Transmission Fluid questions
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From: Montana, USA
2004 CLK500
Transmission Fluid questions
I have done a lot of reading on the subject, but keep getting mixed answers. Hoping someone can set me straight on this..
I have a 2004 CLK500. This is the 5-speed tranny. As I understand it, this is known as the 722.6.
What fluid to use? I know that the latest spec is 236.14, but there are some people claiming this is only for the new 7 speed transmissions.
Whats the word on this?
I am taking my car to the stealership for a few routine things (replace fuel filter and leaky transmission E-plug) and was going to have them do a full transmission flush (car has 50k and to my knowledge has never been changed). I was hoping to bring in a case of spec fluid to save from getting reamed for $20/qt. Stealership might laugh at me if I try to have them use fluid I bring in... dont know.
I have a 2004 CLK500. This is the 5-speed tranny. As I understand it, this is known as the 722.6.
What fluid to use? I know that the latest spec is 236.14, but there are some people claiming this is only for the new 7 speed transmissions.
Whats the word on this?
I am taking my car to the stealership for a few routine things (replace fuel filter and leaky transmission E-plug) and was going to have them do a full transmission flush (car has 50k and to my knowledge has never been changed). I was hoping to bring in a case of spec fluid to save from getting reamed for $20/qt. Stealership might laugh at me if I try to have them use fluid I bring in... dont know.
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2004 CLK320
You probably read the thread I started by the title 722.6 ATF. There was a debate on which fluid to use which generated over 130 responses.
Since my w209 is high mileage, I wanted the original 236.10 fluid. Just to be safe, I did not want to mix the 2 fluids together in the transmission. After looking for them for a few weeks, I had no choice but to give up. I do prefer MB branded fluid but they don't exist anymore. It has been replaced by 236.14 fluid in all the local dealerships as well as the online stores. At the end, I did not even want to use the old fluid anymore because I would not want to go through this search again.
Last week I finally did the change using the new 236.14 fluid. It was a pan flush only and the indie used a bit less than 4 liters. After the change, my car felt wonderful. My car was always smooth and now it is even better. I will do another pan flush in 2-3 months (5k km) so I will have more of this new fluid inside the transmission.
I don't know if there are any long term adverse impacts but it is so far so good for me.
As a side note. I was lucky that I made the flush because my transmission had a small leak !
Since my w209 is high mileage, I wanted the original 236.10 fluid. Just to be safe, I did not want to mix the 2 fluids together in the transmission. After looking for them for a few weeks, I had no choice but to give up. I do prefer MB branded fluid but they don't exist anymore. It has been replaced by 236.14 fluid in all the local dealerships as well as the online stores. At the end, I did not even want to use the old fluid anymore because I would not want to go through this search again.
Last week I finally did the change using the new 236.14 fluid. It was a pan flush only and the indie used a bit less than 4 liters. After the change, my car felt wonderful. My car was always smooth and now it is even better. I will do another pan flush in 2-3 months (5k km) so I will have more of this new fluid inside the transmission.
I don't know if there are any long term adverse impacts but it is so far so good for me.
As a side note. I was lucky that I made the flush because my transmission had a small leak !
Last edited by mis3; Feb 18, 2012 at 08:24 PM.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/ry...oductDetail.do
9 quarts for a full change & 14 quarts for a full flush on 722.6 because it has no TC drain.
Methods:
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...0flush1-1-.pdf
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...0flush2-1-.pdf
9 quarts for a full change & 14 quarts for a full flush on 722.6 because it has no TC drain.
Methods:
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...0flush1-1-.pdf
https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...0flush2-1-.pdf
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Feb 19, 2012 at 11:06 AM.
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2004 CLK320
9 US quarts corresponds to 8.5L. I put in about 3.75L of ATF at the pan flush, so my transmission has 44% of the new fluid !
Local Toronto dealerships are selling these 236.14 fluid at $25 per liter. I used to pay $20 for the 236.10 fluid.
I did see Pennzoil at the Shell gas station here. I will check if there are ATF134 next time. I hope the MB one and this one are compatible.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; Feb 19, 2012 at 11:11 AM. Reason: correction 236.20 to 236.10
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
You will not get it cheaper than that! You will get the product in Shell bottles. There is no approved product in Penzzoil bottles just for the sake of confusion.
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From: Llandudno, Cape Town, South Africa
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Somehow I thought the capacity was 14 quarts.
9 US quarts corresponds to 8.5L. I put in about 3.75L of ATF at the pan flush, so my transmission has 44% of the new fluid !
