O-55

My experience with flushes is if they are done early in the life of the transmission, you'll be fine going forward with future flushes. My car just ticked over 82k and I have done two flushes (39k increments) in its life, including filters, without issues.

I have also done flushes without verifying the maintenance history of a car (approx 60k on the odometer). End result was a transmission replacement due to harsh engagements, followed by total failure due to excessive wear of the clutch discs.

By the way, the fluid I used was 001-989-68-03-10, not the 13 oil you have on your invoice. That may be the latest oil, but i went by the info below.

Date: September 1, 2011
Order No.: S-B-00.40/89b
Supersedes: S-B-00.40/89a, August 10, 2010
Group: 00
Revision b: Added exception note.

SUBJECT: MY-All, Models All with Transmission 722.6 or 722.9
Operating Fluid Specification Changes for Automatic Transmission

5-speed automatic transmission 722.6
Only use the transmission oils outlined in specification for operating fluids sheet 236.14.
See WIS document: BB.00.40-p-0236-14a.
MB part number-A001 989 68 03 10

7-speed automatic transmission 722.9 up to transmission production date June 21, 2010
Only use the transmission oils outlined in specification sheet 236.14
See WIS document: BB.00.40-p-0236-14a.
MB part number-A001 989 68 03 10

7-speed automatic transmission 722.9 after transmission production date June 21, 2010
Only use the transmission oils outlined in specification sheet 236.15
See WIS document: BB.00.40-p-0236-15.
MB part number-A001 989 78 03 09

AgSilver

MB changed their thoughts on this a few years ago. Personally, I don't care to go more than 20k between fluid change.

masonh66

same here.30k is my max but i prefer 20-25k.

nardeezy@yahoo.

I had my tranny filter and seal replaced in April at 37k miles by an independent shop. The shop owner was a master tech at a Mercedes dealer. When replacing the filter and seal the fluid needs to be drained before removing the tranny pan and it needs to be drained at a specific temperature. It's also very important to use the correct ATF and refill properly. The 7 speed tranny has no fluid level indicator.

berti_00

i replaced mine too at a indy shop guy been doing this for over 28 years...shifts are smooth as buttaaaaa

roycee2002

Hi guys, i have two transmission gearboxes and need to know if these are interchangeable. My car is a CLS 350, year 2006, model 219.356 (code 806) and the SN of the original transmission was 722 906 00 417128. I purchased another box with SN 722 906 01 316239. I need to know if the same valve body from my original transmission will be usable in this reconditioned transmission that i've obtained. Are these two transmission boxes silimar? I've noted that the other has a "00" after 722906 while the other has "01", what is the significance of these values? I am not sure which car the reconditioned box came from but I have seen the 722906 01 xxxxxx transmission on some CLS350 CGIs. Please advise. Thank you in advance!!!

cij911

Why would replacing transmission fluid cause a mechanical issue ? The only possible reason would be either : (1) fluid was not properly leveled, (2) wrong fluid was used, or (3) the transmission had broken items that were dislodged and are now screwing with the valve body.

I believe Skratch had a similar scenario and posted his solution - relatively easy and inexpensive fix....

claywillard

I have read that power flushing high mileage trans (50k+) can / will dislodge / loosen varnish and particles that would not normally dislodge at this high of a rate. Some of which is not flushed out and remains in the trans to create damage at a later time. The prefered method is to drain pan, change filter, refill, disconnect trans fluid line, run engine, capture 3-4 liters, refill, repeat untill new fluid comes out of line (I personally measure off 3 liter increments and mark each increment on the inside of a 20liter pail. Then do the steps mentioned until I have the amount of fluid in the pail that the trans calls for. Then fine tune level.). I swear by use of external oil cooler. Heat kills a trans. An old word of thumb during my racing days was that every manual downshift was one less upshift in the trans life. We manually downshift allot. This creates more heat. The factory trans cooler maintains the trans fluid temp to engine coolant temp. This saves cost but also assists the trans fluid to warm up quicker during exceptionally cold ambient temps. Some install a cooler after the factory cooler. This is unnecessary in warm temps. We have the same trans fluid cooling process as a 4 cylinder. There is a reason why towing packages include a factory external trans cooler (I have seen factory coolers that bypass the rad completely and did not include a thermostat).

