FrankW

LOL

LILBENZ230

Slacker!

johnand

I think it is time for new rear tires

LILBENZ230

Wow.. that's getting your money's worth. What kind of tire did that used to be?

johnand

That was the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. I have almost 33K on those. By far the longest lasting tires I have had on there. That is the right rear. The left year is still good, no belts showing. My tire shop called me last week and said the Continental DWS's were finally in. How's that for timing

If I can get the transmission service finished up today, I'll get the new tires on Monday. Car is currently on jack stands and completely empty of ATF

LILBENZ230

I'm anxious to hear your review of the DWS tires and to see how good of a deal I got price wise. Will you be replacing all four or just two? I can tell you already not to expect more life out of the DWSs than you got from those Michelins. Also, the sidewall on the DWS is soft - higher pressures needed.

johnand

So, I started the transmission service on my 7G. It went fairly well except spilling ATF everywhere I found the 7G torque converter has a drain plug, so to get more of the old fluid out, I pulled the drain plug on it. It is really difficult to get a T25 on the drain plug straight, so the plug got a little buggered up when pulling it. Found out later part of it is my T25 bit is a little worn and didn't fit really tight. It was pretty damn tight and finally let loose with a big POP. I was talking to Glyn via PM about torque spec for the plug, and whether it is micro encapsulated or not. So, I have decided to replace it. I will go to the dealer on Monday, get a new one, and also bring home from work a long T25 bit to install it. Once I get my laptop back today, I'll lookup the drain plug, and see if it is indeed one time use.

I took video of the service, and if it comes out OK I'll post that along with my write-up. I also took video of oil change to add to the oil change thread. I will take video of the differential service and fuel filter as well.

The fluid looked pretty good, but not as good as I expected since it was done by the dealer 35K ago. But, that could be in part because a normal service only replaces 5 of 9 total quarts. By draining the torque converter, I bet I'll get much closer to the 9 quarts. Also, the 2 magnets looked really good, with a light coating of very fine metal.

johnand

Ok, I got my laptop back and looked up draining the torque converter in WIS. Attached is the service instructions. It says to replace the sealing washer, but the sealing washer is smaller ID than the threads, so I can't replace the washer. So, if you drain the torque converter, you must replace the drain plug. Part number is: 0019901117. Torque is 10NM as my plug is M8. It appears to have sealant on the threads, so Glyn is probably right and in is micro encapsulated.

Glyn M Ruck

Wow John! just as well you checked that torque spec!

10Nm = 7,37 ft/lb (that's nothing). Hope you have a very accurate torque wrench

For others - the quoted torque spec for 1999 & pre - 722.6 transmissions with torque converter drain was 20 ft/lb

Glyn M Ruck

Ahem! - steel treaded canvas bags

johnand

Yeah, I almost don't believe it, because it took a whole lot more than 10Nm of force to get that damn thing off. It is a small 8mm x 1.0mm plug. Hope my dealer has one in stock.

splinter

Good on you, johnand, for familiarizing yourself with the 7-speed’s maintenance nuances.

A pox on the bean counter that held sway before the technical committee to eliminate the later 722.6’s torque converter (whose periphery is stamped for, but not tapped to include a) drain plug. Flushing the works and renewing our differential’s ‘aromatic’ lubricant supposedly builds character. At least being bald has slightly lessened my post-task cleanup sessions.

Wishing you many more pleasant MB miles.

Glyn M Ruck

Your head, my head & John's rear tyres - good match!

johnand

johnand

Picked up the drain plug at the dealer. Interesting notes: 1)It has a copper washer instead of aluminum or steel the original had. 2)They changed from T25 to 4mm Hex. 3)There is a HEAVY amount of red sealant on the threads. That explains why once I broke the old one loose, that it was still pretty difficult to unscrew it. 4)MSRP is $3.50, and it can be had online for ~$2.73. My local dealer charged me $5.98

Glyn M Ruck

Interesting - old 722.6 TC plug was 5mm hex.

I can understand all that sealant. TC's build up one hell of a pressure. I think it's 6 bucks well spent.

johnand

I am a little over 73K on my 07, and I started the car this morning and had some pretty rough idle on startup for about 10 second, and slight hesitation from a stop a couple times.

I have been following lane's thread on his drive-ability problems, and just read holycaoAMG's thread about rough idle and hesitation. Guess what maintenance I have neglected to perform on the car? That is right fuel filter

Glyn M Ruck

Yeah John - It's easily overlooked - Kind of I'll do it when I get around to it - & a PITA with the original clamps.

Beepbeep

Ten days ago I just bought same exact model as yours, John and I'm glad you have this thread. It's very informative and definitely helpful on my questions about this particular model.

So far I'm loving this car, only thing I noticed that I'm not liking is the steering feel. There is a big dead zone off center and it felt like ball joints are loose. Maybe because I drive an S2000 and used to a very communicative steering feel.

After reading your old post I'm thinking I should bring her over to MB dealer since it is still under warranty.

I can't wait to read more of your post.

johnand

I've had the new rear tires installed for about a week now. Here are a few pics:





So far I am happy with the tires. Here are some observations/comparisons of the new Continental Extreme Contact DWS's vs. the old Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Pluses:

The Conti's are always criticized for the soft sidewall, but they have a stiffer sidewall than the Michelin's they replaced. The Conti's are overall a tad quieter than the Michelin's. So far I have only driven the new tire on dry roads, and I would have to give the Michelin's a slight edge over the Conti's, but they both have very good dry handling. The Conti's felt a little loose for the 1st few hundred miles until the mold release agent wore off as expected. I feel I got a little bit raped on the price, as I paid $399 out the door. Matt scored a much better price on his. Though, they are still cheaper than the Michelin's.

Glyn M Ruck

Look good! Yes - there is a certain amount of misinformation around regarding Conti sidewalls. I don't think anything has softer sidewalls than Michelin in general

johnand

Agreed. Michelin is the king of soft sidewalls in my experience. The Michelin's I had were 1 ply polyester sidewall. The Conti's are 2 ply polyester.

nlpamg

John, I saw your sig pic in another thread and wow! the car looks fantastic. did you use the Mezerna?

LILBENZ230

The DWS tires are good looking, too! As is your car.. ugh now I want an 07.

johnand

Phil, Thanks for the compliment. I still haven't used the Menzerna Power Lock yet. My car still has all the dealer installed clearcoat swirls. I have yet to do any correction yet. That was just my standard Optimum No-Rinse Wash, topped with Optimum Instant Detailer. Tires got 2 coats of Optimum Opti-bond Tire gel via HF HLVP spray gun. I just posted updated pics on the Picture thread here: https://mbworld.org/forums/4186375-post3864.html

The Optimum products do a good job of making the car look much better than it does in reality. The front of my car looks horrible and needs a repaint from all the chips. I tried to take pics, but the chips really don't show up well.