Little metal in Tranny :(
07-27-2010, 04:09 PM
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1999 E 55 AMG
Little metal in Tranny :(
So i decided to finally drop the pan one weekend and do the swap for new fluid.
I've been experiencing harsh shifts when driving aggressively mostly down shifts when the engine doesn't have load (off the throttle). when coming to a stop, I can feel the down shifts clunk into gear with first gear being more of a thud than second. also, shifts under very little throttle are sometimes harsh like if I give it a pinch of throttle to go 5 mph in first gear, then let off to coast the trans will sometimes shift harshly into second. Other poor symptoms include the transmission preventing you (the driver) from coasting down a hill to quickly. When it down shifts into a lower gear to slow you down from accelerating too quickly down a hill all is fine until the road flattens out again and then my tranny shifts hard into a taller gear. I'm thinking speed sensor, but then again i know almost nothing about the shift springs and pressure regulators in this tranny.
Anyway, I was thinking about changing out the electric module under the pan, but wanted to hear some input before i did. Also, i do not have a pic, but my torque converter is painted BLUE. AND by car has been owned by 4 people before myself, mostly by people who abused it as a company car. It looks like someone already changed the fluid before I bought it, since i can see strain on the screws plus the color of the fluid. I got the car at 81k and I just changed the fluid at 116k.
This is what I saw. Is it that bad? Any help is appreciated!
BTW, the metal pocket is seen best in the first picture.
I've been experiencing harsh shifts when driving aggressively mostly down shifts when the engine doesn't have load (off the throttle). when coming to a stop, I can feel the down shifts clunk into gear with first gear being more of a thud than second. also, shifts under very little throttle are sometimes harsh like if I give it a pinch of throttle to go 5 mph in first gear, then let off to coast the trans will sometimes shift harshly into second. Other poor symptoms include the transmission preventing you (the driver) from coasting down a hill to quickly. When it down shifts into a lower gear to slow you down from accelerating too quickly down a hill all is fine until the road flattens out again and then my tranny shifts hard into a taller gear. I'm thinking speed sensor, but then again i know almost nothing about the shift springs and pressure regulators in this tranny.
Anyway, I was thinking about changing out the electric module under the pan, but wanted to hear some input before i did. Also, i do not have a pic, but my torque converter is painted BLUE. AND by car has been owned by 4 people before myself, mostly by people who abused it as a company car. It looks like someone already changed the fluid before I bought it, since i can see strain on the screws plus the color of the fluid. I got the car at 81k and I just changed the fluid at 116k.
This is what I saw. Is it that bad? Any help is appreciated!
BTW, the metal pocket is seen best in the first picture.
Last edited by telpsicorei; 07-27-2010 at 04:10 PM. Reason: pointing out the metal
07-27-2010, 09:33 PM
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GL450
Not the worst looking trans fluid I've seen. The metal isn't a great sign, though. Put a pan magnet in when you change it if you can so that it will collect any other metal shavings and keep them from floating around breaking stuff.
I'm assuming you changed the filter, since I don't see it stuck to the valve body.
When you dropped the pan you got about half of the oil out (roughly 4.5 of the 9 quarts). The rest is mostly in the torque converter. Since you have a '99, you will probably (but not definitely) have a drain bolt on the converter. You can drain almost all the fluid this way. Alternatively (because it's easier) I suggest driving it for a little while and then draining all the fluid a second time. This will get you most of the way clean. I find that the first drain improves shifting but because half the fluid is still old, it's not perfect. Often the second drain (which will get the majority of the fluid changed) will really smooth things out.
I'm assuming you changed the filter, since I don't see it stuck to the valve body.
When you dropped the pan you got about half of the oil out (roughly 4.5 of the 9 quarts). The rest is mostly in the torque converter. Since you have a '99, you will probably (but not definitely) have a drain bolt on the converter. You can drain almost all the fluid this way. Alternatively (because it's easier) I suggest driving it for a little while and then draining all the fluid a second time. This will get you most of the way clean. I find that the first drain improves shifting but because half the fluid is still old, it's not perfect. Often the second drain (which will get the majority of the fluid changed) will really smooth things out.
