California

You read that right!

So, I bought a 06 CLK, was nervous about the balance shaft issue, Mr. Ruck and I believe Rudeney and others advised me to have the transmission looked at AND THE TORQUE CONVERTER drained at my local MB Dealer.

After spending about 500 USD on having them boroscope the balance shaft issue, I didn't have it on my motor. Thank you God. But then GR and Rudeney advised me on the trans.

So I had them do a full service, and asked my SA to drain the torque converter. I pick up the car last week, and after looking at the bill, realized they did not drain the tc. Only drained 6 units of trans fluid. This site taught me that the CLK350 takes about 10 units, the four left out were in the torque converter, which does have a drain plug, and should have been drained at the time they did the service.

So I sort of press in on them about the issue, emailed them the WIS data, etc., telling them in common sense terms what I'd learned here on MBWorld.
My SA, whom I do like a lot, gave me some stuff about how it's not recommended etc., but said bring the car back in when I reported the car jerked a couple of times while in gear, not a good sign.

I bring the car in today, my SA tells me they have to charge me for the new full amount of fluid -- 10 units at 24 dollars each! -- and for labor -- I hit the roof, talked to the Service Advocate -- kept explaining everything I had learned from Glyn and the rest of you guys here --

Finally, they looked through the emails and checked it against their own WIS computer data --

Called me back.

Said the redo on my trans was going to be free and that the head Service Manager is calling a meeting on Monday to change their internal policies regarding the 722.9 transmission that have drain plugs.

They THANKED ME FOR MY DUE DILIGENCE.

I THANKED THEM FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING AND GOING FOR EXCELLENT WORK.

I also forwarded Mr Ruck's latest MB Transmission fluid part number -- which I encouraged them to adopt.

Now, on to educating them about the older 722.6 w203 and other transmissions without the drain plug... that should also be fully drained at 39K!

Anyway, that was real success. Thank you so much you guys. It paid off, not just for me, but for them and for their future customers! Yay!

Glyn M Ruck

Wow! That is good news & encouraging.

For others seeing this remember for all W209 CLKs 5 & 7 speed use fluid meeting 236.14.

There is now a new fluid meeting 236.15 & Blue in colour. This fluid is of lower viscosity & only for use in the new 722.9 Plus transmission. It is NOT reverse compatible. There are no CLK's fitted with the new 7GTronic Plus transmission. It was introduced in August 2010 production. I guess that means MY 2011 for the USA.

Glyn M Ruck

I should also congratulate our new lady member for having the fortitude to take them on. Good for you!

Vander

Are there any links to the previous threads about the proper trans service you are refering to for the .9's and draining the torque converter? Thanks

Kustom1911

We are a very lucky community to have the great information, and their time that Glyn Ruck and Rudeney give to us.

Thank you, and Best Regards.

Louie D

Heck yeah those guys are great and all the other members here are always willing to help out. It's nice to see that some people do care about one another in this small community. Thank you to all.

California

Thank you Glyn but it was really because I knew you (and Rudeney and everyone else here) were so smart about this and other issues that it gave me confidence to just keep saying what you guys had said! Finally it sunk in! Being a girl was sort of a disadvantage because they couldn't believe I knew what I was saying, but then I didn't want them to feel bad, either for being wrong, either! Just so happy that it worked out and it makes us all better Benz owners.

Thank you again for all your time and diligence and your "Mercedes Benz authority."

California

Glyn posted the links within this thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ion-drain.html

Glyn M Ruck

Also see Johnand's excellent thread.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...ce-thread.html

Klinh

Glyn Ruck/Rudeney,


After I saw this thread, I want to give it another try and investigated myself even though I already called North America Mercedes to complained about the trans services on my 09" C350 and 09" Slk55 without draining the torque converter. They called back and said that both of my car does not have the torque converter drain plug. Here's the question for you guys, if my tranny housing have the side black plastic cover, can I assume that my tranny have the torque converter drain plug? Thanks.

Rudeney

California: That's great news! Your dealer is to be commended for handling your concerns like this.

Klinh: Just because you have the plastic cover does not mean the torque converter has a drain, but from what I understand, all 722.9's have the torque converter drain. If you want to check for yourself, all you have to do is remove the cover and manually rotate the engine to look for the drain. Although it usually recommended to remove the spark plugs so you aren't working against the engine compression, I was able to rotate mine without doing that. I just lied on my back, with my feet toward the back of the car and my hands over my head with a ratchet wrench on the crank pulley bolt while I watch the TQ for the drain plug/. And BTW, it's small - about the diameter of a small pencil.

