Drewloera

Has anyone had any trouble with their transmission, my 2000 E55 is soon going to hit 144,000 miles. My transmission still feels strong. I do think I need to replace my center support bearing on the drive shaft has any one posted a diy for that job.

xlr8tin

Just had my torque converter replaced..Didn't try it myself though. Now it runs like it should. Had the shaft bearing replaced too. Apparently new ones have a drain plug too so now it can be drained. Otherwise you can only drain the pan. This should have been done from the factory. Fail on Mercedes part

Drewloera

Was that expensive

xlr8tin

$1250 all said and done

Strigoi

Has the transmission ever been serviced?

desired_speeds

137k and my trans seems to be holding up nicely. I'm pretty sure its not as smooth as it was brand new but it still runs through all the gears without any abnormalities. Since I bought the car, I've done a transmission service every 15k including pan drop and filter replacement. When I drained my fluid last time it came out looking brand new. These are very well built cars so just keep up with servicing and it'll last you many more years to come.

Drewloera

I personally havent done any service to the trans yet. Thats my next task with also the center support bearing.

ruBENZ

Torque converter drain plugs do exist on W210 E55 built prior to 08/99. Fortunately, my built date is 07/99. I had my transmission fully serviced back at 40K (not OEM 100K recommendation; sealed for life my A$$). I am currently at 75K and running strong.

E55_GT3wheels

The transmissions in the w210 55s are solid. They were borrowed from the sl600 of the day. They will last a long time. Just make sure to change the fluid every 50K or so and you will be fine for a longgggg time. The lifetime fluid that is stated in the manual is wrong and Mercedes has openly changed that stating to change fluid.

Drewloera

Im on it as soon as possible

xlr8tin

HA! My 2002 has a drain plug now

Drewloera

Mine is a 2000 E55 if the car has been serviced before I bought it would it have a drain plug.

saintz

Nope, a 2000 shouldn't have a drain plug. You can generally flush the fluid twice to help get more out.

Here's dirt cheap fluid if you want to flush a few times.
http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/ry...oductDetail.do

snooozie

Is this Shell ATF 134 compartable with the MB transmission fluid for our cars. If it is, I would change the fluild every time I change my engine oil. That is really cheap. I'll change the filter when its warmer out and just use my topsider and pump the fuild out from the top every time I change my oil.

Schweinhund

FWIW, a pan drop does not change much fluid. The cooler should be drained too. I've wondered if a typical engine-running cooler line pump-out procedure would work on these cars. Its the best way to get rid of most of the old fluid. Let the trans pump it out.

Schweinhund

How does one know if the center support bearing needs replacement?

snooozie

One quick question....can you leave the transmission oil level check dipstick in the transmission and drive the car around...I would think that should be fine.

Drewloera

Well I have reason to believe my center support bearing on my driveshaft is going out. I was hearing a knocking sound, I thought scince my motor mounts where bad that they were the cause. Well replaced motor mounts and knocking still persist. Usally at take off or on cold

ruBENZ

2000 E55's built prior to 08/99 should have a torque converter drain plug.
Did the service include a transmission flush? Typically a Service B may include only a check of the transmission fluid level. A transmission flush would be extra.

ruBENZ

2000 E55's built prior to 08/99 should have a torque converter drain plug.

Drewloera

My mechanic says its not fully possible to extract all fluid left in the cooler and torque converter. Is he just being lazy or honest. 2000 E55

Schweinhund

If it's got a drain plug, yes. My 2000 does not have a drain plug. If I had more affirmation, I would try the common pump out and fill method that many use on other cars. Just not sure about this one. I suspect we can do it, just like any other car and it gets out nearly all of the old fluid but uses about twice as much in the flush process. If upgrading to different (newer) version of MB fluid, you absolutely need to get most of it out.

dfreret

A pan drop will net you 4 L of trans fluid (I verified this amount last weekend when I did my E55). The car holds about 8 L. So this is 50% of your fluid when you do a pan drop. I believe if you do just drain, you only get about ~3 L.

Below was the calculation done by another member on Benzworld. If you want to do multiple drain and fills to exchange the majority of your fluid. (Assuming you don't have the torque converter drain plug from early w210)

The math now comes out to 92% fluid exchanged.
Proof:
First dump of 4 qts:
4 good; 4 old (50%)
drain 3: 2.5 good, 2.5 old
add 3: 5.5 good; 2.5 old (68.75%)
drain 3: 3.44 good; 1.56 bad (don't forget, draining is also removing some good too)
add 3: 6.44 good; 1.56 old (80.5%)
dump 3: 4.03 good; 0.975 old
Add 3: 7.03 good; 0.975 old (87.9%)
dump 3: 4.39 good; 0.61 old
add 3: 7.39 good; 0.61 old (92%)



Shell ATF 134 is approved to MB spec 236.14 which MB states is backwards compatible with 722.6 transmissions in w210. Search on that if you want hours of information to read and lots of arguments whether you should put 236.14 spec fluid into 722.6 transmission.

I just exchanged all my fluid disconnecting the return line that is on the driver side of the oil pan. With a pan drop and filter, you need 12 L (13 Q) of fluid to fully exchange all the old fluid. I used Shell ATF 134. Shifts smooth as ever now.

I plan on doing pan/filter drop once a year now. I don't put but 7-8k miles on my E55 a year, and the Shell ATF 134 is cheap enough that I figured it's good insurance for my transmission to last much longer.

Schweinhund

I would be worried about that Shell oil. From what I have read, these transmissions are very sensitive. For example, doing a pan drop and replacing with .14 Mercedes fluid will cause transmission failure after several thousand miles. A near complete replacement of the old fluid must be done. Just letting you know.

dfreret

I'm not worried at all about the Shell oil. It meets MB spec and my parts supplier (who supplies most of Washington DC Metro area with MB parts, including for dealerships sometimes) swears by it. If it was a problem with w210, he would know and pass that information onto to me.

Besides nothing substantial has been proven that .10 (which doesn't appear to even exist anymore) and .14 can't coexist. Most everything I've read is personal opinion regarding the subject. I imagine that MB engineers went over that possibility of both spec fluids mixing when they stated .14 is backwards compatible.

However I did do a full exchange as I stated in my previous post. So I'm not worried at all.

With 236.14 spec fluid in my E55, my trans shifts smoother. Could be the .14, or could be the fact my old fluid was overdue for a change. Either way I'm satisfied it meets the needs of my car.