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The car has 290,xxxkm. I've owned it for two years. Super reliable, transmission shifts like silk. Wondering if I should change the oil and filter, or should I obide by the "don't change the oil if it hadn't been changed for a while" rule because it will muck things up? Any thoughts or experience ?
No records car was standing in a garage for 2 years when I bought it. Like I said the car runs perfect. It's a well know rule of thumb that you shouldn't change the oil if the oil has not been changed for a prolonged period of time. I simply don't want to create any problems. I haven't the slightest clue when it was changed last.
With all due respect to the long time C43 owners posting above me (who probably have all changed their transmission oil much earlier than 100,000mi/150,000km), I from painful experience am a firm believer of the C43's owner's "Don't change the oil if it hadn't been changed for a while!!", especially with those C43 transmissions with those tiny 'weak link' thrust needle bearings.
My long story made short...
My '99 C43 was running fine when I bought it with about 91,000 miles in 2007. At about 99,000 miles I decided to replace the thick black trans fluid including draining the converter. 1,400 miles later, with the nice new and thin OEM M-B fluid, it started grinding its guts and dropped needle bearings into the nice cleaned pan with magnet:
At the time, I and numerous fellow C43 owners wrote volumes (mostly on Club202.com) about our trannies self destructing shortly after changing the thick high mileage oil. (Unfortunately, Club202.com had a major web site crash years ago and lost most of our related posts.)
I bought a rebuilt trans from Silver Star Transmission (with its updated components) and its been fine for years. I sold the C43 a couple years ago, but I just met the newest owner and the C43 a few weeks ago, and he said the new tranny is still working very fine.
My advice to speedyc43: with 290k km, leave it alone!!
When the tranny finally goes (non of them last forever), rebuild it or get an updated rebuilt transmission with warranty, then change the oil and filter every 30,000 miles/50,000 km.
However, you CAN and SHOULD change the 'pilot bushing' ASAP to keep the oil from wicking up the cable into the TCU!
With all due respect to the long time C43 owners posting above me (who probably have all changed their transmission oil much earlier than 100,000mi/150,000km), I from painful experience am a firm believer of the C43's owner's "Don't change the oil if it hadn't been changed for a while!!", especially with those C43 transmissions with those tiny 'weak link' thrust needle bearings.
My long story made short...
My '99 C43 was running fine when I bought it with about 91,000 miles in 2007. At about 99,000 miles I decided to replace the thick black trans fluid including draining the converter. 1,400 miles later, with the nice new and thin OEM M-B fluid, it started grinding its guts and dropped needle bearings into the nice cleaned pan with magnet:
At the time, I and numerous fellow C43 owners wrote volumes (mostly on Club202.com) about our trannies self destructing shortly after changing the thick high mileage oil. (Unfortunately, Club202.com had a major web site crash years ago and lost most of our related posts.)
I bought a rebuilt trans from Silver Star Transmission (with its updated components) and its been fine for years. I sold the C43 a couple years ago, but I just met the newest owner and the C43 a few weeks ago, and he said the new tranny is still working very fine.
My advice to speedyc43: with 290k km, leave it alone!!
When the tranny finally goes (non of them last forever), rebuild it or get an updated rebuilt transmission with warranty, then change the oil and filter every 30,000 miles/50,000 km.
However, you CAN and SHOULD change the 'pilot bushing' ASAP to keep the oil from wicking up the cable into the TCU!
Kropf!
thanks for sharing these pictures, i've been looking for them for ages!
these needle bearings are they part of the planetary sungear which is prone to fail if oil isn't changed within 50000 km intervalls?
Last edited by KJI3jflarryfe93; May 26, 2015 at 05:06 AM.
MB replace those converters with drain plug after 2002,
i'm not that sure about the real reason, but as i heard; it's some kind of Extra labor and they want you to replace it with new one (when it damaged) during to old oil & unflashed..!!
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