1997 benz

i own a 97 benz e320 and would like to know what trans fluid is recommended for service, also has anyone experienced any trans shudder going into o/d or while searching for o/d. my car has 72,ooo miles.

Bill-Sims

Service Manual specifies only M-B tranny fluid. When changing my tranny fluid I bought 10 liters (at $15/liter, and it is $18.99 at dealers!), and tranny only took 4 to get to "Full" on the dipstick...note there is NOT an installed dipstick on your car. I bought one. Is considered a tool.

I'd be glad to sell you 5 liters of the ATF for 1/2 price (that would be $37.50) if you pay for the shipping. UPS will ship because it is non-flammable, surprisingly enough. Will also sell the tool for $20. I can't find the receipt, but have read that they cost a whopping $79...amazing $$$ for a dipstick!

I'm in Covington, Louisiana USA, near New Orleans.

Fabio D

Ur car only took 4 liters!!?????!!!?!??!??!??!!!!!???1 :S

Are you sure you drain all the oil??? you drain the torq converter by the 5mm allen screw???? i change the trans fluid in my car 6 months ago & take me 11 litres!! i use a mobil 1 ATF super syn whithout any issue

Good luck man

Fabio Daniel

RichardM98

MB removed the drain plug on the torque convertor some time in 1999 so poster probably doesn't have one although he should check. The 1997 should definitely have one.

Correct fluid for 1997 E320 or any MB with 722.6xx is:

MB Part No. A001 989 21 03 10 - 5 sp trans fluid

or you can use

MB Part No. A001 989 45 03 10 - 7 sp trans fluid

Special dipstick tool is MB Part No. 140 989 15 21 00 This tool can be found for about $30 online. Personally, I wouldn't sell mine since if the tranny ever develops a leak you'll want it.

Bill-Sims

I am sure there was still a good deal of fluid in the tranny, but I was reluctant to run it to clear it out all out. Basically I "freshened up" the fluid.

My torque converter did not have the drain plug--I spent some time trying to find one!

I'm willing to sell my extra fluid and the tool because I'm selling the car...picking up a Z06 Corvette next week, and there just isn't room in the driveway or garage. The M-B has been very trouble-free and economical.

RichardM98

The system holds 7.9 qts. To find the torque converter drain plug you need to turn the engine manually while someone under the car looks thru the hole in the torque converter frame until the plug shows up. It's easy to miss if you're not careful.

But you have replaced half so if you repeat the process a few times you have almost new fluid. Probably adequate for most circumstances. Some have disconnected one of the hoses to the trans fluid cooler as a means of removing additional fluid.

The most important thing for anyone doing their own transmission service is to properly set the level. The transmission fluid (not the engine coolant) must be at 80C when setting the level. For most of us that means 20-30min of spirited driving. If you set the level to maximum at a lower temp., expansion will cause the transmission to be over-filled which can cause damage.

Good luck with your Vet.

pfug 300td

I am having this same issue - cant find a solid solution

When temp is below 40 degrees in the morning, my E320 always starts out in 2nd gear and will not shift automatically--can run all the way to redline (not that I'd do that on a cold engine, but want to point out this is not the "heat up the catalytic converter" mode). I have to shift up to 3rd and 4th manually, and when I come to a stop I have to downshift to 3rd and then 2nd. After I've driven about 15 minutes I can put the selector in "D" and it will work normally, including going into 5th gear, or 1st gear, for that matter.

An interesting point: I've discovered when driving before it is light out that the selector does not light up "D" when the automatic shifting is not working. That certainly suggests to me that the problem is in the electronics that sense the selector position, yet I don't understand why it would only be a problem while the engine/tranny are relatively cold and temp is below 40 degrees. My sister-in-law has an almost identical W210, and she did the spilling the Diet Coke in the console trick and the tranny would not shift at all. I'd suspect my fiancee may have spilled something while she was driving my car, but any problem from liquids getting into the circuitry should be a problem at all temps, not just cold weather????

Ordered the DVD shop manual a few minutes ago, and hoping it can shed some light on this. Meanwhile, has anyone ever experienced this?

kajtek1

What year 320?
If that is 5-sp -99% of such issues is contaminated plug.
Buy new pilot bushing, can of MAF or other cleaner, some ATF if you want to replace it as well and do it before the car will go into hard limp.

fabbrisd1

Yes - let me answer in two parts:

1) For your tranny issue - before you start tearing into stuff - it is ALWAYS best to pull/replace the tranny adapter plug (genuine MB/MOPAR part only example $14 on Amazon) to assure correct communication - AND pull Transmission Control Module/Board in the engine compartment - and if contaminated with Fluid use 1/2 $9 can of spray MAF cleaner to flood/clean/air-dry-no-heat - clean connector too - reinstall. This restores correct tranny control/communication. Total investment less than $25

2) Next - check tranny fluid level is correct - and that you have had correct tranny service in the past 30K miles.

3) YES - I have seen this exact same cold-weather symptom (and worse cold-weather limp home mode) caused by a high mileage and/or contaminated tranny Gear Recognition Switch. Fortunately for your year that Gear Recognition Switch is a separate replacement MB part - a achievable replacement procedure - no Star recoding required.

If #1 and #2 don't solve the issue - then you can consider moving forward to #3.