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Ive watched enough videos to feel confident enough to complete a transmission drain/fill at home. Just want to make sure I'm buying the correct fluid since Ive read some threads about red and blue fluid. I was going to use the motive power bleeder I have but its only 2 quarts. I could clean out the mityvac for oil changes but maybe not the best choice. Might just get another mityvac unless theres a better option?
Blue fluid in ours, and those attachments look great if your Mityvac can reverse (some can only suction and not pump out). Keep to Pentosin or Genuine Mercedes, the LiquiMoly can have issues in some.
My advice would be to get an infrared temp gun (cheap on Amazon) if you don't have one and use that in addition to a scan tool to determine fill temp when you're setting the level just to be sure, and to make sure the trans pan is level when setting. If you're jacked up on an uneven surface, you can undo the trans mount to lower or raise the back of it to level it out.
Make sure you have enough (and add 15%) fluid and take your time, it's pretty straightforward.
Some of the videos Ive seen do not cycle between P D R N, but its written in the procedure. Ive also read removing the auxiliary oil pump is not necessary but the procedure says to remove it. Any idea?
Other than that, trying to figure out the correct sequence here....
After draining, dropping the pan, remove/replace filter, re-install clean pan/gasket/magnets and overflow pipe,
-pump in about 6 quarts
-start the car. While warming up to 113f, shift through P D N R a few times
-turn off car at 113f, cool down a bit then turn on again and idle in P
-If no fluid comes out, add more fluid until it pours back out while staying under 113f
-tighten plug when fluid stops dripping
All correct! I always shift through gears (even manually selecting all gears in D) out of habit. Can't hurt and only ensures good circulation.
Not sure how the crossmember sits in yours, but make sure you have good access to all pan bolts to torque them properly. My E63 is no problem, our GL63 I need 2 weird wobbly extensions to make it work with the rear bolts.
And no, don't bother w/ the pump, we have no torque converter plug to access. You might get a tiny bit more fluid out but it's easier/better to just do more frequent changes anyway.
Tackled this job today, not hard at all. Just takes time making sure its done correctly. Couple things for my car, CLS63S...
Using a level on the pan both left to right and front to back helps to ensure the car is sitting correct so the right amount of fluid is in the pan.
Mityvac did the job perfectly with the two attachments from the first post.
Cross-member had to be removed to access two of the pan bolts. No big deal but I didn't realize it supported the transmission mount. Upon re-tightening, I had to push the weight of the transmission up a little bit to seat the bolts correctly.
I did not need to remove the auxiliary pump to remove the pan. It was not in the way.
My pan only had one magnet. I thought there was supposed to be two but my reading suggests one or two magnets depending on model.
I found it strange that the filter came out at the same time when I dropped the pan. Essentially the filter was sitting in the pan. I think when I was titling the pan forward to drain the excess after knocking off the fill tube, the back of the pan was putting pressure on the edge of the filter and it slid out (if that makes sense).
Tackled this job today, not hard at all. Just takes time making sure its done correctly. Couple things for my car, CLS63S...
Using a level on the pan both left to right and front to back helps to ensure the car is sitting correct so the right amount of fluid is in the pan.
Mityvac did the job perfectly with the two attachments from the first post.
Cross-member had to be removed to access two of the pan bolts. No big deal but I didn't realize it supported the transmission mount. Upon re-tightening, I had to push the weight of the transmission up a little bit to seat the bolts correctly.
I did not need to remove the auxiliary pump to remove the pan. It was not in the way.
My pan only had one magnet. I thought there was supposed to be two but my reading suggests one or two magnets depending on model.
I found it strange that the filter came out at the same time when I dropped the pan. Essentially the filter was sitting in the pan. I think when I was titling the pan forward to drain the excess after knocking off the fill tube, the back of the pan was putting pressure on the edge of the filter and it slid out (if that makes sense).
Interesting that the cross member got in the way. On the facelift E63 it doesn’t.
Also concerned about the filter dropping out. It should not have. Has the transmission ever been serviced before?
I bought the car with 11k miles and now it has 58k. I have not serviced the transmission before. The VMI at time of purchase does not list any transmission services either. There was, IMO, the typical amount of wear metals/sludge on the magnet with no debris in the drained fluid.
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