ATF colour ?

[alf1956]

Hello fellow members
I have a clk270 cdi 55 plate auto & I have checked the atf fluid which is at the correct level but the fluid is a light brownish colour is this normal? I have an intermittent gearbox fault where as every now & then it wont change up into top gear so I was wondering if this was atf related?

 

[daveenty]

Fluid should ideally be a reddish colour with a "sweet" smell. Sounds like yours is a bit burnt/used. Does it have a burnt smell to it?

You don't mention mileage. The consensus nowadays seems to be to change the oil at around 40,000 miles, which I agree with and try to do on my own cars.

Do you have any record of it ever being changed? If not, this should be the first step and may help with your other issue...

 

[Lord_Lucan]

As daveenty said: on the 5 speed auto 722.6 box it should be a deep cherry red colour

 

[alf1956]

Thank you for your replies, it does not smell burnt but is not the cherry colour, it has never had an a atf change & has 130k on the clock, i am not sure which bos is in it as it does not show the gear its in on the dash as some Mercs do it just shows P D N R

 

[alf1956]

As daveenty said: on the 5 speed auto 722.6 box it should be a deep cherry red colour

Hello Lord Lucan, regarding your post RIP Television Malcolm has he pased away as i have not seen any posts about it on here

 

[LostKiwi]

Hello Lord Lucan, regarding your post RIP Television Malcolm has he pased away as i have not seen any posts about it on here

Malcolm passed away 11th August 2017. There were several threads about it at the time. This is the main one:
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/malcolm-end-of-an-era.163442/

If your car is a 5 speed gearbox it will be a 722.6 as that is the generic gearbox MB use (though with many variations depending on application).
Yours will likely be have the tiptronic function hence PRND then if you push the stick left or right (once in D) the gear display will change from D to 4,3,2,1 by pushing left then back to D again if you keep pushing to the right.

 

[alf1956]

Malcolm passed away 11th August 2017. There were several threads about it at the time. This is the main one:
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/malcolm-end-of-an-era.163442/

If your car is a 5 speed gearbox it will be a 722.6 as that is the generic gearbox MB use (though with many variations depending on application).
Yours will likely be have the tiptronic function hence PRND then if you push the stick left or right (once in D) the gear display will change from D to 4,3,2,1 by pushing left then back to D again if you keep pushing to the right.

Thanks for the info, i am very sorry to hear about Malcolm i have not been on here for a while due to the car running ok, as he helped me on several occasions as it seems he did for many other members.
I am not with the car but your above description sounds familiar.

 

[LostKiwi]

Thanks for the info, i am very sorry to hear about Malcolm

It was a difficult time for many of us.
He knew he was dying and his final weeks were filled with the things he liked to do - he went on a Land Rover Experience day (FOC courtesy of JLR who refused payment when his situation was explained to them), an AMG driving experience at Brooklands (which Keefysher on here assisted with in conjunction with the dealer Principal at Basingstoke MB) and for his final weekend a pig roast arranged by Malcolm and his sons and attended by many forum members - undoubtedly the highlight of his final month.

Malcolm had contracted a brain tumour (for the technically minded a Glioblastoma Multiforme - one of the most aggressive tumours known) and was diagnosed in January. There is no cure for this tumour and it was inoperable.
His medication took the form of controlling the tumour as best possible and maintain as good a quality of life as possible for as long as possible (as opposed to prolonging life as long as possible at the expense of quality of life).
Those who saw him on his final weekend will attest to how well he looked and this was largely down to Malcolm's determination to have a great day and to his medication allowing quality of life till the end. He passed away just 6 days later, without pain and with his sons in attendance.

 

[alf1956]

It was a difficult time for many of us.
He knew he was dying and his final weeks were filled with the things he liked to do - he went on a Land Rover Experience day (FOC courtesy of JLR who refused payment when his situation was explained to them), an AMG driving experience at Brooklands (which Keefysher on here assisted with in conjunction with the dealer Principal at Basingstoke MB) and for his final weekend a pig roast arranged by Malcolm and his sons and attended by many forum members - undoubtedly the highlight of his final month.

Malcolm had contracted a brain tumour (for the technically minded a Glioblastoma Multiforme - one of the most aggressive tumours known) and was diagnosed in January. There is no cure for this tumour and it was inoperable.
His medication took the form of controlling the tumour as best possible and maintain as good a quality of life as possible for as long as possible (as opposed to prolonging life as long as possible at the expense of quality of life).
Those who saw him on his final weekend will attest to how well he looked and this was largely down to Malcolm's determination to have a great day and to his medication allowing quality of life till the end. He passed away just 6 days later, without pain and with his sons in attendance.

Thank you for that update. RIP Malcolm.

 

[alf1956]

Today I was driving & the car would not change up into top gear so I tried a few experiments, I tried to manually change gear by knocking the gear lever over but it didn't change gear, then I tried to change the mode from C to S again no joy then moved the gear into neutral & then back into drive & it went straight into a low gear & would not change up at all so I pulled in & turned the car off & started it & drove off with it changing up & down the box no problems. I have had it not changing up & I have stopped & turned it off & started it again & it goes back to driving perfectly normal. I t will go for days without a problem then out of the blue it will not change up to top gear so I am wondering why when I turn it on & off it runs perfect so could it be electronic & when you turn it on & off it re-sets itself?

 

[LostKiwi]

Sounds like a failing conductor plate int he gearbox. Reading the codes on STAR will prove it.