Some w202's last a long time without trannie oil change

[69chevelle]

Take a look at this car for sale.... 200,000+ miles and no trannie oil change.. remarkable!


http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/car/193198168.html

[1995c280]

sounds to me like the owner neglected to maintain his ride and takes poor care of it. i wouldn't waste a dime on it. well, now i'm lying maybe a dime so i could use the interior for parts, LOL! if you drained that tranny fluid it would be black as hell. actually at this point with over 200,000 miles on original fluid, it would be a bad idea to do a tranny service. anywayz that tranny's ready to hit the ground to me!

p.s. DONT' BE CHEAP AND ALWAYZ MAINTAIN YOUR RIDE - better off in the long run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason

[rollinrealbig]

Originally posted by 1995c280
if you drained that tranny fluid it would be black as hell.

Jason


I dnt understand that ... How would the tranny oil be black ??? it will stay red since the transmission has no spark plugs putting fire to the oil, so no explosions - it just goes round n round, so I dnt believe it turns black - but you will smell something burnt if the oil is bad.

correct me.

[NISMOPOWERED]

your wrong!


it turns black as it gets burned form the bearings, from the heat, from the clutch plates.

[rollinrealbig]

Originally posted by NISMOPOWERED
your wrong!


it turns black as it gets burned form the bearings, from the heat, from the clutch plates.

ok, then good for me I never had it turn black :p

[Ashkan's C280]

why would it be a bad idea to change the fluid now... wouldn't new fluid help out the tranny and help it run better? I don't get why it would hurt the tranny....

[rollinrealbig]

I think he means its pointless wasting your money on tranny oil (which aint cheap) on a tranny that may be about to croak.

[irieite]

At least he "took the liberty to wash/wax" it. :D

[jnolte]

Originally posted by irieite
At least he "took the liberty to wash/wax" it. :D

:rolleyes:

in that case, sounds like a good deal....

[rollinrealbig]

"The transmmission is due to be serviced and should have its fluids flushed. (Mercedes states that the transmission should not require maintenance throughout it's life, but at 210,000 miles I recommend it)".


ok, so he recommends a service at 200K so guess I will wait till then ... I got about 142K to go LMFAO!!!!

[irieite]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig
I think he means its pointless wasting your money on tranny oil (which aint cheap) on a tranny that may be about to croak.

If I bought that car, I'd just drain the pan and torque converter, refill with good old Dextron III ATF and see what happens.

Despite what MB wants us to believe, Dextron III will work perfectly fine in the 722.6, so long as you don't leave it in there "for life".

Sure, it's not as good as the secret MB fluid, but if you change it every 15k-20k, it won't make a lick of difference.

However, I wouldn't recommend anyone doing this while the car is under warranty, as they most certainly would use this as an excuse to void it, should there be a failure. :rolleyes:

[rollinrealbig]

how would the dealer know the oil has been replaced with Dex.III ??

[irieite]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig
how would the dealer know the oil has been replaced with Dex.III ??

They could run an analysis on it if they found the color to be "suspicious".

[rollinrealbig]

so they would have to run some scientific shit ... damn.

[1995c280]

Originally posted by Ashkan's C280
why would it be a bad idea to change the fluid now... wouldn't new fluid help out the tranny and help it run better? I don't get why it would hurt the tranny....

it's a bad idea to change the fluid when you have waited and neglected it for so long because varnish and build-up will wash away with new fluid and can cause leaks and tranny failures.
also like "NISMOPOWERED" stated about heat from the bearings and clutch plates but along with that, materials from the them become loose and mix in with the new fluid.

basically if you change it...your asking for the tranny to fail.
if you leave the fluid alone...just hope for the best and hopefully you get some more life outta it.

Jason

[OCKlasse]

Originally posted by 1995c280
it's a bad idea to change the fluid when you have waited and neglected it for so long because varnish and build-up will wash away with new fluid and can cause leaks and tranny failures.
also like "NISMOPOWERED" stated about heat from the bearings and clutch plates but along with that, materials from the them become loose and mix in with the new fluid.

basically if you change it...your asking for the tranny to fail.
if you leave the fluid alone...just hope for the best and hopefully you get some more life outta it.

Jason

I have 81,000 miles now...is it still within a safe limit where I can change it now (98 C230) Thanks

[irieite]

Originally posted by 1995c280
it's a bad idea to change the fluid when you have waited and neglected it for so long because varnish and build-up will wash away with new fluid and can cause leaks and tranny failures.
also like "NISMOPOWERED" stated about heat from the bearings and clutch plates but along with that, materials from the them become loose and mix in with the new fluid.

basically if you change it...your asking for the tranny to fail.
if you leave the fluid alone...just hope for the best and hopefully you get some more life outta it.

Jason

I'm sort of with Jason here.

At high miles, alot of the friction material from the worn clutches is being held within fluid. If you change it, you lose the material. Don't do it if your tranny is slipping.

