Yidney

Today I went to the dealer to get the little parts needed to change the tranny fluid. When I asked for the TC drain plug I was told there isn't one. "Yes there is, I've seen it with my own eyes. It's a 4mm allen bolt." "No, I don't think they have them" he says, just as he pulls up the parts diagram. "Hmm, they do show it. I've never been asked for one before." Assuming the parts guys also pull parts for the service guys, that tells you something. Then he asked how much fluid I needed and I told him I already had that, but he added "I know it takes 6 quarts when we do it, but I don't know how much it would take if you drain the TC." So they don't even try to flush the TC. So for $600 you get fluid only half as dirty as when you started.

Also, a few months ago I asked for a quote from by far the top, MB-only, indy place in Denver. We specifically discussed all new fluid. The other day I looked at his estimate. 16 quarts of fluid. So they apparently do not know that there is a plug, and I was going to pay them about $100 for fluid in lieu of a $2 plug to flush the TC, and still have about 1/4 of the old dirty stuff.

I pity the poor owners who do not belong to these forums. Knowledge is power.

Rudeney

No kidding! But it's like I always say, if you're going to own a Mercedes-Benz, you either better be able to do your own work, or have enough money to pay someone else, or just lease a new one every three years. In my case, I don't care how much money I have, I despise paying people to do something I know I can do myself.