2000 S430 sealed transmission level check
 

Question on setting the proper level on a sealed transmission on a 2000 S430. Prior to draining the old fluid out (out of curiosity) I inserted the "test" dipstick and marked it where the level came to. Car was cold and had been sitting overnight. I drained the old fluid from the pan and torque converter and measured it out. It came to a hair more than 8 qts. I changed the filter, buttoned everything up and filled the tranny using the proper procedure and drove, filled, etc... until after a 20+ minute drive it was about 1/4 way up in the 80dC mark zone on the test dipstick. The next day I put the test dipstick in with the car cold and it was not up to the mark that I had put on the dipstick prior to changing it. Unfortunately, I did not check the fluid level hot prior to changing it. Shouldn't it have been up to the "cold" mark on the dipstick? I left it alone because I did not want to overfill it. The only thing I can think of is that it may have been overfilled prior to the fluid change. Any thoughts/comments?

While we are on the subject. Why can't you set the transmission fluid level "cold". I know the stuff expands somewhat when heated up but I would have thought that the cold level should always be the same.

I vaguely seem to recall a post by a tech who said that Mercedes says to not even bother with the cold mark anymore. Just make sure it is correct when hot. Anyone else recall hearing this?

Len

Yeah, there was a post about this not too long ago, but I cannot recall exactly.