ML 270 CD. Gearbox Oil leak staining Carpet

Lightbeach

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ML 270CD 2003. Transmission Tunnel - Carpet stain.

Hi - last week noticed a spreading stain all over transmission tunnel carpet. Have been told its due to failure of a £17.00 electronic multi-plug, which exits gearbox & allows gearbox oil to soak along wiring loom.......... into an electronic control box & then leak out onto carpet.
As car is 5 yrs 7 months old, despite ALLWAYS being serviced by MB - Mercedes will not honour the £4200.00 bill to repair & replace !!

Question - is this a 'common' fault which perhaps should have been checked at a service or even a recall possibility ??

Any advice appreciated

Kind Regards

Mark
 

television

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Hello and welcome with your bad news.

The wiring harness may dry out on its own, the gearbox ECU will wash out and does not need to be replaced,, So you need the new plug on the box and possibly a new loom,,but many get away without changing that and stuff tissue blotting paper around the plug to soak any up that may come out later.

So in real terms you do not need to spend that much
 

panason1c

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Not sure why you expect MB to carry out a foc repair on a 5 and a half year old car............the plug fitting procedure is a 20 minute job and all that you need to do after that is to clean up the mess (as television above)

ps, the plug is actually called a 'spacer' on MB's parts listing.
 

Cole@MBS

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9 times out of ten, a new spacer will cure the fault!!
 

turbopete

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i think the OP was also concerned about the cost of the stained carpet, not just the cost of the repair to the transmission, possibly?????
 

television

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I think that it should wash out Pete, using something soluble to trans fluid. I had not thought of the carpet and any possible smells
 

Cole@MBS

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Bit of lighter fuild will was the stain out!!
 

panason1c

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Bit of lighter fuild will was the stain out!!

lighter fluid is highly flammable and extremely 'fumey'.........lots of electrics in the cabin of a ML and i would therefore suggest not to be attempted with the carpet in situ. Disconnecting the battery wouldnt guarantee safety either as 'static' created by rubbing the carpet could cause ignition of the product ......... i wouldnt recommend you follow this route.
 
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television

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lighter fluid is highly flammable and extremely 'fumey'.........lots of electrics in the cabin of a ML and i would therefore suggest not to be attempted with the carpet in situ. Disconnecting the battery wouldnt guarantee safety as 'static' could cause ignition of the product.

One that breaks it down would be better and safer just washing machine liquid should do it,,,is it hard to get the carpet out ?

How is life with you young man:D
 

Parrot of Doom

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£4200, from where do these dealers get their cheek?

The fault can be repaired cheaply as others have said, and the carpets can be done by any vehicle trimmer - I recommend http://www.martrim.co.uk/ in Cheshire as I've used them in the past, they're very professional. For new carpets I doubt you're looking at more than a few hundred quid.
 

television

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£4200, from where do these dealers get their cheek?

The fault can be repaired cheaply as others have said, and the carpets can be done by any vehicle trimmer - I recommend http://www.martrim.co.uk/ in Cheshire as I've used them in the past, they're very professional. For new carpets I doubt you're looking at more than a few hundred quid.

They buy the old machines from the lottery, and play 3 balls for just asking, 4 balls if its still drivable.
 

panason1c

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One that breaks it down would be better and safer just washing machine liquid should do it,,,is it hard to get the carpet out ?

How is life with you young man:D

i agree as above..............i think its a fair old job to remove the carpet, well worth trying to clean it in situ to start with.


I'm very well thank you.......managing to avoid being credit-;)crunched (so far)
 
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Lightbeach

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Thank you everyone !!!!

Many thx to all for comments & advice - very helpful.

Re the question on 'Covered by Warranty' - i posed this comment as i'm 95% certain that fault WAS noticeable @ last service ( ie - within the warranty period )

Opting for drying out loom, control unit & cleaning carpet etc - but will still be £1100.00 + Vat .......... still fairly considerable if its a 20 min job & a £27.00 item !!

Hey ho

Mark
 

panason1c

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Many thx to all for comments & advice - very helpful.

Re the question on 'Covered by Warranty' - i posed this comment as i'm 95% certain that fault WAS noticeable @ last service ( ie - within the warranty period )

Opting for drying out loom, control unit & cleaning carpet etc - but will still be £1100.00 + Vat .......... still fairly considerable if its a 20 min job & a £27.00 item !!

Hey ho

Mark

You should get away with only replacing the spacer (20 mins).......the control unit and loom can, in most cases, be cleaned up and re-used (couple of hours) and is a straightforward diy job.
Do a search on this forum, plenty of info on the subject.
Good luck.
 

television

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Yes above,,that would only cost £200 at a push
 


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