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The manual should mention capacity for the front diff as stated by the other user it’s connected, not separated like
the rear
. In any event, On my w204 2010 C300, I drained/refilled at 93k thru the drain hole and calculated how much I would lose prior to putting the plug in. I used a modified caulking cylinder with a piece of hose.
This questions is more for the 4MATIC owners because the 4MATIC's have a front & rear differential.
1.) Does anyone know the official MB recommended service interval for the differential oil/fluid change? I've heard various answers from different dealerships.
2.) I'm currently sitting at the dealer getting the differential oil change. The MB tech was puzzled at first when looking at the front differential. There is a drain plug but no fill plug for the W204. He said they will need to remove the driveshaft in order to refill the front differential (an added 3 hours of labor). Anyone else run into this problem?
3.) What did u pay for the 4MATIC differential oil change?
FYI - I just told them to do the rear differential change for now.
For my 2013 e 350 4matic I believe the maintenance manual says 70k miles. Not clear which differential or if they are interconnected. Called Aamco (dealer too busy) and they said change fluid and replace pan because pan holds the filter. Price over $600. ouch
The front fluid change of the 4matic is labour intensive if you follow the proper procedure. There is another way of doing the service which involves pumping the fluid from the drain (red neck way). There will be new fluid spilled but if the tech is smart enough he can compensate for this during the pumping.
I did mine last summer. It was confusing because the operators manual says the front holds 1.1 L but only .55 L came out. This amount seemed to match what others online say is in there. So I put in .55 l. For the rear the operators manual says 1.1 L and that's exactly the amount that came out so that's what I put back in.
Looking at the front vs the rear differentials the front looks a lot smaller, I don't see how it can hold the same amount of fluid as the rear. I could be totally wrong. But my cars been running fine since.
Another thing about operator manuals fluid amounts, mine says coolant capacity is 4.8 L but when I replaced I put in around 7 L (almost 2 jugs of 50/50 coolant) to fill it. And I didn't even fully drain it, I removed the oil filter housing and let it drain out there, I didn't touch the radiator drain.
I used an inexpensive fluid transfer pump. It works well because it sucks up and pushes all the fluid through and doesn't leave any in the lines. I used some new quick connects I had laying around so I could disconnect the line and the fluid wouldn't come back out while I got the plug ready to install it back. I didn't loose much fluid putting the plug back in. The front I ended up pumping in .65 L and a little spilled out. The rear I just kept filling until it started coming out the fill hole, which happened to be 1.1 L.
This is the fluid I used. It has the specific Mercedes approval number right on the back label. I picked it up locally, I bought 3 bottles but ended up only needing two.
02-02-2020, 08:44 AM
