I have a 1997 E320 with 105,000 miles. When I took it for service today, I was told I needed to have the transmission pan removed and the fluid replaced. I have had no problems with the transmission. Do I need to do this?

JN

 

have you had the transmission fluid replaced anytime before those 105,000 miles? if not, then i suggest you NOT have a tranny flush. It could lead to transmission failure.

But if transmission fluid was flushed consistently, then obviously, go for it.

 

A transmission flush with filter should be performed on average every 30-50K miles. If you have not followed this regimen then now is a good time to start. I disagree with the prior post about causing failure by doing it now. Consult your dealer techs for a solid answer. $300 bucks or so done right at the dealer is a small preventative price for a long lasting ride. Some here will argue to DIY and that is fine if you are mechanically inclined and have the necessary equipment to do the job correctly.

 

I have never had the transmission fluid replaced. I have taken my car for service to a MB dealer until the 97,500 service.

 

I disagree as well. I have never herd of a transmission failure when starting to flush it out.

 

It's a another tale from before the days of synthetic lubricants. If automatic transmissions were not serviced regularly (every 20-30K) sludge would form. When service equipment for flushing came along, it would break free the sludge and plug things up. Usually resulting in a tranny rebuild. Synthetic lubricants have much longer service cycles without sludge formation and the problem has largely disappeared.

 

How positive are you that synthetic lubricants were used as transmission fluid for the w210? At the time, synthetic anything was quite expensive, and we very well do know that from the 1990's the era of costcutting began, especially for Benz.

So it's up to OP to flush tranny fluid or not, but i sure hope that s**t doesn't break and tally a $3000 repair bill...

 

It's pretty common knowledge that 722.5 (typo - should say 722.6) transmissions used a factory fill which was synthetic. But that was in 98. I'm not sure of what the factory fill in 97 was. As a transition year it would be hard to say for sure. Currently MB recommends a Dexron III/Mercon type AFT for automatic transmissions prior to the 722.6. BTW, most manufacturers (Castro, Valvoline, etc) say it is acceptable to switch to their synthetic AFT without problems.

Manufacturers are constantly making improvements in their products so that even a conventional AFT in 1997 would be superior to one from say 1987.

I hope that clarifies what I meant.

 

722.6
5 speed
use mb spec fluid
you don't flush you drain the pan and the torque converter on pre 2000my
since they still had drain plugs on the tq.
replace the filter fill it to proper level at operating temp.

 

The stories of "flushes" grenading transmissions are generally from people who used pressure flush machines, which is basically like taking a pressure washer to your sensitive valve body and spraying particulate around under high pressure.

As Oh Lord said, don't flush, just drain, filter, and fill. With the correct fluid, this should not hurt and should help.

 

MB originally said that the Transmission fluid was "Lifetime". What they didn't say was that the Lifetime was only about 120k miles. I replaced my Transmission fluid at 80k, which my mechanic told me was against OEM recommendations, and will do so again at 150k miles, which the same mechanic now tells me is in line with OEM recommendations.

 

I changed my fluid at 100k. Will do again at 130k. These transmissions have been pretty reliable. Not a lot of reports of failures on this board

 

Don't buy what they are sellin about lifetime fluid....My transmission guy told me after replacing mine at 84,000 mile..."change it every 70, Don't pay for the lifetime fluid, Chrysler fluid works well with the 722.6 in the jeep."

 

I just did a fluid/filter change on the E320 I just bought at 158,000 miles. My father is a Mercedes mechanic, and he helped me out with some of the work I've been doing on it. It appears that the fluid had never been changed (no tell-tale marks on the TC from rotating it to access the drain). The fluid was very dark... not red at all. He said he'd never seen fluid that dirty come out of a working transmission.

I replaced the filter (Mann) and the fluid (RedLine D4), and it still drives just fine. I won't be waiting another 158,000 miles before replacing it again, though.

 

I wouldn't even think about whether or not to do it- just do it. If your gearbox just happens to blow up after you put fresh fluid in it, then it was going to blow up anyway. There is zero downside and big upside to getting fresh fluid and a fresh filter in there (provided that you do it correctly).

 

If the locking pin on the transmission tube cap is black, the transmission has never been serviced. If there is no locking pin or the pin is red, this indicates either service, or someone has at least checked the fluid level.

 

I just flushed the fluid from my transmission on the out put going to my radiator. I turn the motor on and flushed a gallon out turn the motor off and put a gallon in and repeated this process. I'm not sure if I did any damage by doing it this way but I just changed the conductor plate and my car will not come out of limp home mode nor can my handheld read the transmission control unit. Could Flushing the ATF in this way have damaged the computer-controlled systems?

 

maybe try unplugging the battery for a while to clear the codes and see if it works.