biker349

hi, just brought my 2005 cl65 to dealer to drain tranny fluid, replace filter and refill. trans has been running fine, 80,000 miles. first flush to my knowledge. car is a daily driver and i don't race it. got a call to come and see, tranny fluid is black and aluminum shavings in pan. went down and saw black tranny fluid in pan and a few aluminum shavings at the front of the pan on top of the black fluid. no signs of shaving in the fluid to my knowledge. the shavings were clean with no signs of fluid on them. they where on top of the fluid. they said it could be the pump, or maybe clutch plates. the mechanic said he drove the car and it seemed fine. question, i bought a dip stick to check the tranny and oil level. everytime i checked tranny fluid the white clean up rag showed clear tranny fluid and no sign of aluminum shavings. what do you make of this? they said they can't check any further and aren't sure what's wrong, but could put in a rebuilt tranny for $6000. any opinions, is this a possible scenario, or a rip off? are a few shavings in the tranny fluid normal?

alx

Have the fluid and filter changed and drive it.

A small amount of shavings is ok. As long as the fluid does not smell burned - don't sweat it. Those are stout 5 speed Chrysler trannys and they don't fail often.

My 2 cents.

benz_addict

That's very odd. It's a good thing you've replaced the fluid and filter. I would go with the cheap route out (transmission oil and filter service) and see how it's driving. If it's driving fine for now I would leave it. Any unusual noises? Any whining noises? Any clunks or jerky shifts? If all are NO then just drive it and keep servicing it at sooner than regular intervals.

biker349

thanks, i haven't noticed any clunking, whinning, or shifting problems. the trans seems to be running fine, but i am concerned about the black fluid and they did say it had a burnt smell. i'll be picking the car up tomorow after the fluid and filter change. my fingers are crossed and i hope i don't have any problems. they did qoute me $6000 for a rebuilt tranny with a 2 year 25000 mile warranty. hopefully i don't need that, but what do you think of the price?

BlownV8

Why do you think the tranny is built by Chrysler?

alx

it is of chrysler origin and is shared with all hemi-equipped dodges, chryslers and jeeps.

the 5g-tronic merc tranny which is what is in all v12 tt pre 2012 amg cars is chrysler's nag1 (new automatic gearbox 1)

very plebeian, simple and strong.

Sathinas

80K miles before the first oil change on that tranny? Damn!

Those transmissions live a hard life to begin with, what with all that torque going into them. Changing the fluid, even at 30K miles is a little too long of an interval, IMHO. I do mine every 15K. But that's neither here nor there.

STAR can do a cluch pack check... sort of. It can time how long it takes the clutches to engage/disengage and give you a good idea how thick the clutches are at that time, based on how long it takes them.

If you need to rebuild the tranny, I highly recommend Southern Hot Rod in LA. That's Louisiana, not the Socialist LA on the left coast. The guys there build the nag1 (5g-tronic) transmissions to take quite a beating and still take you home... for a lot less than what the dealer wants for a factory MB transmission.

I can't help but wonder, if the previous owner couldn't even be bothered to spend a couple of hundred bucks to change the tranny oil, I wonder what other maintenance he/she coudln't be bothered to do. I'm sure you've already done this, but check all of the other fluids. Probably wouldn't hurt to change the ABC fluid and the filter, either, since I bet it's never been changed.

Good luck with that CL, biker.

biker349

thanks guys, i'm in fort pierce, fl. any good tranny rebuild shops in my area? got the car today and so far so good. still keeping my fingers crossed. btw, a local aamco shop said they could rebuild it no problem for $2800. not sure i trust aamco. another local shop said they don't rebuild mercedes because of all the electronics in the tranny and the only place they can get it is from the dealer which is extremely expensive. said they recommended buying from mercedes because they change the electronics as well as the mechanicals. any truth to this? this is becoming a real educational experience.

BlownV8

It's not of Chrysler origin at all. Mercedes owned Chrysler and passed down their technology so Chrysler could utilize a much better and more dependable transmission with capablity of handling high hp and tq. I'm not sure of any upsharing from Chrysler to Mercedes when Mercedes owned Chrysler. The transmission is the Mercedes 722.6 or 5 Gtronic which debuted in Mercedes cars of the 90's. It did not appear until much later in Chrysler applications. I believe Mercedes built a Chrysler plant in 1998 to start making the NAG1 or the copy of the 722.6 Mercedes transmission.

If you were not aware, many Chrysler/Dodge vehicles did and still run on Mercedes chassis.

