vettdvr

Ok,, everyone need a laugh and a good learning experience. Today I went to my shop to change transmission oil/filter in our E500 for the first time. This was not my first transmission service,,, I have don'e many in the last 40 or so years.

I have been looking for the oil dip stick on this car since 03 when we bought it and all the numbers say it doesn't have one. It is suppose to be pass front of the engine.

Now on to the transmission phu pa. I purchased the $$$$$ dipstick/tool for measuring the transmission fluid. I pulled the covers easy enough on the bottom of the car. Then the smart thing to do is remove the drain plug the car isn't suppose to have. Of course it is a torq fitting (I think), but not big enough to give a good bite if the plug is stuck. Of course the plug was stuck and would not come out. So next thought,, lets remove the pan like all the other messy jobs in the past. Wow only 6 torq bolts and sprag fastners hold the pan on. What a quality gasket. Of course I had a new gasket and filter and only MB parts. So next measure the oil to confirm how much I took out of the pan. Right at 4 qts. So on with the show. I cleaned the pan and could not find the magnet that is suppose to be in the pan. I took it out the magnet so where is it. Ok,, 1 hr looking with the wife trying to find it also. Found it stuck on the bottom of the pan, dah,, didn't look on the bottom must have set the pan on it. So now out with the old filter and in with the new. Make sure to lube the o rings with tranny oil before installation and be sure to snap the filter in the catch so it will remain in place. The pan was a piece of cake to install. 6ft#'s no way on my 150 # wrench so I had to hand tighten,, wrist clicks at 6ft # so I guess we are ok. Now the easy part. Just refill. I removed the red cap on the dipstick tube (remember this car has been confirmed as no oil dipstick). Poured in 4 qts of MB transmission oil to the tune of $80. Then fired her up. Put in R to see if it moves. Nope it doesn't. Won't budge forward or reverse. SO I shut it all down went down under and traced the!#@!$$# fill tube to find it goes to the OIL PAN. Then I look and find a second tube that after burning my arm on the cats and cutting on a flange went to 6" below the tube I used. So now back on top,, flashlight magnifigation lens and found in very small letters on the top of the black cap, Transmission workshop only. Dah the transmission filler. So now you ask what about the 4 qts of tranny oil Dah,, in the engine of course. SO now to drain the engine 8000 miles earlier than necessary to remove the transmission oil and mobile 1 from the engine. Fortunately I had a filter so off to the shop for oil. Mardi Gras here all stores closed but autozone. You got it only 7 qts of oil not 8. So now there is a new filter 7 qts of oil in the engine, a new filter in the tranny, gasket and 1 qt of tranny oil as I had bought 5. So the loss was 4 qts of tranny oil and time to go 100 miles to the nearest MB dealer to buy more oil.

So now we have learned how to change transmission oil. Hopefully this will help someone else do it right the first time. If you need pics PM me your email and I will send them.

The oil is not suppose to need changing on the E500 however the oil was black (out of the tranny pan) and eventhough didn't smell burnt I think it was due changing at 70,000 miles if not earlier.

I hope you at least got a laugh and learned something. Now it would be nice if anyone else has done this job and knew exactly how much tranny oil to top off. Have a nice day.

redcoupe

When you pull the trans pan and filter it usally takes 4 to 5 qts of trans fluid.

Gullwing

The transmission drain plug is usually 5mm hex. The plug is painted over so I apply pressure to the plug and hit the ratchet with a hammer, usually brakes free.

Usually takes 4 quarts when replacing the filter.

The engine has a dipstick tube, but no dipstick. The oil level sensor works so much better

vettdvr

Ok update on phu pa.

After changing the engine oil and filter the engine is ok,, after all it only ran 30 seconds with the transmission fluid before dufus realized the error.


For the transmission the black plastic cap over the transmission dipstick tube (if it had a dipstick) has no information for removal. so of course I broke the little tap off of the one in the car then removed it,, Now I know how it works. So when at the MB dealer buying all new tranny oil I bought a new cap. Guess what. You got it,, got home and the new cap was broken just as the one I did,, so the dealer must have dufus working there also. SO apparently someone at the local dealer broke the part, but it back in the MB package and it was sold to me as new,, so I had to use the old one which is still serviceable. So on to the oil. I added 2qts and tried to check it, but the dip stick tube had oil on the sides so it was difficult to get a read. So I started the car (remember new oil etc). Let the pressure stabalize then put it in R,, and danged if the thing didn't back up,, then risky went to the big F.. and it went forward. SO now pushing my luck decided to check the level with engine running and it showed at the bottom of the $$$$ MB tool/dipstick made for this job. I added qt #3 and the level was at the bottom of the 25C range so I added qt #4 and it is now in the middle of the 25 C range and the 80C range. Remember I did measure 4 qts being drained out,, but didn't know if I spilt an extra to make 5. So with 4 qts the engine running and all fresh fluids and filters I buttoned all up but the bottom Tranny cover. I left it off to inspect for leakage. I will drive it today and if no leaks seal up the bottom then recheck the level on a hot engine.

