I am helping my in-law maintain her 2001 S430 with 36,000 miles; she does not drive it a lot. I have replaced the air and cabin filters about 32,000 miles, change oil and filters in 6-months intervals. The car got a transmission leak around 2004 at about 15,000 miles and dealer fixed under warranty with new fluid it. The brake was replaced around 34,000 miles (she lives in a neighborhood with a lots of hills in LA). My questions is that since the car has almost 13 years on the clock, should I replaced the transmission (drop the pan approach) now or wait for until the car reached 40,000 miles. The dealership said wait until 40,000 miles.



I realized transmission fluid is more susceptible to heat than time but 13 years is a long time too. Searched the site and most transmission service questions are related to higher mileage car than this ultra low miles car. Thank you for your advuce.

 

4,000 miles won't make a difference. change it whenever you want to.
Shell ATF 134 is identical to MB fluid and a lot cheaper.

 

Should be done at 3 year or 60,000kms intervals including torque converter, don't just drop the pan, that only removes 35%. Use only MB OILS, they are constantly refining / improving through MB's chosen oil company, their oils.
They have just released a new formula ATF.

 

I agree with mercedes4ever. Just to add though, Shell ATF134 IS identical to the MB version of transmission fluid for your car. Google Shell product distributors in your area. I was able to get a case of Shell ATF134 for about $65 at the WillCall counter here in Houston at O'rourke Petroleum. When I showed up, the girl comments..."you must have a Mercedes" - LOL

 

Is it identical or does it share enough properties for it to be MB approved?

 

It's approved by mb and it's exactly the same fluid that is in the mb bottle. Shell is their supplier. This has been researched extensively throughout later years and reported on numerous forums by a lot of people. I've been using it for over 10 years in 3 NAG1 (mb 5 speed) transmissions. Hope this helps.
NAG2 (mb 7 speed) transmissions have an ungraded fluid that is backwards compatible with NAG1 but I am not positive where Shell ATF134 stands on being in spec for NAG2's.

 

Shell ATF 134, drop pan , change fluid and gasket and remove all debris from pan.

If you use a "fluid exchanger " without dropping and cleaning the pan, it circulates the metal shavings thru the tranny and damage results . What good is changing all the fluid if you are stirring up the gunk on the bottom of the pan?

You can use a fluid exchanger to do a full fluid change. but you should only do it after you drop and clean the pan

 

Haven't changed mine in 6 years and 42k miles..aha

I have zero issues currently. Will I develop issue if I change it?

 

Thanks for the great input, Gents!


Questions:


1). Why change the transmission fluid every 4 years and not 5 or 6 years? Not being disrespect on your advice :-). Just curious on the number and being due diligence, and hope to learn something along the way.

2). Servicing the torque converter: is it just replace the fluid or the parts? Want to make sure what it is involve so I can talk “intelligently” with the mechanic.

 

Transmission oil life is a huge topic of discussion and contention on these forums, mechanics, experts, and with manufactures of transmissions in general. No one really knows how often you should change the fluid. What we do know is that the biggest killer for transmissions is heat damage. Life fill is no longer the recommendation by MB for their 5 speed NAG1 transmissions. It doesn't really matter how many years you wait. It matters more how many miles between changes. A good rule of thumb is an interval of 30,000 miles to 60,000 miles depending how much you care about it.
Transmissions with over 100,000 miles have been known to fail after a change like those in BMW's but I know of none with the MB transmissions. Apparently dirt that has settled in the nooks and crannies gets dislodged with fresh fluid and then gets stuck in the pathways within the transmission.
Most owners don't even bother to change the fluid since they plan on selling the car before troubles start by not changing it.

The only real way to change the fluid so that ALL of it is replaced (flushed) including the fluid in the transmission, torque converter, cooler and pipes is to perform a flush as explained in this thread
http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w211...722-6-a-2.html There are other threads as well like this one that are just as good if not better.

There is no serviceable parts in the torque convertor.

Almost all techs/mechanics will not do a full flush described above unless you force them. Most drop the pan, change the filter, and refill. This is approx. half of the fluid. Some people use this method and then drain and refill several times after until the dilution of old fluid is very small compared to the new fluid.

While you are in there, change the electrical connector P/N 2035400253. Its cheap, easy and worth it. Buy original Mercedes for this part since after market can have incorrect O-ring specs.

The satisfaction in correct operation is very dependent on having the correct level when done. Better to under fill and top-up slowly and never overfill. There is a dipstick for this p/n 140589152100 that your mech/tech must have.

hope this helps!

 

Thank you, JNASH!

 

Mine gets done every 2 years, using MB ATF. The pan gets dropped, filter changed & the torque converter gets pumped out of old fluid. New fluid is used to push out the old. NEVER use a flushing agent or machine, only new ATF.

The "sealed for life" is ridiculous & no longer recommended by MB. Oil needs to be changed regularly, PERIOD.

Follow this procedure and your trans will last the life of the vehicle.