However, if the transmission is having a problem such as a delayed engagement, due to a sticking or slow valve, then a flush is worth a try.

[rollinrealbig]

mine was serviced at 50K ... its 58K now.

I see why its bad, basically you have shit stuck the walls of the tranny and wen you touch it the shit messes up everything else. easy translation aint it ? :rolleyes:

[Ashkan's C280]

it works for me...

[jnolte]

i say change it as soon as possible, even if its got a shit load of miles

[1995c280]

Originally posted by OCKlasse
I have 81,000 miles now...is it still within a safe limit where I can change it now (98 C230) Thanks

i say go for it. but think about doin it soon rather than waiting til 100k. i have actually seen synthetic MB fluid come out at the mileage you have still looking dark red (not burnt yet)!

i change mine every 15k in my car but it is regular ATF and you guys know how picky i am with maintance. i recommend it at around 30k though but that's just me.

synthetic i would change between 40-50k whereas most people do it every 60k! normally when i do 60k's in customer's cars, it is just about the perfect time to do complete a tranny service!

just always be on the safe side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason

[rollinrealbig]

why would you want to put in cheap ATF and replace it every 15K when you go buy the real MB tranny fluid and replace it every 50K ??

wont that save you money/labor in the long run + be safe for your warrenty if you have one???

Im assuming MB ATF will run smoother then el-cheapo ATF ??

[1995c280]

Originally posted by rollinrealbig
why would you want to put in cheap ATF and replace it every 15K when you go buy the real MB tranny fluid and replace it every 50K ??

wont that save you money/labor in the long run + be safe for your warrenty if you have one???

Im assuming MB ATF will run smoother then el-cheapo ATF ??

i have a 95 C280. it is a 722.4 transmission so it is not an electronic tranny like the 722.6's. you are recommended to run regular dextron ATF in any tranny made before 97'. benz doesn't make a regular ATF fluid like they have the synthetic. it is made by mobil 1 and we have it in bulk for the shop or in 1 quart sizes for retail customers. same shit you see in the parts stores basically!

my cost for 7-8 quarts plus filter and pan gasket is like $40 which is nothing and which is the reason i do it every 15k. still drains out pure red but i'd rather be safe-than-sorry!

warrenty, hah..........way past that by years and mileage - first off it's a 95'. second i have 290,000 original miles!

Jason

[irieite]

Originally posted by 1995c280
you are supposed to run regular dextron ATF in any tranny made before 97'. benz doesn't make a regular ATF fluid like they have the synthetic.

Actually, MB specifies that the 3353 fluid made for the new 722.7 7-speed transmission, can be used for all of their older autoboxes as well. At least down to 722.3. I can dig up the factory literature on PDF if anyone wants to see it. I found it on the Mercedesshop.com forums.

By the way, when I changed the factory fill ATF on my '00 c280 at 60k, it was murky and chocolately. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. :p

[1995c280]

Originally posted by irieite
Actually, MB specifies that the 3353 fluid made for the new 722.7 7-speed transmission, can be used for all of their older autoboxes as well. At least down to 722.3. I can dig up the factory literature on PDF if anyone wants to see it. I found it on the Mercedesshop.com forums.

By the way, when I changed the factory fill ATF on my '00 c280 at 60k, it was murky and chocolately. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. :p


my parts dept. told me that the tranny fluid for the new tranny's is a different synthetic than the one used in the 722.6's. different chemicals, part #'s, and price!

but if your right, that would be great if you could dig up that info. i never saw any info about that on WIS or netstar so that's news to me but let us know.

Jason

[irieite]

Ah, here it is! Check out page 9.

722.9 Specs.pdf (http://www.mercedestechstore.com/pdfs/286_722.9/286%20HO%20722.9%20062504.pdf)

BTW, I had erroneously referred to the new 7-speed auto as the 722.7, the correct designation is 722.9. Go figure. :rolleyes:

[rollinrealbig]

now im getting confused. oh well at least I have nothing to worry about in the next 50K and by then the car will be gone. now im outta here! :p

[1995c280]

Originally posted by irieite
Ah, here it is! Check out page 9.

722.9 Specs.pdf (http://www.mercedestechstore.com/pdfs/286_722.9/286%20HO%20722.9%20062504.pdf)

BTW, I had erroneously referred to the new 7-speed auto as the 722.7, the correct designation is 722.9. Go figure. :rolleyes:

thanks alot irieite, i must have missed that bulliten. that is very interesting news though!

Jason

[irieite]

Originally posted by 1995c280
thanks alot irieite

NP

[marksbenz]

If you have that much miles without any tranny fluid changed dont change it. It will do more harm than good. Why? Because if you do you will ruin the tranny because all the sludges will loosen up and ruin the tranny. But for the newer Benz i recommend change tranny fluid to oem fluid every 60k miles. The new trannies are piece of shit and if you neglect it youll be sorry.