and then he said it was like a table spoon under it while it was running.

I'll admit I think I had a Leak all along but never thought it was anything large enough to worry about short term.

Well he told me that there are several seals that should be replaced that would resolve this leak. Then after I asked the question he said its 5 hours to remove and 5 hours to install which at his rate is 1100.

So I'm seriously thinking about removing it myself and maybe taking it to him to do the seal work . Maybe I should call around for some other estimates too?

He did help me understand something about the leak. Where I thought it was leaking from the pan he said when its leaking from the front seal it will blow all over the Tran. and then when underneath it may appear like its coming from various places.