Thanks! ^ ...i'll go over the thread again...i must have missed the full flush somewhere in there

 

Took some pics of the shell 134 oil for others

 

Armed with C230Coup's DIY PDF and Samaritrey's $5 per qt. source on Shell 134a I took on the job yesterday. I was going to do it a couple of weeks ago but the heat here in the DC area and my lack of a low Nm torque wrench pushed it off until now. First, let me say that the DIY combined with the other documents from the DVD that I found here were invaluable in helping me organize the parts I needed while giving me confidence to attempt it.

The process initially went "by the book" with the bottom covers coming off quickly and the drain and drop procedure using the big pan catcher went smoothly. I got the pan clean, filter replaced and new gasket fitted in just a few more minutes. Now came the day killer...

When I put the 6mm 1.0 bolts back into the spacers and threaded them into the transmission case, they went in finger tight just fine. Then I set the 8.0 Nm spec on my new baby torque wrench and guess what? The four rearward bolts (back left, back right, middle left and middle right bit nicely and rewarded me with a click when the torque was reached. The front left bolt acted stripped and upon inspection, it and the front right bolt were in possession of the aluminum threads that belonged in the casing. This - is - not - my - day.

After weighing the many possible solutions including epoxy thread restorer (um, no!), Helicoil (would have to wait until Monday at least) or tap and go up a size - I chose the latter. I ended up tapping the two stripped holes into 1/4" 20 coarse thread and fitting two SAE hex head stainless steel bolts to make the repair. I hated to go away from the metric bolts but an 8mm was too big to fit through the spacers and would have taken the holes a bit too close to the edge of the case lip. The trip to the hardware store and the tapping cost me almost two hours.

Having built beaucoup karma through the suffering brought on by the bolt debacle, everything else went absolutely to plan. The transmission outlet fitting and clip came out and went back in seamlessly and the flush/fill portion of the job took less than 30 minutes. The dipstick reading for 80c was achieved with a couple of light top offs and I buttoned it up after spending almost 8 hours start to finish. My well deserved cigar and Cardhu were postponed due to mosquitos and fatigue.

In retrospect, I think that those bolts were either over torqued at the factory or more likely by a tech who did a change before I bought the car. I hope that your flush goes better but I would not hesitate to take it on again armed with the DIY put together by C230Coup.

 

What did you do for temperature/fluid level?

 

You need to be able to accurately read the temperature of your engine so I used what I had - a Thermapen with foil on the tip. I use it for barbeque mostly and don't want that ATF flavor. You also need to buy the long springy dipstick to run down into the transmission pan. It has a temperature specific readings on the tip. (BTW, this is all covered in the DIY and associated documents available here on the site.) Google and enjoy!

 

I'm getting ready to change my tranny fluid in my '05 C230K. Do I need to purchase the red thing on top of the filler tube along with the black cap since I have to break them? Also, Since I'm just dropping the pan, do I need any special tools to flush the cooler lines? I'm a little nervous because this is my first time changing tranny fluid on any car!!!

 

I am having trouble finding the transmission fill hole. On the Back Passenger side of the engine there are two pipes. 1. has a piece and it is a black cover (also says mb workshop only). 2 its a completely red piece with a jagged end to the cover.

 

 

I did my transmission service 2 weeks ago and the little red cap was purchased at the dealer for $7.95. expensive little *******!

 

You only need to buy the red clip for 80 cents.

 

+1
what Glyn said.

 

Thank you so much for putting the time to post a picture. (just to confirm cuz im paranoid. its the only cap with a red tab like that right?).

Is it necessary to get a temperature reading tool? For example, If it was not at the right temperature what would it mean? Add more fluid? Consult a technician?

Can I complete this Diy with just a measuring dip stick?

 

Yes it's only the black cap with the red clip.

You have to take the temperature. Level is very temperature dependent. Hotter = higher level.











Use an IR thermometer on the pan.

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...org-forums.pdf

 

Can I not use the heat measurement in the car?(on the dashboard)

 

The temp measurement you get on the instrument cluster is the engine temperature. You need to get the transmission fluid temperature to measure and fill the trans fluid to proper level. You can get Infrared Thermometer and measure the temp. HarborFreight sells those thermometer (harborfreight dot com, item # 93984) for around $23.

 

if i do a over night drain can't i refill the same amount drained? since the fluid is cold

 

No - you don't know if the fluid level was correct in the first place.

 

assuming it was correct. would it be fine

 

I'll be honest. I usually do everything myself. I've been a home mechanice for over 25 years. I've installed superchargers to cams. That being said, after I added up the cost of all the parts and supplies I would need for a full flush and filter, I got my dealership to do it for $50 more than what I could have done it for. And they washed and vacuumed it for me and put on a nice Christmas wreath on the hood emblem. Nice touch. Especially the wash, since it was around 30 degrees outside.

My car only had 50K on it, couldn't tell any difference before and after. It's always shifted great.

 

Yes it would be OK. I would still take it's temperature even if you buy a cheap glass mercury or alcohol thermometer. Walgreens used to sell them for $1.50 when I lived there.

 

haha too late. i already bought ir therometer. so i just aim it at the drain pan?

 

The engine temp is the temp of the coolant, and the fluid passes through the
radiator.
It's good enough for government work.
The engine temp and the tranny oil temp are basically the same.

You don't need SDS to read the temp.
you can also use the knock off Carsoft 7.4.
Or just check the temp on the dash, it's what I do.

And BTW you don't need the stupid red tab, that's just to keep
unknowledgeable fingers from prying, and the dealer rich.

I thought harbor freight had the dipstick?
It seems they opened a store in Santa Clara, but I don't see
the dipstick online.