Here are the list of vehicles that use the 5 G tronic or 722.6. In Chrysler it was labeled as NAG1 or WA580/45RFE/545RFE

1996–1999 Mercedes-Benz W140
2000-2005 Mercedes-Benz W220
2006-Present Mercedes-Benz W221 (V12 Models only)
1997-2002 Mercedes-Benz W210
2002-2004 Mercedes-Benz W211
1997-2000 Mercedes-Benz W202
2000-2004 Mercedes-Benz W203
1998-2005 Mercedes-Benz W163
1997-2004 Mercedes-Benz W168
2004-Present Mercedes-Benz W169
2005-Present Mercedes-Benz B-Class
1998-2005 Mercedes-Benz R170
1990-2001 Mercedes-Benz R129
2001-Present Mercedes-Benz R230 (V12 Model and Earlier, up to 2005)
1998-2002 Mercedes-Benz W208
2003-2005 Mercedes-Benz W209
2000-2006 Mercedes-Benz C215 (V12 Models only)
2007-Present Mercedes-Benz C216 (V12 Models only)
1996-Present Mercedes-Benz W463 (AMG Models only)
2005-2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR
2002-Present Maybach 57 and 62
1998-2002 Jaguar X308 (Supercharged models only)
1998-2002 Jaguar XK (X100) (Supercharged models only)
2004-Present Ssangyong Rexton
2006-Present Ssangyong Kyron
2005-Present Ssangyong Rodius
2005-2008 Dodge Magnum- All HEMI applications, all AWD applications and some 3.5L RWD V6 applications, year dependent
2005-Present Chrysler 300- All HEMI applications, all AWD applications and some 3.5L RWD V6 applications, year dependent All pentastar V6 applications
2006-Present Dodge Charger- All HEMI applications, all AWD applications and some 3.5L RWD V6 applications, year dependent,All pentastar V6 applications
2008-Present Dodge Challenger- All HEMI applications, All pentastar V6 applications
2006-2010 Jeep Commander- 3.7L V6 Applications
2005-Present Jeep Grand Cherokee- 3.7L V6 Applications, 3.0L Diesel Applications, SRT8 Applications, all pentastar V6 applications
2011-Present Dodge Durango, 3.6L V6
2011-Present Jeep Wrangler- 2.8L Diesel
2012 Jeep Wrangler 3.6L V6

NRL

I have the mityvac that I use to change the oil out successfully at home.

Any recommendation to not suck out the old tranny oil and replace the exact amount with new ATF via the access fill port line behind the engine?

alx

Ah I should have noticed that it was first used in a merc therefore it should have been their design. However any car build from 2005 on and having that tranny has one built by Chrysler. All spare parts also come from them.

BlownV8

Where did you find that the 5-Gtronic used by Mercedes is built by Chrysler from 2005 on?

C280 Sport

Mercedes owned Chrysler. Chrysler did not own Mercedes and therefore had all of their technology passed down to them from Mercedes-Benz as stated before. Chrysler did not produce anything and in fact most of the Chrysler cars are still using parts from a 210/220 body MB's. There are no spare parts comming from Chrysler. Its the otherway around. BlowsV8 is 100% correct and on the money.

alx

No. Sorry. It could be a mercedes design, but every car with nag1 transmission my 2005 and newer comes with Chrysler build transmission. Maybe the amg cars are exception, i do not know as i never seen one apart.

Spare parts are also Chrysler originating and that is what their boxes say. I know that for a fact.

Edit: you made me look. All 2003+ trannys are built in Kokomo, IN.

http://www.sea.siemens.com/us/intern...ler_Kokomo.pdf

BlownV8

Still don't get where you see that the transmissions going into Mercedes automobiles were manufactured at a Chrysler plant? Your link says they made transmissions for the "Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Jeep® Grand Cherokee."

2003 is when the Chrysler plant was completed. They started manufacturing the WA580 for Chrysler vehicles in a Chrysler plant. Mercedes 5-Gtronic/WA580 transmissions are made in Hedelfingen.

biker349

spoke to renntech today. they say they have upgraded clutch packs for the cl65 trans. said they could rebuild with the upgrades for about $5500. any feedback on the upgraded clutch packs?

cjcalo

I would also call Speedriven they do transmission work too.

AccelToronto

Back on the topic, if I may Those trannys are solid and it is not uncommon to have fluid contaminated after 80K. As long as it drives fine and fluid is clean after change, I would not worry about it.

Igor.

Sathinas

Why is everyone gravitating towards that overpriced company known as Renntech? Sure, they have some neat stuff... Like Carbon Fiber engine cover/airbox assemblies made in China... yes, China, but damn it, they are way over priced for what they offer as a whole.

Call Speedriven. Call Southern Hot Rod, call any one number of other companies that are a lot less expensive for the same product and service. Do you suppose Renntech makes these upgraded clutch packs? No, they don't. I bet they're the same clutch packs that Southern and speeddriven use... for less.

Unless, of course, you just want to pay the "Name tax". In that case, damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!

AccelToronto