Omar1994

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Hi guys, I have a Mercedes W220 (2003, 3.7l, S-class, s350)

On my way back from work. I noticed that when I put my car in drive there was a slight delay in a sense of the gear clicking in place to move off, I also noticed that when I try to put it in N or R also slight delays. Once I pulled over at a service station. I turned the engine off.. did a transmission reset. Then noticed the same problem, but this time I can’t shift gears, when I put it into manual usually on the dial it says, gear 1,2,3,4 then drive. But this time it doesn’t change, when I try to switch from comfort to sport it does nothing. The car drives normally, until I get to around 40mph and the car doesn’t want to shift gears up and you could hear a high pitch sound coming from the engine. I’ve recently put transmission fluid to see if it helps. But still the same problem.


Another problem of mine is, I’ve noticed oil in my engine coolant. Which is strange. Checking the engine oil, I still have oil in it and doesn’t seem like an head gasket problem. I haven’t seen no leaks in the enigine oil and when checking the dip stick, it shows me exactly the level of oil I have in the engine. I also keep getting warning signs on the dash, saying engine coolant level low.

Can anyone help??
 

ajlsl600

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clk3202001,sl6002003 with everything regrettably sold ,A class 170cdi auto. NG/TF1800 ML250
oil in coolant ,not a good thing, is it dirty looking or fairly clean ? wondering if yr getting trans oil in yr water ? cooler issues ? possibly the cause of yr trans problems. dont panic yet others who know that car/engine /trans, will soon be along..
 
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Omar1994

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It looks like a very mild yellow... sort of like a mustard look I hope it’s not an engine problem. This trans problem.
 

ajlsl600

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clk3202001,sl6002003 with everything regrettably sold ,A class 170cdi auto. NG/TF1800 ML250
on the info in yr original post i suspect oil in water is trans related it does not seem dirty enough to be eng oil .however someone else will be along soon who will KNOW the issue, i suspect trans cooler compromised and this is also producing yr trans issues . trans cooler may be an integral pt of normal eng cooling rad ?
 
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Steve@Avantgarde

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The oil cooler in the radiator has failed allowing transmission in. I would stop driving it asap and recover it to your nearest indy/dealer for them to sort before you wreck the transmission/torque converter.

The radiator needs to be replaced as well as a full transmission flush. What you see in your radiator bottle is whats in your transmission.
 

ajlsl600

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The oil cooler in the radiator has failed allowing transmission in. I would stop driving it asap and recover it to your nearest indy/dealer for them to sort before you wreck the transmission/torque converter.

The radiator needs to be replaced as well as a full transmission flush. What you see in your radiator bottle is whats in your transmission.


ah ,as suspected then .what. causes the rad failure, assuming coolant correct spec.
 

LostKiwi

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Fault in radiator, damage, vibration, anything that would cause a radiator to leak.
Valeo radiators had a known issue with this.
 

ajlsl600

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clk3202001,sl6002003 with everything regrettably sold ,A class 170cdi auto. NG/TF1800 ML250
Fault in radiator, damage, vibration, anything that would cause a radiator to leak.
Valeo radiators had a known issue with this.


right, then if these have hard fixings i would be making a relatively hard rubber mounting with a tube spacer ,cos if its vib related its not mounted right ,unless vib is caused or related to another,overlooked issue .
 
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Omar1994

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The oil cooler in the radiator has failed allowing transmission in. I would stop driving it asap and recover it to your nearest indy/dealer for them to sort before you wreck the transmission/torque converter.

The radiator needs to be replaced as well as a full transmission flush. What you see in your radiator bottle is whats in your transmission.



So would I need to change the whole radiator. Or should I locate where there might be a leak and try to replace any tubes. I’ve ordered 8l of tranmission fluid, should arrive today. I’m hoping that’s the problem and not a blown head gasket
 
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