Paul755

2011 GL 450. Anyone using RedLine D6 ATF for the transfer case ?.The Mercedes dealership tells me the the MB 236.12 ATF has been superseded by 236.14 ATF. Maybe time to use a more modern ATF.

eric_in_sd

ATF is not magic pixie juice.

The transmission is an electromechanical computer bathed in fluid also used for wet clutches, which wear and shed junk, along with shearing the heck out of the fluid. The fluid's job is to try to not ruin the computer. Use what is recommended.

In fairness, the only reason ATF is used is in the event that the transmission output seal leaks and the fluids cross contaminate. In the transfer case, the fluid is much less critical than in the transmission; there are no computers or wet clutches. Some guys run gear oil. I absolutely would recommend against taking a chance with a $kilobux transmission. Plus, gear oil will add friction and thus reduce power and fuel economy slightly.

Paul755

I do use the recommended MB 236.15 fluid in the transmission ( has the A89 option) with 40K changes. My GL 450 has a separate transfer case, not integrated to the transmission case, cross contamination is not an issue. I do have a couple of bottles of Shell 134 ATF, but I would prefer to use a full synthetic ATF vs a semi synthetic ATF in the transfer case. I'll give the RedLine D6 a try this change.

eric_in_sd

lol you're new here

None of us has an integral transfer case. The transfer case bolts on to the transmission. There are oil seals in between the two. If those seals leak oil, and it is a reasonable assumption they eventually will, you do not want weird oil leaking into the transmission. A different oil leaking into the transfer case is no problem, but the other way around, that is not what you want.

Later version transmission fluids are largely just thinner to allow better gas mileage so MB pays less of a gas guzzler tax. I'm pretty sure you are better off sticking with the older and thicker. If you want to monkey around with different fluids, you probably will not have a problem, but it is not a chance I would take.

Doing a pan drop, fluid and filter change regularly (about 30k miles) is much more important than using snazzy fluid.

Max Blast

yes, it works just fine

Paul755

I did change the transmission fluid and filter at 40K and 80K and transfer case fluid every 20K. I'll see how the D6 looks in 20K. Other than routine maintenance its been reliable transport. I did have to replace the cooling fan bearings recently, $40 for 2 bearings vs $680 for a rebuilt fan from Mercedes.

eric_in_sd

There is no reason I know of to change the transfer case fluid that often. Of course, it's just a quart, and minimal labor, but: There is no exposure to moisture, no shear stresses, no oxidation, and no mechanical computer. There is a chain, a couple of gears, and a plastic guide block. Short of it being abused, it will last a very long time even with no fluid changes at all. Once every 150K miles.

Your transmission fluid and filter change intervals are a little on the high side. The guy that rebuilt my transmission (yes, I abused mine, making it go boom at 130K miles) recommended 30K miles. However, there is no definitive harm to doing it at 40K or benefit to doing it at 20K. If you're doing the fluid changes yourself, they're cheap and you might consider doing them more often.

I have never heard of anyone repairing or replacing the cooling fan. Curious if something happened to cause it to fail.

Paul755

Both fan bearings had failed, one end had puked most the ***** out. It had been noisy for a while before its "rapid unscheduled disassembly". I suspect that the rubber bearing seal deteriorated over time with the heat, then the grease was lost. Must be fairly common as all the usual suspects carry Chinesium versions of the fan assembly.

01blackhawk

You should be fine with Redline D6, matter of fact thats my next fluid for the transfer case. I had 3 bottles of 236.12 unopened from 2012, I used 2 of them at my first and second change, 25K miles apart, still have one more but after that I`m ordering D6.
Like Eric said, nothing special about the transfer case, just a chain and couple gears and I know some guys use gear oil, actually when I called the parts dept at dealership, they gave me a gear oil spec but then later on I found out they are factory filled with 236.12 and used the ones I have in the garage.
I`m with you on changing it more often than not, super easy, easier than changing engine oil if you ask me, drain and fill, takes less than 15 min and I`d rather sleep better instead of having nightmares about messing with the chain, I know its not super hard to do the chain but drain and fill is easier and cheaper.