E-300 Td. Eleg. Estate Autobox Problems.

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

Hi Everyone Just Joined Today, My Friends Refer To My 1997. E-300 Td. 7 Seater Eleg. Est. As The "panzer", This Vehicle Is The Best People And Load Carrier, As Outlined Some Years Ago By Jeramie Clarkson. Mine Has Covered 190k. Miles. Everything Has Worked So Well But Not The Gearbox, For Me This Is The Weak Link In What Could Be A Strong Chain. Over The Years The "limp Home Mode" Has Tried To Rubbish A Good Vehicle, The List Of Things That Can Upset The Correct Function Is Long And Complicated, And Very Expensive For The Inexperienced Owner. Basically The Auto Gearbox Trade Can Tell You Anything And You Have To Take It. Eg; The Diagnostics Say Code, Xyz. Etc. Must Be Oil Wicking Up The Wiring Looms And Cotaminating The "ecu", Or It Might Be The Speed Sensor, Or The Selector Control Module, Or The Air Mass Sensor, Or Maf.low Oil Level, Dirty Oil. Etc, I Finaly Think Or Hope I Have Found A Merc. Specialist Company Who Are Replacing The Auto Box, ( Dronsfields At Oldham), They Say My Box Will Now Be Full Of Ali Particles And Be In A State Of Unrepairable Worn Out Bearings Etc. I Hope The Replacement Box Gives Me Some Peace. I Am From An Eng. Background And We Used To Say With Our New Designs, "would We Take It To The Moon"? With The Merc Auto Boxes The Answer In My Opinion Would Be No. From The Many Postings On This Subject Many Owners Agree.

 

[television]

Hello and welcome.

One cannot say that MB gearboxes are a weak link, and I would say the opposite to be true. A forum only gets the cars with problems and not the thousands running around fault free after incredible mileages.

There are honest gearbox specialist around and this group is one of them. I have used them and many here have too, they abide by a code and do not cheat
http://www.fedauto.co.uk/

For a start I do not see why your old gearbox should have anymore swarf in it than any other, if the fluid is changed at the correct interval then it gets cleaned out each time.

Most cars from 99 on are fully fault coded, so fault finding becomes easier.

OK there are many that cheat , and one gets that in all trades, but for the best part we do know where to send people, we do not forget the bad ones, and they lose out.

You must remember that it was not long back that any auto box needed changing after 100k, and now we talk of 3 times that figure, but to get that, it does need routine service.

 

[Ian Parkin]

Why do you start almost every word with a capital ?
Makes your post very difficult to read
Ian

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

hi television man, thankyou for your reply, i do agree with what points you put forward, it's just that all my woes have been with the autobox, and this has spoiled an otherwise superb car. the fact that the basic box has acheived the 190k miles is very good. during the cars 4 th visit over the past 4 yrs, to the autobox indie they said there was ali swarf in the sump pan and this did not bode well for much longer trouble free operation. i am going down the replacement box route because i can see that at this mileage the wear debris will be excessive. i don't want to make periferal expensive fixes to an old worn out box. please don't tell me that some boxes can acheive 250 k miles, etc. ? thanks again for your interest. ps: who is malcolm ?

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

Why do you start almost every word with a capital ?
Makes your post very difficult to read
Ian

i did not do it, the system did it for some reason, thanks for showing an interest anyway.

 

[television]

hi television man, ps: who is malcolm ?

Malcolm is my first name.

Many reconditioning firms do a box fitted for around £1400

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

hi malcolm, when dronfields mercedes at oldham fit my replacement box ( used one with 55k miles on it ), 3 months parts and lab. guarante. what should i ask them to do with reference to controls, wiring, seals etc. as i immagine there must be some modifications which eliminate the causes of limp home ? i know i will get new oil and hopefully the filter. they have quoted me a turn around price, inc. vat, of £900. thankyou once more for your help.

