About MB's use of crappy radiators that would leak glycol into the tranny causing $$$ damage. Anyone knows when was the new radiator design was put in production ? I have an 06 with Feb-05 Mfg date, wondering if the issue was fixed when it got built ?

Also, any thoughts on driving in Sport mode vs Comfort ... I think C would put more pressure on tranny (starting in 2nd gear) hence reduced life ... though this is debatable since S would rev the engine more on avg (more wear n tear) ... I'm talking ~ 10 yrs of ownership, jeez these things are gonna make a difference

 

your fine- these radiators seemed to be in 2003-early 04 models-

 

Do you feel like your tranny is driving funny? I have an 07 and sometimes it seems a bit "lurchy" if that makes sense.

 

Are you talking about the 2 < 1 Shift?

Also 2nd Gear is pretty low anyway so I wouldn't worry about "starting in 2nd". I actually like the way the 7 speed feels in C Mode anyway usling only the top 6 gears... much smoother on downshifts to the lowest gear..

 

thats what i am thinking so i changed it to S mode and i also read somewhere that S is for Standard instead of Sport.. im not sure tho..
and i also have tranny jerk sometimes when i didnt do enough warm ups

 

I'm talking more of a high rev to get up to speed and then an idling out to a cruising speed. It almost skips, not quite a slip but almost. When I really get on it though, for what a 350 can do, it is very smooth shifting. It's when you get off of it, and slow down, shifting to the next gear is rather harsh.

 

Reading this thread is really a joy for me - you guys sound like you have way tooo much time on your hands to worry about whether the c or s mode would put too much strain on the engine/transmission etc - and, whether the higher revving would put strain on the engine - I run my 500 in manual mode most of the time as I did my 420 before this car - I had over 160K on my 420 and only replaced plugs and a few minor other things during the entire time I owned the car - the biggest problem with these cars is that they are not used - and driven hard - if you ever go to Europe and see how these engines are run on the Autobahn and Autostrada you'll see why they have good big engines -

These engines need to have their legs stretched - I drive mine in 3rd and 4th on the road sometime for a few miles just to clean it out - after a recent 700 mile trip at high speeds the engine ran like a different car - no kidding -

I know there will be different views on this so I will say this is just my opinion and only that - I also add that I adhere to meticoulous service of the engine and the car generally.

Steve

 

Mine was a 02/04 build and it had the glycol problem. I don't think the 7 speeds had that problem, only the 5's.

I drive it in S all the the time. For the 1st 2 miles from my house and the last 2 miles to my house, I put the thing in 3rd and drive between 35 - 40 mph. I put it in 3rd since there are so many hills and turns that the thing just up shifts then it has to down shift again.

 

You need to prioritize the comfortability...

 

I let mine learn how to shift at 5800 rpm. Glanced at the tach while merging on Interstate and suprised to see it was at redline. Guess the 5 speed is a quick learner.

S or C.. S of course = Performance.