I am relacing transmission oil on 1983 240D- I thought it was ATF but son of my mechanic for 40yrs says it's dextron- any help?

 

Dex is a type of ATF.

 

To expound on the matter, back in the day, there were 3 types of tranny fluid. Type A was for American Motors and also used by Mercedes. Dexron was for GM and IIRC Chrysler. Type F was for Ford only. Type A no longer exists and is replaced by Dexron. Type F is still required in older Fords, but the newer Fords use Dexron. Only two fluids are naw available. Dexron is used in everything except the newest cars which require synthetic Dexron. Hope this clears things up.

 

quality Fluid labeled DEX3
Don't use fluid labeled NAG1/722.6 mb spec.

 

As I said before without soundbites, Dexron is for earlier cars, and synthetic is for later cars starting in 1996 when the 722.6 5 speed was first introduced. The early 722.6 trannys were a piece of crap. They were poorly designed with crappy little needle bearings that grenaded. The return core charge was held by MB until cause of failure was determined. If the tranny grenaded, you didn't get your core deposit back. In my humble opinion this is one of the myriad cost cutting items MB learned from Detroit along with many others like putting cheap radiators in the C (cheap) class cars. The tranny cooler part of the radiator would fail and wipe out the tranny. Fortunately MB made many modification to the 722.6 to make it more reliable.

 

you haven't a clue.
Dex3 early trans
722.6 is not just synthetic dexron
try putting in synthetic dex6 which is on the market or dex2
or put 722.6 fluid in a 722.9 transmission

722.6 takes mb spec 722.6 or mb spec 722.9 fluid
shell and mobil atf134 is also spec and backwards compatible to all early and late model mb trans 722.4 722.5 722.6 722.9
another choice that goes beyond dex3 and synthetic dex options you allude

transmission fluid is not a 2 item option as you claim.
Not if you value your transmission

btw the valeo radiators were also installed in W211 E class and Pricey S class
and those coolers also leaked coolant into the transmissions.
Not just the C class
You might want to do some homework on fluids and mb related issues before you give out more poor information

 

722.6 and 722.9 are trans model indicators. The fluid spec is actually 236.14.

Although all other info stated by ohlord is correct.

 

OHLORD,
Sounds like learning specs is a full time hobby with you. Have you ever done any actual diagnostics or repair work. As an MB factory trained MB mechanic with over 30 years in the trenches, I actually do have a clue. I was trying to simplify the differences in transmission fluid without getting into the whole science of tribology. I realize there are different specs when you get down to the application, but I'm optimistic that someone chaging fluid in a $5000 transmission would either have it done professionally or check more thoroughly before taking the word of some poster. If someone did follow my words as gospel, then A friend of mine is right. My friend says we could remove alot of idiots from society and thin our population by removing all warning labels.

You kinda remind me of a guy who chastised me on one of these threads several years ago for answering a posters question about where to store a battery. I said a cool dark place and preferally on a concrete floor.

 

both.
And people coming to the forums like the proper information.
So why not tell them use spec fluid instead of saying there are 2 choices in fluids.So in your case you have a clue but choose not to share it.

 

You keep missing my point. If I am an accountant let's say, I would be an idiot if I listened to you and your specs or me and my generalities. The smart thing to do would be check with a dealer or better yet a transmission rebuilder. The dumbest thing I could do is listen to the employee at the local DIY auto parts store.

By the way where is the best place to store a battery?

 

who diy would prefer to have the correct information that is offered by people who know.
If you think that the dealers are going to field those questions all day long so be it.

It would be very easy if you are a so called mb trained mechanic to give out the spec or the help requested. That is if you knew it in the first place.

Battery
In a dry spot subject to neither low nor high temp extremes on a battery tender to maintain charge.
Why? Do you need to store a battery?

 

What about the concrete? Would you store it on concrete?

I'm pretty much retired now, but I've given all my equipment to a young fellow who I'm mentoring on MBs including my R12 machine, my R134 machine, and SDS unit. I have full use of the shop to work on my own cars. We get some late 90s and early 2000s in to diagnose and repair. I enjoy the diagnostic part, because of my background as having been an electronics tech for 8 years, but I'm tired of working on cars. Whether you believe it or not, I can do whatever is required to keep an MB on the road Except rebuilding a transmission. I have an expert in the Bay Area for that. His name is Paul, and he owns Mercedes Werkstatt in Mountain View. I wouldn't even think of installing a dealer tranny, because I can't be assured of quality when my name is on it. I got burned many years ago when I installed a factory turbo diesel engine. There were problems and MB did not make good. Before that I rebuilt a 280SL engine. I bought a block fitted with pistons from the dealer. One of the pistons was broken in the block. From then on I built the whole engine or I wasn't interested in the job.

THe point is I do know what I'm doing and as a bonus I'm keeping you alive and excited with this persiflage. I know you are on line and salivating for my answer. Bon Appetite.

