When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
How often are you changing your trans fluid and filter?
Ive done my trans service twice already. New filter, gasket and MB fluid ONLY at the dealer and then my buddies MB indie shop. I'm really picky when it comes to maintenance on my car.
Never done the flushes, They all said it causes problems with trans. So I stay away from that.
Just curious how often you guys are servicing the trans of your E55 / E63?
Ive done my trans service twice already. New filter, gasket and MB fluid ONLY at the dealer and then my buddies MB indie shop. I'm really picky when it comes to maintenance on my car.
Never done the flushes, They all said it causes problems with trans. So I stay away from that.
Just curious how often you guys are servicing the trans of your E55 / E63?
Yeh, I too have never done the flush. But, I have changed the fluid and filter 2x, at 60k intervals.
Since I am a rebuilder....I do every car in the house every year...along with brake fluid,and a coolant flush every 2 years. I am a little crazy with fluid changes LOL but nothing has failed me yet. The 55's oil change is every 3,000miles with Mobil 1 synthetic.
Just did my trans fluid, filter and connector at 70k. The oil was pretty brown, not burnt but dirty and not a lot of material on the magnet. I've since picked up another 4qts and will be draining the new in a couple days, just to try and get a better service out of the oil change.
Note. the 40$ or $30 trans dipstick is the same for the Chrysler vehicles and was only 7.99$, spent the difference on oil.
Nope, flebay. The same 722.6 trans is actually quite common between the brands. Search for 722.6 Chrysler or heck even MB for that matter and you'll see.
My car has 56/57K miles, I did my full trans service @ 45-50K, can't remember exact mileage. I think the interval MB recommends is around that. Don't quote me, but that felt like the right time to do it.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
Max.H- you need to also be doing the connector when you do the trans fluid. The connector is prone to leak and the fluid wicks up the wires and ruins the TCM. It is a cheap part and cheap insurance. As for a flush, there are 2 different kinds 1) you just take a tranny line out and keep dumping new fluid in until all the old fluid is out and it runs clean 2) hooking it up to a machine and power flushing it. If all you are doing is dropping the pan and replacing fluid you are only changing out maybe 1/3 of the fluid. Would you only change out 1/3 of your engine oil? Issues from flushing usually come about b/c the old fluid is dirty and the dirt helps worn clutches grip better. If you have all new fluid in that is slick and clean, then worn clutches don't have that grit to help them grip. The only time non power flushing the system and having all new fluid doesn't work out well is if the tranny is in poor shape and is on its way out anyhow. Back in the olden days guys would put Ford type F tranny fluid in worn out GM cars (that were suppose to have dexron) b/c the old ford type F had a ton of different friction modifiers that would help cover up slipping in an old transmission and act as grit so to speak. The new MB spec tranny fluid BTW is different than the old. It is much more 'slippery' so to speak than the original fill in the 722 tranny your car had. It is also a lot more robust, amongst other things, and you would be wise to do a full flush and get all new in. There was a guy on another board who was a retired chemical engineer who helped design the new spec that went on and on about how much better it is. Of course, it isn't better if your tranny is on the way out as the dirt and grit in old crappy fluid acts as a bandaid for awhile. Powerflushes can sometimes blow out seals and force dirt and crap in places you dont want it. Just unplug a line and flush the system that way (make sure to have the tranny cycle through park/neutral/reverse/drive to get everything out of each solenoid while you are doing it).
SICAMG - coolant need to only be done every 15 years / 150k on these mercedes. Here is a great article talking about it http://www.mbca.org/sites/default/fi...reedec04_0.pdf
Also, unless you are only racing the thing at every single stop light 3k on oil is a ridiculously low number. When GM was doing its testing to create the dynamic oil service life in their cars they ran a new vette motor the equivalent of 100k at 55mph on the same conventional (not synthetic) oil. Under these conditions the oil lost barely any of its protective qualities and the motor had virtually 0 wear. On that system dynamic things like outside temperature, rpm, load, engine temp, etc. go into figuring how much oil life is left. In my cadillac the service interval based on my driving is usually 12,000 miles or so, but would go down if I did more city or hard driving. The point is you are throwing money down the toilet needlessly changing out mobile 1 synthetic that often, especially considering the capacity of the E55 system. Have your used oil tested sometime (it is super cheap to have done) and they will tell you that you are wasting money at your current change interval. I know people like 'peace of mind' or 'extra insurance' but changing it out that often is like changing out a tire after only about 1/3 of its tread is worn off.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
also, to check the fluid level properly you need a star tool to see what the current trans fluid temp is in order to make sure the dipstick is reading accurate. Trans fluid expands/contracts greatly based on temp and you can think you have the right amount in when you really don't.