Yacht Master

Ya, and most of the old wives are over on the W210 board.
But you wouldn't know about that.

eko1

The title of this thread says transmission flush. Flushing usually means flushing fluid using a flushing machine that uses pressure to push out old fluid to replace with new. Sometimes solvents are used to clean as well.

Flushing and replacing fluids are two different things.

cij911

Agreed & MB dealers don't "flush"....Per the invoice it appears they dealer just drained the pan ...Had they done a complete "flush" they would have needed many more quarts of transmission fluid ....

pearlpower

Good catch, appears they just dropped the pan, replaced the filter, and filled her up.
115k miles IMO is decent miles and about time for trans repair, especially if you lay into her often. Mine went sound a tick over 100k and to be honest I wanted it to go, this way I no longer have to worry whether it will go bad or not.

Noticed PP has a filter/gasket kit for $7.00, great price. Not sure the brand, I picked up a few BAR filter kits a while back on Amazon.

http://www.performanceproducts4benz....2-6-trans.html

Glyn M Ruck

Changing fluid does not cause mechanical issues. A complete change out will always be the best possible thing you can do.

The only reason the 722.6 requires a flush is because Benz removed the TC drains in 1999 to save money. Put them back in 2006/7. The converter holds over 4 litres of fluid.

If one does the 14 quart Benz hand flush per WIS method with 236.14 fluid & work cleanly you will have zero issues. It's done thousands & thousands of times in ROW. Only MBUSA was dumb enough to say filled for life. Filled for life = short life!

Fluid must be changed EVERY 39K miles or 60K Km's as in ROW. In an AMG driven hard more frequently would be prudent.

Never flush with anything other than the approved fluid. Never use high pressure machines. All you require to do is displace the fluid in the TC & cooling circuit with a hand pump as per method.

After change these boxes require some mileage to auto adapt to new charge of friction modifiers in the new fluid or one can reset all adaptions for each clutch pack with a Star.

If a transmission fails after doing a proper service it would have failed anyway. All that can cause clutch pack failure is the wrong fluid with the wrong frictional properties, lock up pressures wrong or abuse.

236.14 fluid is now mandated for all 722.6 transmissions.

pearlpower

A lot of discussion in my transmission thread, but keep in mind the new fluid is not as 'crisp' in this transmission as the older fluid. This is why I went with Shell fleet 134, it is the older formula. This explains why some complain about softer shifts with the newer formula which is a thinner viscosity fluid. Royal Purple is also based on the older formula. Was talking to one of their techs a while back.

Personally I would not run the newer Benz fluid in these trans. It works fine, just the shifts are not as pronounced.

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...uild-pics.html

Glyn M Ruck

The new fluid is superior in all regards to the old fluid ~ will reduce wear & will last longer. I have covered this in detail in the W209 & 203/204 forums. The older fluids are now obsolete.

Royal Purple have no approved fluids & should not be used.



You can read this if you are interested. The whole viscosity thing is a red herring & is done for energy saving. The latest 236.15 Blue fluid is considerably thinner & not reverse compatible. It is for the 722.9 Plus transmission launched in August 2010.


https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...722-6-atf.html

pearlpower

http://www.royalpurple.com/wp-conten.../PS_MaxATF.pdf

Read up. The RP formula did not change, just that they tested and updated their labeling to reflect 236.10/11. The older label only went to 236.9. The Shell on the other hand is the thinner formula and works to 236.14.

I like the shifts just the way they are, simple as that. Will not run the new fluid in my car. The viscosity does make a difference in shifting quality regardless if Mercedes intended it to save MPG or not, still impacts shift quality. Many threads on softer shifts from folks that changed over to the new fluid. . It's thinner! While I agree that the new fluid will work, I prefer stronger shifts to MPG in a supercharged V8 powered car. I'm strange that way.

urbamworm

If that is being based off of Royal Purple not offering whatever new fluid that is mentioned (236.14) in that bulletin for updated fluid, I will say that is the most ridiculous thing I have heard. How are you going to say something put out in 2008 for a car that stopped production in 2006 can say the fluid is not approved when it was ran from 2003-2007 in the car (722.6 approved fluid)? Meaning for the entire life span of the car while being produced it was being ran on the wrong fluid per what Mercedes said to run?

