W211 auto gearbox

[Steve Taxi]

Having run cars with this gearbox up to 300k miles with no oil change and no problems we now have 2 E class W211s with rough gear changes, one has 80k and the other 160k miles. they both judder in slow traffic when pulling away only when hot and when they drop down to 1st gear in traffic they vibrate the car, I am thinking about changing the ATF, do you think it might help, can I get the oil cheaper than the dealer, what is the spec to look for and is their a drain plug on the converter? I think both cars are later than the Valeo problem 04s and I have looked on top of the rads and there is no Valeo label, thanks.

 

[Aussie Nick]

Change the ATF straight away. Suggest you also change the filter. Try one of the oil Co's site for the proper grade. Should find the drain plug by looking underneath at the gearbox. You will have to lift it up any way to change the transmission fluid.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

The dealer is the only place to buy the oil as MB's own brand contains a mix of additives designed for the gearbox, additives that other ATFs won't contain.

The torque convertor won't have a drain plug but other members here have experimented with disconnecting the oil cooler lines and running the engine to drain the fluid completely.

There is a guide in the HOWTO section, although not specific to your model it is close enough.

I think you should take both cars to the nearest Merc indie and check for any codes on the gearbox as well as having the fluid dipped.

 

[Steve Taxi]

Thanks for that, so the ATF must come from the main dealer, better get saving up, I have a dipstick and the levels are ok.

 

[jberks]

Yours probably hasn't been done at all, as part of the 'sealed for life' thing.

Mine was done at 45k recently at the behest of the service schedule so things have now changed.

 

[amb67]

Sounds like the oil may well be the cause of your gearbox problems. Please do not attempt to change the oil unless you are going to put genuine Mercedes-Benz oil back in it.

If you refill the gearbox with a non Mercedes-Benz oil then I can safely say that you will be replacing your gearbox and torque convertor in 20,000 miles.

I would ask your local Mercedes-Benz site to do a glycol check on the ATF oil, i bet it fails the test. If you get it done at a Mercedes-Benz site then they can do a goodwill request to the manufacturer and you may be suprised by the result. These gearboxes all start off by juddering and then they develop in to harsh gear selection.

 

[pomm001]

Sounds like the oil may well be the cause of your gearbox problems. Please do not attempt to change the oil unless you are going to put genuine Mercedes-Benz oil back in it.

If you refill the gearbox with a non Mercedes-Benz oil then I can safely say that you will be replacing your gearbox and torque convertor in 20,000 miles.

I would ask your local Mercedes-Benz site to do a glycol check on the ATF oil, i bet it fails the test. If you get it done at a Mercedes-Benz site then they can do a goodwill request to the manufacturer and you may be suprised by the result. These gearboxes all start off by juddering and then they develop in to harsh gear selection.

Interesting thread
please expand on the glycol theory, is there some known problem with contamination water leaking into the transmission oil, the reason i ask is that i too have a 211 ..75 k , transmission works well changes OK , no coolant loss
but if filtering through traffic and slightly down hill att approx 10 mph with throttle off the box starts to hold the car back, but its not smooth,just a little judder so i was considering changing the oil, but your comment about glycol makes me want to know more.

 

[BlackC55]

Do a search on this site and MBclub.co.uk and all will be revealed.

 

[pomm001]

Do a search on this site and MBclub.co.uk and all will be revealed.

Thanks , i did a search and interesting reading, must rush home now and see if my 04 211 has the dreaded Valeo rad or Behr one, or Valeo with white circle mark on one of the tanks ?

thanks

 

[pomm001]

After checking my rad its a Behr unit ,so should all be OK in respect of oil /water crossover issue
Mine was registered in feb 2004, so must have been made maybe Nov 03 ish , i took the 'slam panel' off that goes over the top of the rad to see if i could find a makers name, but that didnt do me any good.
On the top LHS of the rad as you look at it from the front there is an air duct molded into the side tank of the radiator , right at the top there is a white sticker , with a dentist mirror and a torch you should see the makers name in the case of Behr.

 

[Steve Taxi]

Update on my original problem, the juddering got worse so I changed the ATF and gearbox filter yesterday and it is as good as new, smooth changes and no judder and no vibration when it drops into 1st. I bought 6 Lts of ATF but only managed to get 4 Lts out, I will take a further 2 Lts out in a week and put the other 2 in, expensive at nearly £80 but well worth it as its cured the problem, need to save up to do the other cars now. Strange that we have never had a problem before having had Mercs with mega mileages with no oil changes, thanks for all your comments.