 

Thats about the worst place you can put a battery.

On warm, dry shelf. At the very least, on a block of wood to keep it off the concrete.

That says it all, you're an old fart set in your ways. You don't want to learn anything new because you're afraid what you already "know" might have been wrong all along, proven wrong by some youngster that figured out something better.

Phew, thats tough learning, how to turn on the vacuum pump, how long to vacuum, which levers to turn and how much to charge. Has he passed the open book refrigerant recovery and recycling "certification" quiz?

What answer? All I've seen is an arrogant, self-centered *rick blowing hot air up our butts.

 

I knew if I baited the trap long enough, I'd get some schmuck to bite. A cool dry place and preferably on concrete is where you store a battery. Folks who still believe you store a battery on a board belong to the group of ignorant folks who get a box of tools together and BE FIXEN on cars without any BOOK LEARNIN. Servicing and repairing today's modern vehicles takes more than finding the water pump and seeing the leak. A good professional mechanic reads and attends seminars constantly.

Storing a battery on a board was correct in the old days, baczuse of the materials the cases were made of. The surface acted as a conductor to the concrete. With the new materials you wash the battery to eliminate surface drain then store in a cool dry place. Surface discharge rate is lower at cooler temps. To verify claims contact (BCI) Battery Council International which sets the standards for groupings, testing, ratings, etc.

As to sevicing A/C systems, I agree evacuating and charging are simple, but what if the gauge readings are wrong when the charging is complete. What does that mean? What if the low side is too high for the ambient temp? What if the compressor grenades? Do you just slap another one in? How much oil do you put in? How do you flush an A/C system? It's not quite that simple Sporto.

 

I dont know what your deal is but if you're just here to degrade and insult people then find another forum because thats not why i come here.

 

Thanks for admitting you're a sad little troll.

That is false information.

However, it increases sulfation.

It means you failed to diagnose the reason it needed to be charged/evacuated in the first place.

No der Oldude.

 

Specs become obsoleted OR superceded, big difference. A specialty fluid like CVT obviously is incompatible with other ATFs because it is specific to CVT. It doesn't matter to regular AT operators if it's updated.
on the other hand, a fluid like Dexron 3 becomes replaced with an improved fluid like Dexron 6, it supercedes the old fluid.
So can you put Dex6 in an older AT unit??? Yes, that's the intention. But wait the manual says it's speed for Dex3.... typical Mercedes owner freezes like a deer in the headlights and declares nonsense like ..."the engineers intended Dex 3" (or whatever MB spec) or "the service book says" then they attack anyone trying to understand the situation or, god forbid, use an improved fluid.

So imo anyone using or saying you should use a Dex 3 equivalent is kind of an idiot, and is going against the progress of science, as Dex 6 is far away a better fluid, and is reverse compatible if you have a brain to find out

Does MB make it easy? Yes and no. If your search leads you to Dex3 equivalent, and you don't see the upgraded / updated spec to the LT 71141 level performance, your reference material is outdated.

Even so I use Maxlife in lots of older trans, it's the bomb. I would not use it in the .9 transmission, as I don't think it's. 71141 level product. It might be, but meeting the spec and carrying the spec are two different things. Maxlife might meet/exceeded the Mercedes version of 71141, but unless they pay MB a million dollars, it isn't licenced, no matter how good the formula is, like AMSoil.
So the spec is pay-to-play all the way.... important to understand this. People need to rely on their own understanding, instead of crying out, "the manual says..." as a retort to a technical argument is lame and announces that you have no confidence in your own assessment.

Mfg manuals and recommendations can be wrong or outdated, as lube tech advances quicker than the vehicles wear out. ATFs are mostly the same anyway. Someone show me the physical differences in the specs, there so small to be meaningless. Besides deposits, the only difference is coefficient of friction, which changes over the service life, so does the visc. So the fluids all overlap at different points, that's how one fluid can "meet" a dozen or more different specs, it's the average of them after some use! They are defacto the same.

Just like motor oil, it's about service length. Can you put Dex 3 in a Dex 6 trans???? Yup, you won't even notice, except run it 50k instead of 100k. You risk a chance of deposits, but not really. Remember, all fluids since 2000 are intended as long life lubes, nothing is going to blow up or fail unless you exceed the service interval. Just like motor oil, you can run conventional oil, just have to change it more often. I say my non turbo engines can run in ANY oil in the store, just need the right climate and service interval.

 

I removed the atf and flushed my MT trannys on my two cars and replaced it with synthetic gear oil many years ago. I used Amsoil but deep purple or some of the other oils are probably ok. Make sure to flush the interior until no metal fragments are visible. The tranny shifts fine and has had no leaks. It is always safe to stay with what MB says but syntheic oils were in their infancy in the early 80's. I stick powerful magnets on the drain plug for good measure and use a magnetic drain plug.