Local Toronto dealerships are selling these 236.14 fluid at $25 per liter. I used to pay $20 for the 236.10 fluid.
I did see Pennzoil at the Shell gas station here. I will check if there are ATF134 next time. I hope the MB one and this one are compatible.
9 US quarts corresponds to 8.5L. I put in about 3.75L of ATF at the pan flush, so my transmission has 44% of the new fluid !
Local Toronto dealerships are selling these 236.14 fluid at $25 per liter. I used to pay $20 for the 236.10 fluid.
I did see Pennzoil at the Shell gas station here. I will check if there are ATF134 next time. I hope the MB one and this one are compatible.
Make sure you only buy fluid in Shell bottles. The Ryder listing is confusing because it calls it Penzzoil. It's not Pennzoil - it's Shell. Even though Penzzoil is owned by Shell they do not have an approval so anything in a Penzzoil bottle is not guaranteed to be the correct formulation.
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2004 CLK320
I was going to look at the label on the Pennzoil ATF next time I pass by the Shell gas station.
So, you are saying that even if the Pennzoil ATF has the ATF 134 marking, it is not the same as Shell ATF 134 and I should not use it?
So, you are saying that even if the Pennzoil ATF has the ATF 134 marking, it is not the same as Shell ATF 134 and I should not use it?
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2004 CLK320
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Uh, yes, technically, they did need to drain the torque converter, but yours probably doesn't have a drain plug so they couldn't. The only way to have done it would have been sort of a "fluid transfusion" via the cooling lines. This complicates things and uses more fluid, so most dealers won't do it. My advice is to change the filter and the 5 quarts from the pan every ~40K miles. If you are so inclined, you can learn to DIY and save a ton of money.
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2004 CLK320
I live in a condo so DIY is out of the question for me.
I did 2 ATF pan flushes in a indie shop back in February. Since he had to drop the pan anyway to change the filter, he chose not to remove the drain plug. He lossened the 4 screws of the pan and let the ATF dripped into his oil disposal unit.
I asked him why he did it this way (quite messy), he said he did not want to "disturb"the drain plug. He has had bad experiences with this. He is actually a Sprinter specialist and has worked on this 722.6 transmission for many years.
I did 2 ATF pan flushes in a indie shop back in February. Since he had to drop the pan anyway to change the filter, he chose not to remove the drain plug. He lossened the 4 screws of the pan and let the ATF dripped into his oil disposal unit.
I asked him why he did it this way (quite messy), he said he did not want to "disturb"the drain plug. He has had bad experiences with this. He is actually a Sprinter specialist and has worked on this 722.6 transmission for many years.
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Yep, dropping the pan vs. disturbing the drain plug is definitely the way to go on the 722.6. You musty remove the drain plug on the 722.9 as that is the only way to check the fluid level.
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From: Central Coast, California
2016 Mercedes C300 RWD Gas, 4cyl Turbo, Lunar Blue
Carquest Auto is now carrying MB 236.14 ATF
Thought I'd pass on this info to those who might need to find the OEM branded ATF. I needed two liters (for a total of 5 liters) of 236.14 for a pan flush of my friend;s '01 CLK 430 and found that my local (Santa Barbara) Carquest has recently begun carrying MB branded ATF. No one else locally carries the various iterations of ATF 134.
BTW, it took just under 5 liters to do a pan flush for me.
Price was $16.99 discounted from their list of $22. Not cheap, but not terrible if you need at liter or two and need it today. My local MB dealer is asking $27+.
As for the previous post about the drain plug being possibly dodgy. I have found them to be no problem in the least. Just don't over torque them and you'll be fine. Pulling the plug is a lot tidier than dropping the pan to drain the fluid. Hope the heads up about Carquest will help someone. It saved my bacon today as I needed just another liter.
BTW, it took just under 5 liters to do a pan flush for me.
Price was $16.99 discounted from their list of $22. Not cheap, but not terrible if you need at liter or two and need it today. My local MB dealer is asking $27+.
As for the previous post about the drain plug being possibly dodgy. I have found them to be no problem in the least. Just don't over torque them and you'll be fine. Pulling the plug is a lot tidier than dropping the pan to drain the fluid. Hope the heads up about Carquest will help someone. It saved my bacon today as I needed just another liter.
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You really should change the filter, which requires pulling the pan. The cheapest place I had found for 236.14 spec oil was Shell ATF 134 from Ryder Fleet Services. In a 12-quart case, it was $6.25/qt delivered. Unfortunately, they stopped carrying it. It looks like the best price, even mail order is still over #11/qt.
