If he's like that with the oil change, you better put a fuel filter on that thing too (edit: the Duramax) before it gets clogged and leaves him stranded. Very important to do every 15-20k miles.

 

The dealer told me to get lost... Can't say I'm surprised.

Has anyone actually flushed the tranny via the banjo bolt (on an 05 C230)?

 

got the new adapter and bush's changed, new fluid in and system flushed... but now it seems to not want to shift correctly. it is real hesitant to get moving from a dead stop and does not want to shift into 3rd gear... not sure if it's from not enough fluid or too much... we ran 8 quarts through the system and damn was it dirty...had the color of mud....

 

did you buy the dipstick to ensure you put the right amount back in?

 

You must get that level right - step one. Then drive it for a while. So at least it is shifting now & has drive - Yes? I think that something is still goo'ed up in that tranny. You might clog another filter. The thing has obviously been hopelessly neglected if the fluid looks that bad at a second change! Are you sure it is not going into limp mode? i.e. stuck in second gear.

 

yeah it has all the gears and it is going into 3rd gear but it takes a while....about 3 blocks or so...We took off the upper hose on the passenger side of the radiator and pumped the fluid into a container...it was so dirty you couldn't see the flashlight beam through the fluid...we dumped 2-4 quarts jugs into the transmission and the last half of the 2 jug it started to turn red....I think we may need to buy 2 more jugs and do it again...I didn't buy a dipstick but I think I will take it to an authorized mechanic and see if he can't check the fluid level for me....will save me $50. I think the fluid level is low because we pumped out a little extra (about a quart or so)I'll try to get a pic of it when I get back from the gym and show you just how dirty it is...

 

Sad case. Keep driving it. Maybe give it 2000 miles & change the fluid & filter again. Pleased you changed the transmission bush. Make sure no oil is in the transmission harness or TCU.

 

you NEED the MB dipstick

trying to save $50.00 might cost you several grand (unless your indy has a MB dipstick)

 

you can get the diptstick for around 20 bucks on ebay.

 

got off of work in time to take it to an authorized mechanic and he checked the fluid level for us and sure enough it was 2 quarts low...about the extra we had in a container... drove it around town for about 30 minutes and it worked perfectly...on our way to the guy the car was not going past 2nd gear...was in limp mode....but the guy hooked us up with 2quarts and only paid for one. He said he only uses the stuff the factory recommends which is called FEBI...gray bottle and I did see it was a dextron 3 ATF. but anyway....the car works....for now... thanks everyone for your help....especially Glyn M Ruck...I'll keep you all posted on how it all works...

 

Good News! Dexron III is not the correct fluid for these boxes. What exactly was on the grey container. Did it have a Benz part number on it?

 

here is a link to the bottle...not exactly sure this is the ATF fluid for this car but the bottle is identical to teh one he showed us.

http://www.ecwerks.com/febi-transmission-fluid-1l.html

 

OK - That's NOT Dexron III. It meets the old Benz spec. Not the new 236.14 like Fuchs Titan 4134. It will do.

 

I figured it would work for now.. Or at least long enough to trade it in

 

Hey guys,
Just till the other night I had the original battery on 2002 C240. About month ago the car started giving me an error with the light sensor after the first start in the morning. If I shut down ad restart, the error almost always went away. I figured out it is the battery that needs replacement therefore it wasn't anything urgent as the car was still starting fine. One day about 2 weeks ago I started the car and i got again the light sensor error, but also the transmission shifted harder then usual and after few hundred feet of driving I noticed it was stuck in 1st gear. After I drove few hundred yards (as soon as I figured it out) I shut the car down and then restarted. That brought it all back to normal. I attributed that incident to the low battery voltage and decided I should change the battery as soon as I can. The car drove fine for the next 4-5 dais then i left for a bussines trip and left the car on the airport for a week.
As i returned from 1 week business trip, and i started the car to get home. As expected I got the light sensor error, and ASP error(ASP error happened once before too so wasn't unexpected and it goes away after restart), but this time as I shifted in "D" it was harsher shift then the usual soft shift and my engine light came on. There I was in "limp mode" again. I tried the the usual cure and restarted the car, but no luck this time I needed to drive home really slow...

Same evening I replaced the battery and all electronic errors cleared up right away, except the engine light and the transmission was still stuck in "limp mode". That same evening I disconnected the ground of the new battery and left the car with no power overnight. The next morning I reconnected the car and started the car. The engine light did come on after I started the car. This gave me hope. Unfortunately not for long, as soon as I put the shifter to "D" I felt the harsher than the normal soft engagement and few seconds later the "check engine" light lid up again. At that point I decided to spend few bucks with the local MB dealer and get the problem diagnosed. The long story short - after 2 1/2 hrs shop time and $350 out of my pocket for the service, I was told that there was a problem with a electrical plug on the transmission and ATF went up the harness to the TCU. According to them the TCU as well as the whole electrical harness and the connector needed a replacement. What kind of crap is that? They said it is $991 for new TCU and about $270 for new harness. At this point I just drove my car home in first gear as I thought there is no way I will pay them 2k to repair this problem that appeared to me is "make work" for the dealer. My transmission always has been in perfect shape with soft engagement in gear and nice and crisp shifts. I use to run a transmission shop 15 years ago and while little rusty, i still have good judgement for the health of transmission.
Tonight I dismounted the TCU from the car. There is little bit of ATF up to the connector of the TCU, but not much at all. The dealer theory was that the ATF was under pressure therefore got into the TCU and fried the electronics. I carefully pulled the PCB from the TCU box only to find out that there was no ATF contamination inside what so ever! The TCU was so sterile inside as it was when it left Siemens factory. Of course I cant be sure that it works but i don't want to spend thousand bucks for new one just to find out that the same problem with the car is still there. Can anyone help? PLEASE? Where should i start? Any one with similar experience?

 

here is the diagnostic printout from the dealer
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...ed-image-1.pdf

 

I have replied on your thread

 

I tell ya, this car is the WORST! I own a 2004 C240. The Automatic Transmission Plug Adapter was leaking, so I ordered a new one. Simple enough. Got everything apart and whadda know... The new one DOESN'T FIT! The new adapter plug itself is fine but it's the new rubber rings on it that don't fit. I took them off and put them on the old adapter plug and they didn't work, then I took the old rings and put them on the new adapter plug, and it fit. So it's the rings. What is up with that? Looking online, all the rings are the same color on the new plugs. Black. Mine are a transparent like and yellow and a bit softer (probably soft due to age). The new ones are black and much stiffer. Do I need to force the darn thing in there? Do I need to bang it in with a rubber mallet? I'm lost here. I don't want to break anything but I'm growing more and more aggravated with this car daily! Help?

 

If it's part number A203 540 02 53 it has to fit.

Put some petroleum jelly or fluid on the O rings before inserting

 

I think I have the same problem. Now that I looked at all your pictures.....
How hard/easy is it to get to this electro plu? Where can I buy one/ How much do you think? Are there 2 plugs that need to be replaced as the photo shows or is there just one elctro plug? Thanks

 

One plug $8 or 9 at RMeuropean

 

plus a boat load for shipping..... better than leaking fluid for sure