Recent content by Notamech

Would be good to understand what are the best practices they follow. Although i guess their situation is a bit different with the engine being on and running at temperature most of the day versus people driving to the shops and doing school runs mostly with cold engines and transmissions.

Yeah lots of anecdotal evidence supporting either side frankly. It's the same with other manufacturers as well. Lexus hybrids for example say their e-cvt is filled for life and dealers kick up a fuss if you ask them to change the oil. There are people who have changed the oil regularly with no...

As explained... Not here to argue. You can do as you please. Its one of the views out there that professionals hold and that i think people here should know. Its part of making an informed choice. DYOR

These are all good questions. Intuitively it does make sense that the filter captures friction material but maybe its designed not to. Im not sure. Why some indies drain the TC I don't know. 2 of the local indies I use said they dont unless a customer inisists and one of them told me the above...

It maybe or maybe not. Just sharing what I was told by someone more qualified than me when asked why the manufacturer doesn't recommend changing the oil in the TC at specified schedules. In the end its your car and you can do whatever you want. Most people will probably sell their cars before...

This was told to me by a tech who works on these day in day out. Also dont misunderstand - too many frequent oil changes will wear out your clutches PREMATURELY i.e they probably wont last as much as they would if you just followed the specified schedule. The filter is there to catch debris...

Doing a simple sump drain and refill IS doing it properly and is what MB recommends. You need to understand your gearbox is not like your engine and you do not need to replace all of the oil. While you may feel draining the torque converter is doing a 'proper job' it is not. The main reason you...

Everything used was original mercedes including the oil. The garage I used - Trident auto seems to be a good mercedes specialist in west London. So I assume they know what they are doing. Also the problem existed even before I changed the oil and the previous oil change was done on time ~5 years...

I have a 2013 w212 with the 7gtronic plus gearbox and when cold, the shifts are quite notchy especially into 3rd gear and occasionally 2nd. I got the gearbox serviced at a merc specialist for ~£280 all in. It took 5 litres of oil had the sump gasket and filter changed. This didn't help with the...

Not sure I totally understand. If its covered under warranty then why would you want to shop for lower prices? Anyway its almost certainly going to be cheaper at a independent mercedes specialist. I have a 2013 E220 cdi with the OM651 engine and was quoted £800 for the chain and tensioner at an...

Yeah same checked this morning and no noise... Yeah i will get a genuine tensioner. The chains on older mercs were duplex chains and very reliable. The new ones are simplex and like you say start stop takes its toll on these chains. People generally change the chain and tensioner together but...

I did change the oil last Thursday and had some time to test. The noise did go away when i checked on the weekend. Could be down to higher temperatures over the weekend - was around 15 degrees here. Also the new oil is probably thinner. As it heats and collects soot it will thicken and flow less...

Thats great to know. Yes I agree the recommend interval is fine if you only do motorway miles I guess. Most of my driving is city driving and im sure that means way more soot in the oil which needs changing earlier. Unfortunately this weekend had terrible weather so will do the oil change next...

Yes potentially... But im not quite sure how that process works. I think(not sure) only if you claim in court and they are asked to pay will their insurance company pay out. If you voluntarily go to a merc specialist now because you dont trust the initial shop anymore i dont think their...

@Tonygw was just wondering if you managed to sort out the issue. I have confirmed that there are 2 noises a lifter tick and the turbo wastegate rattle. The oil seems to drain down when sat overnight and on a cold start it takes time for the oil to pump the lifters up hence they tick before being...