E320 CDI W211 2004 AUTO GEARBOX PROBLEMS!!!

[gerf22]

Hi all,

Ive recently bought a E320 cdi 2004 reg to replace my c220 cdi. I absolutlely love the car and cant fault it apart from the following gearbox issues im having. The faults are as follows-

1. The gear change between 1st and 2nd is not only delayed, but also shunts into second gear sending a great thud through the car. It only really does this when cold and gradually improves as the engine warms up.

2. When the engine has warmed up, under light acceleration in most of the gears there is a shuddering. Sometimes its only light but other times its really quite bad and makes you shake in your seat.

3. There is an intermittant groaning noise when either accelerating or slowing down. The noise is the same as going onto the hard shoulder line on a motorway but abit quiter.

I hope its nothing costly but i fear it is! Could anyone please advise me on what the problem is, how to sort it and cost wise to get it sorted. I am a Lexus technician and have access to a workshop to carry out repairs and hopefully should be able to do whatever is needed myself

But as i say apart from these problems i love the car and is a great upgrade from my c220 coupe which is for sale by the way lol

Many thanks Rob

 

[television]

Sad to say that I think that you have glycol in the gearbox, I would recommend that you it tested for this.

The reason is the radiator can leak letting coolant into the gear box

 

[gerf22]

Hi and thank you for the quick reply,

Firstly oh dear!!! I thought maybe an easy a easy fix like disconnecting the battery to reset the gearbox ecu would be too good to be true. Im asuming then that the atf fluid has its own section built into the engine coolant radiator to assist cooling? On that note would there also be atf fluid in the engine cooling system for example residue in the coolant bottle that i could check to see. If not then wheres the best (cheapest) place to get this glycol test done?

If say the test shows glycol in atf fluid then what would be the next step to get it sorted?

Your help is very much appreciated?

Regards Rob

 

[television]

If tested positive, and only by MB at £75 you will need a new rad, we used to change the torque converters as the clutch faces swell with the glycol.

The next thing is you need a good indie, so where are you in the UK.

Its worth just doing a fluid change along with the rad and see how it goes, if still not perfect, then a recon torque converter can be bought for around £200.

Its quite possible that this is why the car was sold,they could have just had new fluid put in.

Lovely cars though so do not be put off

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Malcom is spot on here, definately sounds like a glycol contamination.

If you use a pattern radiator and a recon TC then it keeps the cost down considerably. I use them all the time and have never had issues with them. Some even fit an external oil cooler.

There is more pressure in the cooling system than in the oil cooler for the rad so oil going into the rad is less likely.

If this fault is left then you run the risk of damaging the gearbox itself, limit your driving in it or try not to use it at all.

 

[gerf22]

Hi guys thank you for your help

Well I shall have to take it to my merc dealer then and get it tested before I go any further with it. I live in Gloucester about 5 mins off j12 of the m5. Are the new rads from merc modified to prevent this problem from reoccurring? Also what are the rads like to change and bleeding the cooling system after replacement?

I did buy the car through my work company so got it at a good price but on the downside it was sold as seen with no warranty's included. I'm going to persevere with this one and get it sorted as its really is a joy to own.

Many thanks

Rob

 

[television]

Yes many choices now for the rad, with luck you may just get away with the rad and fluid change.

Well worth doing and not the end of the world on cost, I think I know a very good indie near you

 

[gerf22]

Hi malcolm,

If you do know a good trusty indie then PM me details please as this would be a great help how much off the top of your head are the rads from merc? Is the fluid a special type or would shell donax atf fluid do?

Cheers Rob

 

[television]

The rads can be bought for £2-300 Fluid comes from MB only. The is a list in the sticky threads by me

Look in the indie finder at the top of the page and Robin Lamb comes up and very good I understand

 

[gerf22]

****** hell thats not a bad price compared to lexus which are a average of about £1200!!! I shall book it in my local dealer for the glycol test and see what that shows up. If positive then i'll get in touch with the indie and go from there.

Thank you for all your advice, its been a great help. I shall keep you posted on the out come.

Regards Rob

 

[gerf22]

Hi again,

Just an update and some more advice required I have taken the car to the dealers and had the glycol test done and the test confirmed that glycol was present in the ATF fluid. Also the technician tested the torque converter by deactivating the lock up clutch and when road tested the car drove like new and was so smooth.

The technician advised me that to first get the radiator replaced to stop the cause of the problem. At the same time as replacing the radiator, to drain the gearbox, replace the filter inside and then carry out an ATF fluid flush. He said to then run the car round for abit and see if the issues clear. If they don't, then he said I'll have to have the torque converter replaced also.

