silv_w210

I just bought a 1997 E320 with about 115k on it and I am taking care of a few things the car needs. I just replaced the plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, and dropped in a K&N air filter for only $90 and 30 min of my time-- I love inline motors. The car really seems to be running great, but I've noticed the 1-2 shift is a little harsh at times which is normal when cold, but it will even do it sometimes when it's up to operating temp. I know the tranny is in need of a fluid change and I am eager to do it. For some reason Mercedes had the 722.6 tranny "sealed" and I am curious how I should change it. I've read that it requires MB fluid and a special tool. Has anyone done this on there own? I am about to graduate from Georgia Tech with a Mechanical Engineering degree and it really hurts my pride and my wallet to pay anyone to do automotive work for me. I usually do all my own work on vehicles, and I've changed tranny fluid and replaced a few trannys on other cars so I know its not difficult. I just wondered if there was anyone who had done this on their own. Is there a write up on this or anything. I have yet to even take a look at the tranny so I'm wondering if I will find a drain plug or a fill plug like a normal trans. If anyone has any insight on the proper procedure, it would be greatly appreciated, if not I plan on doing a write up myself. No one should pay $250 for something that would only take about 15-30 minutes to do.

thanks in advance
-Stephen

Parrot of Doom

1. Goto Merc dealer, purchase 7-8 litres of their ATF (depending on chassis number of car)
2. Buy pan gasket and filter
3. Buy gearbox dipstick

Then proceed to:

http://www.mercedesshop.com/Wikka/Trans7226Fluid

JOESID

I'm not very good with that stuff so I had it done on my 1999 C. It does help that 1-2 shift that my car seemed to have as well. It seems that this flud change is the same as any other with the exception of its own dipstick.

silv_w210

Thanks a lot for the link, that is a great write-up. I will be changing my tranny fluid next weekend if I can get parts in time. Now the question is where to get the cheapest MB parts. Is Fastlane the cheapest or are there certain MB dealerships that have better prices. I work on a lot of 93-98 Twin Turbo Toyota Supras and I know that there are two Toyota dealerships in the U.S. that actually charge reasonable prices for parts--no huge markup. These dealers even advertise on Supraforums.com and they do a ton of parts business. I am curious if there is any MB dealers that operate like this, guess I'm about to wear out the old search button. Thanks again for the help.

-Stephen

purplegrog

It pays to shop around. I've found that for mercedes branded parts, the best places in terms of price are: ebay, Ben's workshop (downtown austin), and MB of Georgetown. MB of Austin will match georgetown's prices, but you have to ask (example transmission fluid = $8.00/L at Georgetown, ~$11.00/L at MB of austin).

Air Marshall Eldritch

Try speedmbparts.com

Blackfield

I think you would be better off doing it through a dealer. It will be done right the first time and dont have to worry about anything. It will cost you around $200 dollars. Because the Synthetic oil is expensive on it. I just had replaced on my 1997 E420 at around 85k miles.