Good to know guys. So, it seems every 60-75k miles is about the norm for trans oil and filter change?
My indie guy advised me to come back 5k miles and drain half and replace with new oil to get as much new oil as possible.
I thought the connector change was needed because of coolant leaking into the trans on the older 03-04 models. I haven't heard of issues with 05-06 models.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
the coolant problem is 03 models with certain builds of radiator. The problem occurs in the radiator itself with coolant dumping into the tranny (happened to me E55 right before I bought it & luckily the guy had an extended warranty to put a new tranny in).
The connector is where the electrical connector attaches to the transmission pan area. It is a problem with all 722 trannys regardless of year. It is like an $8 part.
Thanks carguyshu, The question was not how you do it. But, at what intervals are people doing it. :-)
I should probably mention, Ive been changing MB trans fluid with filter at 50-60k miles also.
Since you can only remove about 4 quarts when you drop the pan. Not get all the trans fluid will come out without doing some other things. MB and my indie shop recommends coming back after around 5k miles or so, drain another 4 quarts and add fresh oil.
They always check when the trans fluid is a certain temperature.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
Here's a great writeup showing how to change it and yet another way to flush it. It also points out the importance of proper temp. Without a star tool, I'm not sure exactly how you know its at the right temp.
The problem with doing it by just changing out the pan fluid and then doing it again after 5k is that the first time you might get out 1/2 the fluid. The 2nd time, you're again only going to get out at best 1/2 the fluid. That means that 25% of the original fluid is still there even after 2 changes. Every time you swap it out, that number would be halved (so after 3 changes you'd still have 12.5% of the original fluid). Doing it this way is more expensive than just doing it right the 1st time and flushing it all out b/c you keep on wasting new fluid for no reason each time you do it. If you're only getting about 1/3 out each time, then this is even worse as the % still left in the system will only decrease by 1/3 each time.
The tranny fluid isn't cheap by any stretch (especially from the dealer). To save some money buy Shell 134 ATF. It is the same thing & approved by mercedes (it is likely they are the supplier to mercedes who just rebrands it and sells it for way more). I bought 12 quarts for $93.50 shipped on ebay.
Get the new spec (which shell 134 is) as soon as you can and get it so it is all that is in there. This was what mercedes filled the SL65 722 5 speed with once they moved to the new spec.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
here's a pic of a chart showing how much original fluid still remains after each change if you get 1/3 out each time or 1/2 out each time (technically there is still more than 0% after 8 changes, but rounding puts it to 0%)
I do a pan drop/ filter replacement and replace with 4 quarts approx. every 20k mi. I also change the connector every other time. Overkill? Maybe, but I'm picky with it comes to car maintenance, not to mention only about half the fluid gets replaced each time.
I don't recommend ANY kind of flush.
Last edited by desired_speeds; 04-27-2015 at 01:25 PM.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
If you're getting 4 quarts out on a 9.1 quart system, then you are only getting out 44% with each change. Why would you not flush everything out and get all new? If you use a non-mechanical way to get it all out (like in the link I posted) why would you want old fluid remaining in there? Would you only do a 4 quart oil change on your 9 quart motor? I don't get it. Powerflushing with a machine is the only time flushing has proven harmful, unless your tranny is already on the way out and needs the grit and dirt from the old fluid to help the clutches (like I mentioned before) & in that case you're already screwed anyhow.
If you're getting 4 quarts out on a 9.1 quart system, then you are only getting out 44% with each change. Why would you not flush everything out and get all new? If you use a non-mechanical way to get it all out (like in the link I posted) why would you want old fluid remaining in there? Would you only do a 4 quart oil change on your 9 quart motor? I don't get it. Powerflushing with a machine is the only time flushing has proven harmful, unless your tranny is already on the way out and needs the grit and dirt from the old fluid to help the clutches (like I mentioned before) & in that case you're already screwed anyhow.
The method of flushing it from the line allows the trans to run low on fluid. At my service intervals, the fluid always comes out orange. I never give it the chance to get dark. A $100 service every so often is cheap insurance in my books.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
if you're only doing half every 20k, that's not too different from doing all the fluid every 40k. Now that I've got my fluid flushed when I did the conductor plate (which failed while driving home after buying it) I will probably every 20k/service B do a pan drop/filter (on SL55s service A is every 10k, service B is every 20k & there are no other service letters).
04-25-2015, 12:47 AM