When I heard the quote from Mercedes to do the work i knew I couldn't afford it and would have to carry the work out myself. I've bought a new radiator and filter with oil for the box from Mercedes. I've got the instructions for carrying out the ATF flush and changing the filter in the gearbox but need the instructions for replacing the radiator.

Could any one email me them or link them to a PDF file please?? This would be much appreciated

Regards Rob

 

[brianbrian]

Just put the new radiator in the same way as you take old one out. Hope this helps

 

[gerf22]

Not really to be honest lol!!!! I just need a rough idea on how difficult the job is and if theres any special procedures or tools for doing the job??

Regards

 

[gerf22]

Hi all,

just another update to the situation. I've replaced the radiator now which was quite a job, especially with the air-con pipes being seized in at the seperation point!! At the same time of replacing the radiator i drained the auto box and removed the sump to replace the filter inside the box. I refitted the sump and fillec the box with fresh genuine auto fluid. I then removed the return pipe from the gearbox and followed the torque converter flushing procedure from merecedes which i manged to find online.

Once i had done this i topped the fuid level back up and cheched the level. I then tested the car and found that instantly the shudering had almost gone but the gear change was still harsh when cold. After a 1,000 miles now since the flush the shuddering has more or less dissapeared. The gear change problem still exists aswell as the groaning noise when the lockup clutch is in operation. But the flush has deffinatly improved the driveablilty of the vehicle.

Im going to leave it for now and see how it goes, but i've been in touch with a company called Sussex autos xand they said they will send a courier to pick my TC up and recondition it with a 24 hour turnaround and then ship it back for 180 +vat. I will do this when i can keep the car off the road for abit. Its alot better then the price mercedes dealer quoted me for a recon TC at 650+vat inc exchange.

Hope this helps afew people with the same issues as im having.

Reagrds Rob

 

[Alex Crow]

...................i've been in touch with a company called Sussex autos xand they said they will send a courier to pick my TC up and recondition it with a 24 hour turnaround and then ship it back for 180 +vat.......................Reagrds Rob

Have you tried the Dr Tranny Shudder Fixx yet?
Much cheaper than a new/recon TC!!

 

[gerf22]

I have looked at this before but always wondered if its really does the atf system any good. The juddering sympton seems to have subsided to almost nothing now to be honest. Its just the rough gear change from first second n third when cold and occasionally when hot.

I also find that it seems to hold gears abit longer then it should do. Im sure this is do with the dodgey lock up clutch in the TC. Either that or its an ecu software issue i would of thought. Is there any procedure you can do to reset the transmission ecu??

Regards Rob

 

[G-a-r-y]

I'm going to collect my new car Wednesday (2004 W211 E320 cdi), I was unsure about taking out the AA warranty @ £400 but after reading this thread I think I will. How do I tell if the radiator has been changed in the past. It's a own owner car from new with 55k miles. Having not tested the car yet and only paid a deposit because the car is 180 miles away. Any other pre purchase "look outs" please?

 

[Daeths]

I'm going to collect my new car Wednesday (2004 W211 E320 cdi), I was unsure about taking out the AA warranty @ £400 but after reading this thread I think I will. How do I tell if the radiator has been changed in the past. It's a own owner car from new with 55k miles. Having not tested the car yet and only paid a deposit because the car is 180 miles away. Any other pre purchase "look outs" please?

Check for rust on the inside of the rear arches and that all electrical toys work as they should.

 

[Finnley]

Hello all I have a Mercedes e320 2004 that we recently bought in an auction. it ran fine than the check engine light came on a few days after purchasing it. we ignored it and kept going. My uncle tested the car with his diagnostic tester revealing output speed sensor fault p0720 fault code. But it was weird as some days it shifted fine and then others it stayed in first and didn't shift atall. We cleared the fault codes and they didn't come back on intill days later. It worked fine and when they came back on it didn't shift well and sometimes judder into gears and again just staying in first gear. Does anyone know if there is any cheaper fixes there could be because were not sure it is the sensor if it works sometimes.

Thanks Finnley

 

[Wighty]

Hello all I have a Mercedes e320 2004 that we recently bought in an auction. it ran fine than the check engine light came on a few days after purchasing it. we ignored it and kept going. My uncle tested the car with his diagnostic tester revealing output speed sensor fault p0720 fault code. But it was weird as some days it shifted fine and then others it stayed in first and didn't shift atall. We cleared the fault codes and they didn't come back on intill days later. It worked fine and when they came back on it didn't shift well and sometimes judder into gears and again just staying in first gear. Does anyone know if there is any cheaper fixes there could be because were not sure it is the sensor if it works sometimes.

Thanks Finnley

The recommended gearbox oil and filter change is every 40k miles , what mileage have you done and when was the gearbox last serviced ?
Also a Mercedes specific reader like MB Star or icarsoft would be best for fault codes