MB Enthusiast

I purchased a 1997 E320 automatic 4 speed and when I did I had a service report writen from the original dealer from the original owner.

I bought it at 98,000 and I now have 142,000

I am going to change the transmission oil but I don't know how difficult it will be. Has anyone change their oil themselves out there and how difficult did you find it?

I understand the dealer normally performs a flush of the system when they change the oil on a car with this many miles. How important is it and how much would be a reasonable cost if I were to have them do it?

The car had a 75,000 mile service operation code 02MBZLUB7500 does anyone know what this type of service would include?

zam2000

Any shop that specialize in German car can do a job as good as (or even better) than dealer. Couple things you need to keep in mind

1. It's recommended that transmission has oil change every 30K mile.
2. Lot of W210 has problem where oil get sucked into the transmission control module, and may ruin the compter (which ruin the transmission and cost lot of $$), so ask them to check. It cost about $100-150 to fix this problem (dry the wire & replace seal).
3. Flush the transmission when doing oil change
4. Use only approved synthetic oil

Shane C

You may want to read this thread! many mixed feeling's on changing fluid in W210 transmission service

MB Enthusiast

Thanks for your input

guanabara

with my MB cars hovering around 60,000 miles and 6 years old, I decided to read more on transmission oil change periods, problems before and after changing, etc.

A friend of mine was kind to provide some literature on the subject. There is a basic trend to just syphon out the oil. That is causing clogging of the filter when the new oil is installed and it starts to dissolve the accumulated sludge on the pan, etc. Moral of the story the pan has to come down and the filter replaced. I for myself plan to syphon out the trans oil and then remove the pan when not much oil is left (less mess). See links below:

https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse..._council01.pdf
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse...ions_Guide.pdf
https://www.amsoil.com/dealer/techse...Procedures.pdf

I was also able to find an alternative to the costly MB Trans oil (up to $20/liter) with same performance specs from his site. Send a private message for details.

Lastly for evidence on what I am saying just refer to a car for sale advert on this forum. Note that the guy changed the transmission oil at 73000 miles at a dealer and then 1 year later at 83,000 miles the whole transmission was dead and he spent $4,000+ on the repair. Ouch.. So much for "lifetime" trans oil. What most people fail to understand is that "lifetime" usually means warranty lifetime or first owner average ownership period. All car oils used everywhere eventually will loose their properties and need to be replaced if one is interested in preventing high repair costs.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...ansmission+oil

king_j

i have a 97 e320 with the 5 sp trans.
i hear that the trans is a sealed unit.
can the fluid be changed on a sealed tran?

and are the 97 e's with 4 matic 4 sp.?

lexrex

The 4Matic (introduced '98) has the same 5 speed 722.6 transmission as the '97+ RWD cars. 4Matic was not available in '97. (The original poster's questions does not pertain to a 4matic.)

The transmission is not literally sealed. It is filled with a synthetic fluid that Mercedes claims will last the lifetime of the transmission. This is a tautology. The lifetime of the transmission depends a great deal on whether you change the fluid. Even a $1 bottle of Wal*Mart fluid will last the "lifetime" of the transmission. The question is, how long do you want your transmission's lifetime to be?

guanabara

well said lexrex.
One just needs to read the postings on this forum to see how long the transmissions are lasting with the "lifetime" synthetic oil they used.

There is not a dipstick anymore, but just a cap on the trans tube located on the rear side of the engine. The dipstick for the Trans can easily be purchased from the dealer or online parts stores (i.e. autohausaz.com).

The pan has the same bolts that any other car would have.

For those who don't handle thei car maintenance thenselves please contact your MB dealer. The best ones will recommend replacing the trans oil at least around 100,000 miles, if not earlier, depending on the car age.

king_j

so the pan has to be dropped to drain the fluid or is there a drain bolt?

sosh

Use only MB fluid or another approved fluid per the manual.

ccmbduong

My MB master mechanic who's used to work at a MB dealer told me to change trans fluid at 60K miles

guanabara

The bottom of the pan has a magnetic metal collector. The pan needs to be dropped. The sludge cleaned out of it. The magnetic metal trap needs to be also cleaned out and inspected for any metal shavings which would indicate a trans problem.
Ideally one would collect a sample of the trans oil and send it out for lab tests (<$20) so that you would have peace of mind.
Cheers,

guanabara

Thanks, that confirms what I suspected. I am doing my trans oil change in the next few weeks. Cars are around 60k right now.