primatives

anyone know how to check the tranmission oil, other than having to go to MB themselves???? Someone at MB showed my uncle how to check it on the w163. but my dad has the w164. any help would be great thanks!!

Vernl

It has no dipstick and has a standpipe inside the tranny fill plug. As long as you never see any spots on the floor of the garage, dont worry about it until its time to get it flushed and filled, then, I'd let the dealer do it as they use a machine to flush the convertor and cooler when they refill it. The final fill level is temp dependant and is monitored by the tech with a computer so they dont over or under fill based on the tranny temp at time of service.Figure about 400 bucks for 9 ltrs of oil plus filter etc and labor at 40000 miles/60000 kms

primatives

thank you for that!! anyone know why MB has no dipstick?? and why they dont allow u to do this yourself???? other than to make some money off u? $400 is quite a bit to pay for.

u001elg

When I inquired about this the answer I was given was:

The MB transmission is a sealed unit to keep out dirt, moisture and foreign material. Unless there is a leak, there is no reason to "check" the fluid level since it is neither consumed nor rises. Also, to prevent adding fluid (i.e. the wrong fluid or to overfill).

That MB experience has shown that far more detrimental things happen by people checking fluid incorrectly and adding fluid when it is not necessary and causing leaks, adding the incorrect fluid and/or introducing dirt into the transmission. The easiest way to prevent this is to seal the transmission.

Hope this answers your query.

Vernl

400 isnt cheap but its only every 3 yrs or so depending on your driving habits so less than 50 cents a day if you look at it that way.
Even the 163 dipsticks had a lock on them, but i suspect the they did it to make sure of keeping all dirt and dust out of them as some folks dont take care around dipsticks and the trannys do not like lumpy oil

primatives

thanks for the answers guys!!

am1996

I am sure that the price depends on the dealer. My MB dealer's standard price (not a special) for automatic transmission service for 722.9 transmissions (that's our ML350 transmissions) is $291.

By the way, it's not "every 3 years or so depending on your driving habits." It is required ONCE at 40K miles. Once you changed it at 40K miles, you never have to change it again. This recommendation is straight from Mercedes and is in your service manual. My MB dealer confirmed it.

snoopymercedes

Can i add transmission fluid . 2006 ML350 . I replace a trans oil cooler lines outlet .

AudiA4Turbo22

Mercedes, like Audi, claim that it is lifetime fluid, so it doesn't have to be checked. But of course it absolutely isn't the case.

paracutin

My dealer and a local indy shop both recommend a filter and fluid service every 38,000 miles not just the initial service the manual mentions. When I asked why their recommendation was different from that of MBUSA they told me it was my vehicle and I could do as I liked. The dealer wants $470 and the indy shop $350. That gets you a filter and eight to nine quarts of fluid. Someone in another post mentioned that their dealer only charges $291. My guess is that does not include draining the torque converter. MB trans fluid is $12-$15 a liter!

venchka

Y'all should really do some more research here. Look for 722.9 posts by Glyn M Ruck.

This will get you started:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...s-60k-kms.html

One point to note: According to Glyn & others, in the rest of the world, the transmission service interval is 36,000 miles.

Wayne

paracutin

I have absolutely no problem having it serviced every 60KM. I think $470 that my dealer quoted is outrageous. With a lift it isn't more than an hours work on my ML. Do you have anything in writing where MB recommends that? A service manual from the UK perhaps? I would just like to see it in print from MB.

venchka

I would ask Glyn and others from the rest of world. I tried the MB-UK site & couldn't find the service schedules like MBUSA posts. My German isn't good enough to find the information on the MB-Germany site. I'll keep looking.

Wayne

venchka

I found a UK service sheet. They split the difference at 37,500 miles. I didn't know that they still use miles.
The earlier comment about changing the fluid once at 40k miles and never again goes against common sense.

Wayne

venchka

At 80,000 miles the transmission will be well out of warranty. Do you honestly think that M-B will care by then if the 722.9 goes belly up? I wonder if the story would be different on a vehicle with 100k+ miles of extended warranty?
If the "sealed for life" transmission suddenly needed a fluid change at 40k miles, don't you think that it would be prudent to continue that service regimen?