SO lots of lessons learned here.

Now I suppose you would ask would I do it again,, YES not that difficult now that the tranny tube is MARKED as EVERYOTHER CAR SOLD IN THE US,, except the corvette with rear transmission as it has no tube. The oil tube is NOW MARKED also as all cars in the US.

This really wasn't difficult and had the tranny tube/oil tube been clearly marked it would have taken about 1 1/2 hrs to do the total work.

So thanks to input on 4 qts because that gave me a good reference and start point. So give it a try on your next change. Just make sure you use the right tube to poor the oil into.

paulv

vettdrv,

That little plastic pin that holds the transmission tube cap on is a separate part and you need to ask for it. I replaced the pin on my car when I needed to draw an ATF sample for analysis.

Later this spring, I'm going to have an indy service my car but have him replace all the fluid -- should be about $300-350. There is a factory procedure for doing this.

Congrats on your job!!

Regards,
paul...

vettdvr

OH! didn't know the locking pin was an additional part. Guess I will have to check next time. Thanks Jim

My dealer still charges $100/hr and I have to take 2 days to do get service even with a loaner car. Doing it at home saves me lots of my time even with a phu pa or two along the way.

Gullwing

When the transmission is cold the fluid should be at the 25C mark, drive the car for a while and check the fluid level again when warm it should be the 80C mark.

vettdvr

That's what I thought. I drained out 4 qts and put 4 qts back in the system. Then I checked and it was in the center of 25C and 80C.. so my thoughts are that if it ran that way from the factory,, then middle of the range would be ok. Today temps were right at 25C and so was the fluid I added. So I think I should be ok this way.

What suprises me is how much this fluid expands when heated to rise about
11/2" with the temp change.

Gullwing

If the fluid is cold and at 25C, if you add 1/4 quart it will move a fair amount up the dipstick, so the small amount the fluid does expand does look like a lot.

AH1W-COBRA

i have way to many opinions but here goes.i dont think the fluid is expanding that much when it gets hot.i think op temp fluid circulates and returns to the pan at a faster rate than cold fluid,hence you have to leave enough room in the pan for this to occur.this normal condition is remedied by hot and cold levels on the dip stick. i know some fluid expansion probably takes place

CFLPEEK

if you look at it on the bright side, atf is a really good detergent. so your engine should be pretty clean now. i'm not knocking you, but this just goes to show how important it is to know exactly what you are doing, before doing it. there are plenty of things that even if you have general automotive knowledge, you can still screw up. i've seen alot of customers bring their cars in to the shop i work at, because they have done the same thing. some cars, the trans fill tube is easy to see, some you cant see unless you take the air box off. on the 7 speed transmissions, it is impossible in every sense of the word to fill, service, check, or correct the fluid level w/out bringing the car to a dealer. good thing you have the 5 speed.

vettdvr

[QUOTE=CFLPEEK;2681009] this just goes to show how important it is to know exactly what you are doing, before doing it. QUOTE]


You are so correct. This is why I have only Factory shop manuals. Unfortunate Mercedes doesn't provide this information in the factory manual. This is why I let others know about how easy it is to make this error. After all I sure anyone who has been doing this has made a Phu Pa somewhere along the line. The job really isn't that difficult but the Mercedes Information is not easily available. I have built airplanes with very technical information and been doing cars for over 50 years. But the Mercedes gives the least information of any I have seen other than Aston.

I don't mind having the dealer service my car, but I have to drive 200 miles and it takes 2 days for a routine service so for minor fluid it is much easier to do this in MY shop.

MG

I think by Phu pa you were reaching for Faux Pas?

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faux%20pas

vettdvr

Naw,, Phu Pa is just my southern accent'

MG

I was torn! It was either Faux Pas or Fupa (check Urbandictionary.com for that one).

The latter didn't make as much sense as the former.