 

[television]

Its doubtful if they will change any of the seals, if they are showing no signs of leaking. I trust that they are fitting one from a diesel with the same part number

What are the first 6 vin numbers wdb210??? the next 3

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

i asked them if the box was the 5 speed which as you probably are aware changed from the 4 speed box in mid 1997. they said the part number based on my vin. no. was correct. are you saying a box from a petrol car will not be suitable and if so why ? if there are problems they are making a rod for their own backs. dronsfields have a good reputation. changing the suject, does my car have a maf ? where is it located and how does one test it ? i hope it is not another "limp home" consideration. ? thankyou once more for your help. are you a diy guy or an ex- merc. man. ?

 

[Aviator]

I would do some research on dronfields before commiting yourself.

 

[television]

If you go to this link

http://www.detali.ru/cat/oem_mb0.asp?TP=1


Then go to the 210 you will see that the diesel versions use a different box from the petrol versions

The 210020 uses a 722.600 box. A 210025 a 722.608 and every car in the range has a different number.

Just click on each 210 and the gearbox number is on the right in the list

 

[torquewrench]

I would do some research on dronfields before commiting yourself.

I will second that.....

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

Hi Aviator, Do You Have Any Info On Dronsfields ?

 

[Parrot of Doom]

You should only use the specific gearbox model required for your car - don't use a petrol gearbox. The codes for most of them are 722.6xx - its the last two digits that are important.

Mine is on almost 220,000 and aside from a slightly 'sharp' 2-3rd gearchange, works flawlessly.

Your VIN will tell you which gearbox model is required. Put your VIN into this website and see what it tells you - but please do go to a dealer and confirm which box you need:

http://old.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/?lng=eng

If I were you? If the gearbox is changing reasonably ok, I'd just run it until it dies. You may find it'll go for thousands more miles.

Use the link that Malcolm provided. Dronsfields, from my limited experience, is a bit of a scrapyard. I certainly wouldn't go there, if you're in the area I'd go to Greenvale in Whitefield (near the Metrolink station) - they're a great place.

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

You should only use the specific gearbox model required for your car - don't use a petrol gearbox. The codes for most of them are 722.6xx - its the last two digits that are important.

Mine is on almost 220,000 and aside from a slightly 'sharp' 2-3rd gearchange, works flawlessly.

Your VIN will tell you which gearbox model is required. Put your VIN into this website and see what it tells you - but please do go to a dealer and confirm which box you need:

http://old.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/?lng=eng

If I were you? If the gearbox is changing reasonably ok, I'd just run it until it dies. You may find it'll go for thousands more miles.

Use the link that Malcolm provided. Dronsfields, from my limited experience, is a bit of a scrapyard. I certainly wouldn't go there, if you're in the area I'd go to Greenvale in Whitefield (near the Metrolink station) - they're a great place.

hi parrot, thankyour for your comments. i know what you mean about dronsfiels i have been there , does look like a scrapyard with a garage and an office, but all the parts i have had, and the information has been vg. they have customers taking their veh. there from far and wide.just spoke to mark the service mgr, he says my repl. box. will be the right one and all known upgrades / impr. will be seen to. he does not want me going back with problems. their costs are very competative, by comparison my local merc dealership which begins with a c,in preston has a fantastic all modern set up, total luxury, they could not cure my autobox probs, £200 for electr. plug and seal. still had limp home. in fairnes to them they spend most of their time changing filters on new cars.

 

[HERBIEMERCMAN]

hi everyone, having experienced autobox "limp home" in the past, i recently assumed the problem / problems had returned as described in my posting. from the MBO members, which i think is excellent i was told to try dissconnecting the MAF (mass airflow sensor) located at the side of the air intake filter box housing. it worked, all the surging, loss of gear changing etc went away. there is still a loss of seriouus power but otherwise everything is ok, i am assuming when the MAF is replaced the full power will also return. i had ordered an exchange autobox at £900 fitted and 3 months guar.due to 190k miles on clock, melvin dronsfield at dronsfields mercedes ( inde place) said the boxes are good for 300k miles if serviced every 40k. miles. herbiemercman.