Wayne

ERICBENZ

I figured i would put my 2 cents of 13 years of owning my independent Benz shop . OK this is what i do for customers , 50 or 60k miles , drop pan , change filter , clean valve body , new gasket, and filter , then hook my trans flush machine to the cooler line for fluid , and pump in fluid in pan to only have new fluid go threw new filter , then start engine . The trans pump will pick up the new fluid in pan and push old into the machine not mixing the two fluids . My machine has a clear glass to see the fluid clean up as in takes the new fluid in . Now this is what a customer told me from M/B dealer =( is my trans serviceable? No its a sealed trans for 100k miles , so if it blows up at 95k miles you will fix it for free? NO we didnt say it was under warranty , we just say its not serviceable for 100k ! So he returned to me the next week and i serviced and flushed it. In my opinion if you have just a fluid change , your throwing your money in the trash , your filter is dirty period ! Your torc converter still has dirty fluid in it , if you dont service and flush it , its still dirty .

kenleepearl

I agree thoroughly with u001eig post. Overly obsessive car maintenance, beyond what is cited in the vehicles service manual, is almost always a waste of time, money, and in many cases, causes more problems/damage than if the service protocol were followed as written in the manual. The service manual will also outline service requirements for a vehicle driven in extreme conditions-towing etc. Too many car owners invent there own "preventative maintenance schedules" for their cars, then post in forums like this, that they are, "having this problem or that". The service manual was formulated by the cars engineers, so that is all one has to follow to keep a ML, or any vehicle running in optimal condition. As they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" or you'll liable to have to "fix the fix.

Nickthegreek

I've done the tranny fluid on my ml350 many times. Its really not as hard as you might think as long as you have the right tools. I have a 2 gallon pump/dispenser made by mity vac with a special adapter for 12 bucks extra. For the temp you can either use a high quality IR thermometer and aim it at the pan or you use a clone DAS that they sell on the internet that will use the onboard temp sensor. The steps are:

1) Lift car up

2) unscrew drain plug

3) knock out overfill tube

4) let fluid drain

5) unscrew pan being careful because 1 liter resides even after draining

6) Discard old gasket, filter, and filler tube

7) Clean pan, and mating surfaces with lint free cloth

8) Install new filter, fill tube and gasket

9) Install pan

10) I drop my truck after this to make the vehicle level.

11) Put a catch pan under the tranny pan

12) hook up mityvac pump and pump in 5l of fluid.

13) start truck and shift through gears without unhooking pump yet. let the truck run

14) With truck running unscrew pump adapter. Some fluid will come splashing out but not much.

15) Keep monitoring temp until 114F is reached and screw plug back in. The fluid will slowly drip out as the temp increases and at 114F plug it up

I did it twice to mine and the fluid is nice and clean. The problem is when people go by the Mercedes 100k mile claim. What MB doesn't tell you is that there is an initial break in period for transmissions and during this time friction material accumulates in the fluid. My friends was pitch black because the former owners waited until 90k to change it. Then initial break in period is critical which is why Mercedes says the first 40k miles. This accumulation of friction material cause all kinds of problems with electrical connections etc.

13)

Nickthegreek

Call it obsessive if you want. I call it being proactive

chikoo

@rate of changing every 3 years, if I cant afford $133/year then I shouldn't be driving MB. That plus $100/year in oil change.

raymanss

What the best gearbox oill for s63 2008

C230 Sport Coup

You should check out the AMG S class forum.
That being said, without checking, I do believe the AMG's of that year still used the 722.6 5 speed to handle the high power and torque of the AMG engine, and pretty much everything these days uses ATF134.
But that being said, please post this question in the S Class AMG forum.

raymanss

Thank yu bro
Yes i went to the dealer and they gave me ATF134
But i wanna make sure cuz you know smtimes
Dealer only wants to sell

khutchinson22

Thanks for this, Nickthegreek!

Just to clarify, the proper fill level is when fluid begins to drip from the fill tube at 114F? So, is it correct to assume that in order to check the fluid level I could unscrew the fill plug, warm the car up to 114F and top off?

Liuds

Step 12

you added 5 liters oil..... the used manual for my 2009 ML350 says 9 liters?

a little bit less oil is OK, but such a big difference? thanks

Liuds