I'm planning to do auto transmission fluid change on our 95 (W124) E420 in the near future.

On the MB Service Manual CD it indicates that you have to remove the left-to-right exhaust cross-pipe to access the drain plug on the torque converter. I crawled underneath, and it looks like a lot of work - the bolts are heavily rusted on the joint at the catalytic converter, and the pipe itself is in pretty rough shape. While the rest of the exhaust system is new, the cross-pipe and the cat look original (90k miles, eastern Canada, lots of salt in the early days). I didn't look up inside at the manifold connection, but I can't imagine that it's in easily serviceable condition either.

The whole cross-pipe setup kind of has that "don't touch me or you'll regret it" look to it, if you know what I mean. If it has to come out, I'll probably order up a new one and a full set of hardware before I start.

Has anyone here done the trans fluid change on a W124 E420 without removing the cross pipe?

Thanks!
JJ