If you are not saying the above and are saying Royal Purple doesn't have 722.6 fluid (or 236.14), well then I will also say that is wrong because I have had Royal Purple fluid in my transmission bought from Advance Auto Parts and Pep Boys auto parts stores here in the U.S that said approved for Mercedes Benz 722.6 on the back about 7 months ago so they do offer the fluid for our transmissions.

Edit: And after looking at the link provided above my post I see they now have the listing of the newer 236.14 you mentioned Mercedes says to run so they certainly have approved fluid and can be used.

Das Geld 2

Interesting. I have been contemplating doing a service but now I'm concerned.

As I understand a transmission flush and transmission service are 2 different things.

I did mine at 62k Miles and now its' 5 years later and I'm at 101k. What do do

Glyn M Ruck

You guys can do exactly as you wish - They are your cars to bugger up. All I have stated are the facts & given the best possible advice. Royal Purple holds no Benz approvals. Do not use the stuff! Read my other threads. I know these fluids backwards. The minor viscosity differences are all within spec & irrelevant.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...722-6-atf.html

Most people consider that 236.14 gives slightly greater shift shock than 236.12 & older which are now all obsolete. Time moves on as does development. Once adapted shift shock is identical & maintained for longer with 236.14. One of the fluid design parameters.

DG - fyi. WIS change & flush procedure.

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...0flush1-1-.pdf

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachmen...0flush2-1-.pdf

pearlpower

Does Mercedes need to approve everything for you to accept it? I would say RP has a pretty solid reputation, in fact IMO much higher than MB which is not known for reliable/durable vehicles by any stretch. I'm sure you know Mercedes does not make their fluids.

You can ignore all you want others that have posted about softer shifts with the newer THINNER fluid all you want, however I would like to think that perhaps they would know their own car better than I know their own car. With all respect, you have not stated anything of substance that remotely would change my mind.

RJC

Sometimes on a higher mileage car that's never had its trans flushed before AND ran hot or overheated, new trans fluid can create problems in the torque converter.

Glyn M Ruck

Read this. It's obvious you have not. I do not feel like repeating it all.

I've been involved with the Benz approvals programme my entire Oilco career approaching 40 years. Benz have a fabulous testing regime. Labs far better than anything Royal Purple have - in fact Royal Purple have no real research facilities - You need to go to a major for that. The cost of running our research labs exceeds Royal Purple's annual turnover many, many times. Benz works long and hard with the oil industry to look after their products & customers, much as Cat do for Earthmoving. Their approvals process is completely legit.

https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...722-6-atf.html

Glyn M Ruck

What sort of problems in the torque converter? Torque converter failure is not common on the 722.6 - mainly the 722.9 where they suffer bush/bearing/seal failure which takes out the oil pump.

Klinh

Thanks for all the good infos guys !!! But these post worry me because I'm about to take a long trip (1500 miles round trip) and mine Slk55 just got it
2nd transmission services done yesterday. The 1st services were done @ 35K and 2nd done @ 65K miles.

pearlpower

Actually I did and again, nothing to substantiate your claims. It is obvious that you are only interested in pushing Mercedes products because you are involved in it-it is a personal agenda for you, and not interested in the end user. You have still failed to answer why people should deal with the softer lower viscosity fluid other than to state that 'most' folks say the newer fluid is a stronger shift. Funny how nobody has posted that up anywhere that I have seen. Another Mercedes perspective? Softer shifts = less shock on the transmission resulting in longer life at the expense of sportiness?

I am not disputing that the new fluid has more friction additives or other improvements, I am not agreeing to it either. However we are not talking about a little slow 350 here, these are high powered cars and the transmission is simply not going to last 1,000,000 miles. Period. You see, over here, in this forum, we are not running 15 second cars. Most here want stronger shifts. Your deliberate attempt at ignoring the end users complaints on shift quality is exactly indicative of what people complain about with Mercedes dealers. "Customer is wrong, dealer thinks they are always correct. " How do you know how the RP will test out as according to the one of their techs I spoke with last year they never submitted to Mercedes for testing as Mercedes charges 'ridiculous' fees. For someone to state people should not run a particular fluid because they know nothing about it is downright wrong.

Should I not run certain premium fuels in my Mercedes because Mercedes has not tested them all either? Does the pump need to state 'Certified by Mercedes' before I decide to pump the gas?