sorry for newbie question probably.

having problems draining tranny fluid
from my w123 '81 300d

1. the tranny drain pan looks different
than pictured in the Haynes manual.
there is no drain plug....

should I drain from the filler tube
inlet (at least I think that's what it is)
at the passenger side front?

or is there another drain port that
I should use?

2. can't seem to find the drain hole
in the torque converter. Is it possible there is none? or have I just missed
it? I don't seem to see it when
the engine is cranked to try to
get the drain plug in the "grille" opening....

or is there a drain hole for this
somewhere else?

thanks.

On some of these there is no drain plug on the pan. I have an 81 300D parts car and there is no drain plug on the pan. Most of them do have it though.
To change the the fluid on these you can remove the drip tube banjo bolt, or just remove the pan. Just loosen the bolts and let the fluid spill out. Not that hard to do but get a wide pan or be ready to clean up a lot of red trans fluid.
There is always a drain plug on the torque convertor. It is not always easy to locate. Just pull that small cover from under the convertor and slowly rotate it with a screwdriver. Get a good light and you will sooner or later find it.
Good luck, and welcome to the forum.

My 85 has a drain plug, toward the rear, I think on the left.

The way to drain the automatic transmission is to take off the oil pan. Replace the gasket and the filter before refilling.

The drain for the torque converter is accessible only after you take the pan off. The TC spins around, so unless you are incredibly lucky, you need to hook up a starter button to "bump" the engine until the converter drain plug lines up with the gap in the transmission you need to get to to access it. I needed to "bump" mine about 17 times. Do this with the ignition key off (or out of the ignition). You don't want it to start, because to shut it off, you would need to drag yourself out from under the car. I would prefer not to be under a running car, especially if I did not have an assistant, which is usual for me.

Use good solid jackstands or ramps, with a chock block behind the real wheels. Do not forget to remove them when you are done. I drove mine up on ramps, then jacked up[ the rear and put it on jackstands, so the car would be level, and not be capable of rolling backward. My foolish neighbor was injured while under a car on a bumper jack, and was slightly squished, which made him walk funny for several months.

You will need: a transmission pan gasket, a transmission filter, 6 to 8 qts of auto tranny fluid (I suggest Mobil-1 synthetic: it should outlast the regular stuff, and being as it is in a cool tranny instead of a hot engine, you won't need to change it for 30K or so, so the higher price is, I think, justified.) You will need a pan or large bucket. I put a tarp under the area, so as to keep oil off the patio/ floor/grass/dirt. You can hose it down if it drools a little. If you wear some rubber nitrile gloves, you will not get your hands dirty.

You will need a socket and socket wrench to remove the torque converter drain plug. I seem to recall it was a 13mm bolt. There are many bolts holding the pan on, and a socket is ideal for this. After you have backed all the bolts as far as they will go, remove the three bolts on the lowest corner and then pry the pan downwards with a tool with a wide flat blade, a putty knife or screwdriver. The oil will flow out of that corner, gradually loosen the other bolts until the oil has all drained out. The idea is to not have it all splatter all over you. There will be a small amount of residue in the pan, wipe it clean. Plastic bits are a bad sign. Make sure it's really clean and free of lint before you replace it.


See the book and make sure of the amount needed by your tranny. The manual for my 85 says 6.6 for a refill every 30K and 7.7 initially. Just put in 5 qts., then top it up as required. It is far easier to put it in than to take it out, particularly if yours doesn't have a drain plug.

Put a small band of blue locktite (the soft stuff) on the pan and the top of the gasket and the top of the gasket. You want just enough to seal, with a very small amount oozing out after it's all tightened down.

Tighten the bolts until the gasket and pan make light contact with the transmission, then tighten every other bolt about a quarter turn at a time, so each bolt will be equally tight. A torque wrench would help, but I don't have the torque specs available.

Check the fluid every 50 miles or so. I had to tighten my bolts a bit after I spotted a couple of drops dripping out.

My transmission shifted more smoothly after the change.

Good luck!

__________________
Semibodacious Transmogrifications a Specialty

1990 300D 2.5 Turbo sedan 171K (Rudolf)
1985 300D Turbo TD Wagon 219K (Remuda)

"Time flies like and arrow, yet fruit flies like a banana"
---Marx (Groucho)

Thanks. one other thing,
My torque converter doesn't seem to
rotate.... is it supposed to take much
force? I tried putting in neutral,
and undid the parking brakes....
but I think it doesn't seem to want to
rotate....

Yeah it is hard to rotate. Jack up the car nice and high so you have some room to work (use jackstands) get a big screwdriver, carefully lever it around using the holes in the housing. I don't think you can hurt the converter but you don't want to break the housing. Do it in little increments, and you have to switch from one side of the housing to the other sometimes (but keep turning the same way) and do it with the fluid warm. That's where most of the fluid is, not even worth doing if you don't do the converter too. Parking brake shouldn't affect it...

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'84 300SD veg-oil bliss
'83 300SD veg-oil beater

Well it is bolted to the flex plate. That means the engine turns with it. I still use a screwdriver to turn the convertor. Can pry on the gear there. Sometimes it can be done easier with either a remote starter button, as recommended by Mr Eldridge (best) or you can put a socket on the front crankshaft bolt and turn over the engine there. Takes either a 27mm socket or a 1 1/16 to do it.

o2pilot,

I just changed ATF in my 300Sd last week. I could see the TC plug while turning the engine with a socket wrench on the crankshaft nut.

Drain the transmission by loosening the filler tube banjo connection first. That will get the pan about 1/2 empty and you will spill less when you remove the pan. There will still be ATF fluid dripping from the filter after you remove the pan so put something under it to catch the fluid.

You don't have to remove brake or put transmission in neutral. Its not the TC that is hard to rotate, its the engine causing the resistance to turning. Best to use crankshaft nut and socket wrench to turn. You need 27mm or 1 1/16 socket and a 5mm allen wrench.

P E H