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Transmission Leak

Old Dec 6, 2006 | 12:02 PM
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Lightbulb Transmission Leak

I had to take my car to the dealership today for what it looked like an oil leak on the passenger side under the hood. It looked like an engine oil in appearance, however it turned out to be a transmission oil leak which is not reddish by the way. I noticed it after I parked my car for 4 days in my garage. What they did to fix it is:

RE-SEAL 13 PIN Connector. Has anyone had this issue ON an E320 before?

Thank you
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Old Dec 6, 2006 | 08:18 PM
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I did. It was a 6 dollar part. I didn't actually notice the failure until I changed the tranny fluid though. The seal that you had replaced has a rubber gasket around it. over time, the transmission oil/fluid degrades the o-ring and it starts leaking small amounts.

You are correct that the transmission fluid in your car was not red. the stock fluid as it comes from the factory is actually a golden color, but is chemically the same as the red, minus the dye the add to the red. Any MB ATF fluid you purchase from the dealer will be dyed red, but don't be afraid of mixing it with the stock yellow fluid.
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 10:19 AM
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I am glad it is fixed and nothing was serious. Thank you for your info
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 10:49 AM
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I just had a leak much like the one you described. It looked like motor oil, but was not black enough - still it was oil. Must be from the transmission. it ran a puddle, then stopped. Really stopped altogether - at least for the past three days. This morning there were just a couple of dime size drops.

Opinions welcome as to whether this it the same problem.
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 11:48 AM
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U better take care of it as soon as u can before u run out of tranny oil..... Cheap fix to avoid heft repairs
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted by E320Star
U better take care of it as soon as u can before u run out of tranny oil..... Cheap fix to avoid heft repairs
Presently it is 4 degrees here ... Athough that is probably only slightly colder here than KC, I think I will park it until the weekend - upper 40s promised.

Thanks for the input.

Last edited by Top Jimmy; Dec 7, 2006 at 12:42 PM.
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 04:53 PM
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Originally Posted by E320Star
RE-SEAL 13 PIN Connector. Has anyone had this issue ON an E320 before?
It's a common problem and a couple service bulletins cover it.

You can see these bulletins, an owners manual, recalls, regualar maintenance procedures, etc., in the factory service DVD available at 1-800-for-merc.
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Old Dec 7, 2006 | 06:24 PM
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my car is leaking as well.
dealer said it was the rack & pinion unit, any truth to this?
they claimed i need to rebuild the unit or get it replaced.

seems to leak when its cold. the fluid looks grayish.
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Old Dec 8, 2006 | 11:34 PM
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Originally Posted by king_j
my car is leaking as well.
dealer said it was the rack & pinion unit, any truth to this?
they claimed i need to rebuild the unit or get it replaced.

seems to leak when its cold. the fluid looks grayish.
could be something different. the leak had was just like an engine oil which was in fact a tranny oil. The fact yours is grayis it could be pinion unit !!
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