Changing tranny fluid, have a question.
 

86560sl

Wife bought me a set of drive-on ramps to do oil changes and such so I'm kind of wanting to use them to do the trans. fluid change.

1. OK to do a tranny filter and fluid change with the front end higher than the rear?
2. I want to empty it completely out, can I rotate it while still in park or does it need to be in neutral?

Thanks.

JBoggs

I was skeptical at first about these tranny flushes. The one where they connect a gizmo to the car and flush the entire sytem including the lines and torque converter. However after being allowed to watch the procedure and examine the results I was convinced that this is the best way to due a "TOTAL " flush and refill.
MB's need special attention paid to the tranny service intervals as well as procedure. You may want to investigate this.
As for your question I would think 1 is OK , I am not sure what you mean by question 2 - do you mean to get torque converter to drain?

you should be fine on the ramps just make sure you drain both the torque converter and the transmission pan, then take the pan off and replace the filter/gasket, then you'll have most of the fluid out of the system.

when you take the pan off, you will have fluid dripping on a wide area so be prepared. :D

Please make sure you do this on a hard, level surface with rear wheels chocked. I'll skip the rant, but I'm no fan of ramps. I'd skip trying to get every drop of fluid out, just make sure you drain the converter. I believe the filter gets torqued to 6 Nm and the pan to 8 Nm.

I like to stack a couple of scrap 2 by 10 wood pieces to drive on if I need a little clearance. I feel much safer that way.

JBoggs:

You should be able to rotate the converter whether in park or neutral. The park feature typically is a sprag that locks a driven drum or shaft inside the transmission to the transmission case.

230/8

it's a pawl that gets lifted to engage a slotted plate that's splined to the output shaft.

Just did transmission filter
 

Be sure to drain the Torque Converter and the transmission.

When the transmission pan is removed - all fluid is cleared - sounds obvious - but I had to dump some, as not all drained from the plug.

With the TC drained and the pan removed - the majority of the red oil is gone.

Now - how to position the TC drain plug is a good question.

I asked my wife to start and stop the engine until the drain came close, then I moved the flywheel (with a screwdriver) to position exactly.

In a separate thread, I was informed (I suspect correctly) that using the screwdriver could have cracked a tooth from the flywheel.

I'm anxious to hear others comment on the movement of the TC, to position the drain plug.

use a ratchet on the bolt holding the balancer to the crank. I think the screwdriver must be 10 times harder, but maybe some people aren't thinking of using the front bolt in the crank. IMHO, that's the easy way.

Thanks all, I think I'll try the front crank bolt Can you get to it from the underside or will I have to walk around and crank it then crawl underneath each time till I get it line up? No helpers at my house. Also, I forget, does the shroud need to come out to get to the crank?

Thanks.

JBoggs

With my car, a 27 mm deep socket works perfectly, i can easily turn the crank (important to go the right direction) from under the car with one hand with the other hand reaching through the opening in the bellhousing with fingers resting lightly on the surface of the torque converter. Turn the crank until you feel the plug, then stop.

I use a big screwdriver...don't have a 27mm deep socket..

It's never been too difficult...

Someone had the best tip... be prepared for a tranny fluid bath when removing the pan.

After my first attempt, I now line a much larger box with a plastic trash bag and let the fluid drain that way.

The fluid just doesn't drain well from the tranny drain.

Make sure you have a good size bucket for the torque converter...you get about 6 qts from it.

Torque Converter Drain
 

JBoggs,

If using the 27mm socket to turn torque convereter, correct way to turn is clockwise - when you are facing engine while standing in front of car.

while the pan
 

is off check the bolts on the valve body to be sure they arent loose. use a 1/4" rachet and choke up on it. they will snap off easily.

if loose the shifting will be goofy.

tom w