Klinh

Thank you. Next time I do an oil change in abour 5k miles, I'll check for the plug. I'm assume is bceause it on the side cover instead of like the older w208 Clk cover is at the bottom of the housing and so I'm thinking of the new design side cover might be for the torque converter drian plug. Thanks again.

Glyn M Ruck

Klinh ~ both of your cars will have a TC drain. I don't know who trains these dealers.

Rudeney

There are two problems with dealer service training. First of all, the Service Advisors that deal with customers usually have no mechanical experience. Most of them came from the sales side - after not making it on commissioned new car sales, they moved to commissioned service sales, which tends to have a more steady income. The only things they know are what they learn from reading repair orders and the occasional TSB. I can easily see how a SA would say there is no TQ drain because back around 2000, they deleted it from the 722.6 transmission. These guys do not have the task of keeping up with everything that changes on our cars. Their job is to sell services.

As for mechanics, they do get some practical training, but for the most part, they learn on the job. And many of these guys are not well-versed on modern technology so using WIS to lookup procedures won't necessarily be their forte. That's unfortunate, of course, because these cars are so technologically advanced, solving the problems often requires skills in both electronics and mechanics. It's not rocket science, but it's also more complicated than the old days of replacing belts and hoses and tuning engines with points and carburetors. It really takes a specially skilled person to work on these cars, and for those who have WIS, you know how good it can be on one thing, and how vague on another - that's all they have.

What makes this worse is that often, the service manager also has a sales background. Of course if you understand the service center is the profit center for the dealership, that makes sense. My local dealership has two mechanics that are fantastic. They have a few SAs who are decent. Whenever I take my car in (which is very rarely, as I mostly DIY), my SA knows just to call the mechanic in to talk to me. I often end up back in the service bay with the mechanic to discuss the issue. But that's only because I worked there years ago and they all know me.

Klinh

Very true about the SA. Many times when I talked to the SA from many different dealership, I felt like I know about the cars more then them.

Glyn M Ruck

OK ~ A little different to here. Our SA's are also a weak link although they seldom come from sales, but the mechanics that work on the cars have got to have been through Benz respective training modules before they are allowed to touch that component on the car. Of course like anywhere, some are better than others.

Rudeney

Yes, they go through training modules, but these are online courses that are very easy. You sit through ten minutes of a multimedia presentation, then answer a dozen multiple-choice questions, and you get certified on that particular service. I passed several of them even though I've never had any formal training as a mechanic. Good mechanics learn by doing and by continuing to study the latest topics. There's not much incentive to learn new things when the dealers are pushing them to do more work in less time.

Glyn M Ruck

OK ~ I little different here & Asia where I helped Benz with some training modules. e.g the 722.9 training course is 3.5 days & you have to write quite a stiff exam to get your certification. Fail & you have to do it all over again.

JimPap

Glyn,

So what happens when the torque converter fluid isn't changed out?

Are there any friction parts in the torque converter?

Glyn M Ruck

Firstly understand that fluid is constantly circulated a varying rate through the TC to keep it cool. TC's generate heat themselves & the lock up clutches are under constant slip ~ seldom lock completely for vibration suppression. When the TC fluid is not drained (contains approx 4 litres) it means you mixing new fluid with 4 litres of old oxidised fluid. A bit like mixing crap with ice cream. Oxidised fluid catalyses oxidation in the new fluid & shortens it's service life.

The 7 speed transmission works it's fluid hard. More gear changes with more controlled clutch slip & lock up. There is some evidence that Torque Converter failure on 7 speed transmissions is maintenance related. TC bushes/bearings fail, damage the seals & debris takes out the transmission oil pump.

So at fluid change you want to change ALL the fluid every 39K miles.

victort

what dealer in socal is this? have to do this service soon and i dont want to have to go back and forth on this issue. thanks!

Patton001

Please post dealer names so we can have an idea of good and bad experiences

California

I just spoke to my SA Kevin Malone at Encino MB in the Valley. He said if your CLK has the drain plug, (they also did the research on MB WIS papers and found out what I'd said was true, this is what MB recommends for a full drain of torque converter which should be about 10 units of fluid) and they changed the policy to follow Mercedes guidelines. Remind him of what Glyn Ruck said about the current transmission fluid numbers, too. Call Kevin at Encino MB

California

Back to square one as my fluid after about 20K miles is brown, and gears STILL STICKING JERKING.