Is that 6-7k for a rebuild or for a completely new transmission?

There's plenty of wrecked C240s out there that could yield a good used transmission at a 1/3 of the cost.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Maybe it was just my car, but mine was red in color @ 100K change. Changed it myself, so I was right there.

Brown fluid @ 39K miles is odd indeed.

What did they base their opinion on? Can't you take it to a JiffyLube where they advertise a Power Purge transmission fluid flush and see what that does? Is the car not shifting? What are the symptoms? You could always try and go to a Mercedes dealers used car lot and use it as a trade-in. Chances are the appraiser may not even test drive a lower priced car like that. Just bring your title and cash.

It's unfortunate that MBUSA never initiated a Recall Campaign when they found out that the radiators made by Valeo could cause such a catastrophic failure. If ever there was a case where a recall was called for, this was it. This defect has affected many C, CLK, and E-Class vehicles built before 10/03.

There is some good news though. In my experience, regardless of how bad the contamination is, only a small percentage of cars suffering this failure have needed to have the transmission and torque converter replaced. The DTB outlining this issue has been revised a few times, but as of now, here's how it reads.

If the glycol contamination is less than 100mg/liter no action is needed. In cases where the contamination is greater than 100mg/liter, the radiator should be replaced with the improved version, and the transmission should be flushed. Prior to flushing the transmission, the filter should be replaced. As per the DTB, fourteen liters of ATF are needed. If the problem persists after the flushing procedure has been performed, the torque converter should be replaced. That’s how the DTB reads.

Now the bad news. Fourteen liters won’t get the job done in most cases. There’s almost always a huge improvement in shift quality following the flush, but there’s usually still some jerking/bucking that makes the car pretty much a PIA to drive. FWIW, transmission function continues to improve the more the car is driven. At my dealership, I'll ask the SA to obtain the clients' permission for myself, or one of the other Shop Foreman to take the car home overnight, to rack up as many miles as possible. Like I said, the more the car is driven, the better it gets. In many cases, this is all it takes to restore normal transmission function, but in some cases, to make the problem go away completely, we’ll need to drop the pan at least one more time, remove the filter, and let as much fluid drain out as possible. We'll then re-install the same filter, fill the transmission, and continue driving the car. In the last few years, we've taken this approach several dozen times with good success. We've only had to replace two transmissions/converters.

Lastly, all MB dealers were sent a glycol test-kit a few years ago. It works very well, but in nearly every case, performing this test isn't necessary. The contamination is usually so obvious no test is needed.

I havent had the best the experience with the gasser MB's but the deisels Mb's are good.

Have had a stalling issue come back 3 times now, fix one thing, drive the car a little while bam it begins to stall agian. Arghh

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1986 300SDL, 211K,Dealership serviced its whole life
1991 190E 2.6(120k)
1983 300D(300k)
1977 300D(211k)

BTW, what are the symptoms when the dreaded Valeo radiator lets go?

- JimY

Have you ever driven over the "rumble strips" between the highway and the shoulder? The buzzing, or droning noise you'll hear is pretty close to what it sounds like when you've got coolant contamination in the transmission. The 2-3 upshift (when the torque converter clutch begins to engage), gets a little funky as well.

It can be a little different if you've got a C230 Kompressor (M271), though. I've found that the first sign of trouble can mimic a cylinder mis-fire under moderate load.

Either way, if anyone out there has a C, CLK, or E-Class MB built prior to 10/03, make sure you've got the improved radiator.

I have a Valeo in my 2002 C240 build date 11/01.

What should I do, have a newer radiator put in?

How much should I expect to pay a dealership for the work and parts?

Yeah I'd say its probably a good idea to get the radiator replaced as a preventative repair. The part appears to be around $200-250, not bad. Thats over $150 less than the one I bought for my 1982!

At the dealer they'd charge list for the radiator (probably closer to $400)
+ coolant (another $50)
+ labor ($few hundred)
+ new hoses (Good idea, probably about $50)

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Never say never.

Thank you. My '01 E has the original radiator, so I am trying to figure out how paranoid I should be A month ago the shift character changed for the worse, but it sure doesn't feel like rumble strips. Guess I need to do the one-time 39K mile transmission service...

- JimY

Valeo radiator huh ? Valeo is a french "spare" parts manufacturer. When I buy non-OEM parts for my Merc, I insist on getting FEBI or BILSTEIN and always run away from Valeo. Average quality at best !

Just to make you americans laugh, it's like having NAPA parts in a brand new Merc !

Just shows how low they stooped in the Juergen Schremp "make the investors happy, screw the buyers" ! Good thing they fired that guy.

Denis
Lions ur Mer
France

Valeo made the (semi)-automatic transmission for the Ferrari Mondial-T back in the early nineties.
Because of that I never considered Valeo trash, but now I'm scared enough to consider changing out my Valeo radiator as preventive maintenance.

You mean you don't like stuff from the country that gave us the award-winning "Le Car"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Le_Car

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Prost!

I wouldn't freak out quite yet...work the problem(s) and be sure...good luck