slk 230 transmition faults

chris fullwood

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I own a slk 230 77000 miles 2003. last Sunday my son in law was using the car an did about 180 miles in it, He was just about home when the car lost drive engine was running fine but the car would not go he put the car into P and switched the engine off waited a few minutes. restarted the car and it drove but after while it stopped working again. I tried the car on Monday and only managed about 1 mile before it stopped and stopped another 3 times trying to get the car back home again. I have owned the car 2 years and only use the car in summer Its only ever missed 1 service and looking through the service has never had a transmition oil and filter change. Has anybody what could be wrong
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
It may be something as simple as low transmission fluid level or as complex as a failed conductor plate, clutch, oil pump or valve body. If it isn't fluid level the it really needs to go on Star to see what codes it's posting and to check live data (pressures/fill times etc).

Edit:
If you don't have s transmission dipstick get a 1m length of flexible curtain wire (the stuff used for net curtains)and insert into the hole. Withdraw when it hits the bottom and measure the distance from the bottom tithe oil mark (lie the curtain wire on kitchen towel if it's hard to see).
Somewhere there's a table of heights for the oil level.
 

Wighty

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Where do you live so someone can recommend a good Indy in your area . Only thing to add to LK's comments , is that ideally the auto gearbox oil and filter should be changed every 40k miles .
 

LostKiwi

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10 to 21mm from the bottom of the wire is your target (@25oC).

If your level is low you need to find out where it's gone.
 

Wighty

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The measurement is taken on level ground , engine running , gearbox in park
 
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chris fullwood

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Thank you all for replying.
I live in Belper Derbyshire the car is kept in my garage there is never any oil on the floor. I have owned the car 2 years and done less than 500 miles only tax it for 6 months a year.
I have
brought a dip stick from e bay it should be delivered this week.​

I noticed yesterday that the engine fault light was on checked with my cheap fault cod reader and it was showing p0130 think this lambda sensor before cat I changed the sensor after the cat last year which was a p0136 fault code. Don't think this is anything to with the transmission problems and will change the sensor later if I can fix the gearbox first.

I was going to check the oil level first if that was ok we are going to drain the oil and remove the sump depending what we find in the bottom of the sump will determine what we do next.
I have also been checking to see I can find a used box for sale I have found one at a breakers yard in Derbyshire he want £200 + vat is this a cheaper option assuming the second hand box is Ok. How easy is to fit a transmission box in a SLK. Is it something that can be done by an average DIY person.
I will update what we find later thank you all
Chris
 

LostKiwi

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There are many variations of the 722.6 gearbox. You must replace like with like to ensure it will operate correctly.
Like everything MB there are 6 numbers in the serial number that define the box. It will be 722.6xx where xx is the specific gearbox for your car.

Aside from that the change is relatively straightforward - especially if you have access to a lift.
When refitting the gearbox be very very careful to fit the torque converter to the gearbox and not to the engine. When fitting it also ensure it is fully located home on the oil pump. If it is not then you will destroy the oil pump in the gearbox and that requires a full strip down to repair (and parts are hard to come by). Also check the bush where the loom attaches for oil. Any oil means the bush needs replacing and loom cleaning out. Be careful when fitting not to bend pins in the connector as the pins are part of the conductor plate.
 
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chris fullwood

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Thank you to you all who replied and your comments so far.
Dipstick arrived yesterday checked oil level in car with engine running and gearbox in park on level ground. Something strange happening the oil level was above the top mark on the dipstick tried it twice with the same result each time. How is this possible?
also whilst sat in car tried the box in drive and reverse car tried to move but when I repeated the operation again would not go into gear. How is this possible there has never been any oil added to the gearbox I have owned the car for 2 years had a service in 2016. and has never any problems with it.
Car was parked out side yesterday the ambient temp was about 23 oc .
Connected my fault code reader and was showing a (PO715 input/turbo speed Sensor a circuit) what does this mean its now starting to do my head in. Chris
 

Wighty

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There was radiator contamination of some early gearboxes with "valeo" radiators I think , but I don't know if that would increase the ATF level .
 

LostKiwi

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Connected my fault code reader and was showing a (PO715 input/turbo speed Sensor a circuit) what does this mean
It means the speed sensors in the gearbox are faulty. These are attached to the conductor plate and are not renewable separately.
 

grahamcol

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I wouldn't think you will need a complete new box as the mileage is low. These boxes carry on for ages. Maybe renew the conductor plate assuming it's really faulty and renew oil / filter. I didn't think this model suffered the Valeo issue so hopefully no coolant mixing with the oil.
 


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