C280 1997 Automatic tranmission problem

[aif1178]

Hi Guys,

I need your help and advice.

I have bought my C280 one year ago and it had 150K on the clock now its 160K.

During the whole year I did not have the slightest problem with this car.

The problem occured suddenly when I was driving on an upgrade road and the gear went to neutral!

some friends said its the ATF might be low, I measured it and it was slightly more than it should be.

since the last week the car release the gear to neutral on an upgrade but it reacts fine on level ground how ever also it did it once on level ground when i gave it a kick down.

I really do not know what is wrong with it, I called MB and they said that the ATF for my car was changed in 2004 and they sugessted that I take it to tehm to check it.

Others suggested replacing the ATF and the filter.

Have any one faced this problem? any advice will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[LYNALL]

To check the level correctly the engine should be running and gearlever in park.



Lynall

 

[aif1178]

Thanks Lynall, it was in the park when i checked the gear oil level and the car temperature was 80 degrees. the measure which i got was around 7cm from the botom of the measurment tool. In another thread the measures were mentioned to be a minumum of 5.4cm and a maximum 6.4cm at 80 degress.

 

[roofless]

i would have the filter & fluid renewed

 

[aif1178]

I have got some quotes from MB dealer to change the ATF and filter, they were around £300 but I got another quote from a local mercedes specialist for £200 they seem to be professionals and know what they do so I booked the car for friday. I hope this will fix it.

Thanks for the help.

 

[eddiereilly]

I have got some quotes from MB dealer to change the ATF and filter, they were around £300 but I got another quote from a local mercedes specialist for £200 they seem to be professionals and know what they do so I booked the car for friday. I hope this will fix it.

Thanks for the help.

mines booked in for the same on tuesday readings said today slipping gears , was quoted 70 but bear in mind its my cousins place

 

[television]

Many indies charge just £160 including the filter

 

[aif1178]

Thanks Malcolm, The quote was exactly 176 + VAT so the total will be around £203, so if the £160 you mentioned was without VAT then I am ok, if not then I have managed to find an expensive garage

On the other hand when I called MB dealer they said that the oil which they will put will be around 5L however I know that it should take around 7.1L. when I questioned that they said that they can not drain the torque converter!

I wonder how the new oild will mix with the old oil in the torque converter? do you think it will affect the performance of the new oil?
Sorry if I am asking a silly question but my knowledge is really limited in this field

 

[television]

Interesting subject.
For cars that had the glycol issue, MB say undo the cooler pipes and flush the converter out, but on fluid changes they do not do this, so as you say you still have 50% of the old fluid in the box

 

[aif1178]

Thanks again Malcolm, I will contact the specialist tomorrow to see if thier quote was as MB dealer for only changing the fluid without flushing the torque convertor and I will ask about the additional cost associated with doing that.

 

[aif1178]

It seems that its the end of my car

I took the car today to the mercedes specialist and got the following bad news:

Description of work done by the specialist: Carried out full gearbox fault code read to find no communications to the control units. Checked the gearbox oil level and was on the low side. Raised the vehicle and and checked for gearbox oil leaks to find the main wiring loom leaking. Checked to find the oil has leaked into the car and contaminated the gearbox control unit.

Specialist notes: Vehicle requires new gearbox multiplug / wiring loom / gearbox oil / filter / and gearbox control unit to fix.

The specialist quoted me £2000 for parts and labour, I think there is no way forward other than to scrab the car altough it has just passed the MOT!! unless is there any advice which can be added from you professionals.

Thanks for all your help

 

[television]

The gearbox ECU never has to be replaced its a washable thing, find a good indie and you will save the car

 

[aif1178]

Thank you Malcolm, what about the complete wiring which they said it must be replaced?

is it really necessary to replace it? because this is the most complicated task as the specialist said as he will need to remove the dash and the front seats!

 

[television]

Let me come back to you on this.

 

[roofless]

sorry to hear your bad news but lets hope it's not as bad as it seems

 

[television]

I cant find the info that I wanted,, many cars have had this fault, and many have washed out the loom at both end, also the ECU the car has been going a long time with this fault.

Please ring Ollie at

www.PrestigeCarService.co.uk email. info@prestigecarservice.co.uk

Mercedes specialist.(Portsmouth) Ask me anything! 02392 570 123

Tell him that I told you to ring him and see what he says

 

[aif1178]

Once more thank you very much Malcolm, I will call Ollie tomorrow and see what he recommends. Actually when I went to pick the car I asked the specialist why he did not offer me to replace the burst plug so at least we stop the leak and avoid any further damage, to my surprise he was not happy with that and said that wont really give real benifit but I thought this was the bare minimum to stop the problem from devleloping.

I hope that I will get some good news tomorrow and I will keep you posted.

 

[aif1178]

Hi,

I have called Ollie and he was so helpful thanks again Malcolm.
The good news is that you are right malcolm the ECU and the Wiring loom should not be replaced the plug will be the only part tp replace.

The bad news is that Ollie thinks that this is only part of the problem and fixing this issue will not be the solution for the problem, he thinks that most probably the gear is worn as it started to slip and the only way to fix that is a reconditioned gear box of £1500 or more!

I dont think it will work out with my car, again it seems the end of the way for it.