Grahamcol
Active Member
I know lots has been written on this subject over the years. However, I thought I'd share my recent experience with other members. I had been deliberating for a year or two (or longer) as to whether to get my 1996 C200 (early 5 speed) 134k miles done or not. I finally decided to bite the bullet and get my indy to sort it. I'm pleased to say I'm delighted and I was able to be present during the work as my indy is very accommodating. Some interesting points:-
1) Some of the sump pan bolts were extremely difficult to undo and 2 of them broke despite gentle to 'ing & fro' ing with the hand ratchet.
2) There is a small fastener holding the electrical plug heat guard onto one of the pan fasteners. We struggled with this for about half an hour before finally having to cut through it with an angle grinder ! Good job I wasn't trying to do this on the roadside with the car on stands.
3) The old oil (I think it was the original) was in quite good condition and much better than I'd expected. It was a dark red, not burnt and would have been ok for a while yet we felt (despite 134k miles).
4) No swarf of any kind was found in the pan.
My indy then proceeded to thoroughly clean the pan, refit it with a new filter in place on the box (and some new fasteners), new gasket and then drained the torque converter. Finally the box was topped up with a few litres of fresh MB fluid, plugged into star and then warmed up until the gearbox ATF temperature reached 83 degrees C when the level was very carefully topped up to maximum. At this point my indy road tested the car, commented that it changed beautifully and asked me to road test as well. All in, the cost was £160. I think the difference since this work is sometimes a little subtle. Changes up are extremely smooth ( I thought very slight flare was present before but it isn't now) and changes down are similar. I used to get a little bump sometimes on slowing down (as the box changed into 2nd) and this has more or less gone.
In conclusion, I'm pleased with the work (which I feel was done by someone who really cared and knew what they were doing) + the price and I now have the peace of mind knowing the job has been done and that nothing untoward showed up whilst doing it.
1) Some of the sump pan bolts were extremely difficult to undo and 2 of them broke despite gentle to 'ing & fro' ing with the hand ratchet.
2) There is a small fastener holding the electrical plug heat guard onto one of the pan fasteners. We struggled with this for about half an hour before finally having to cut through it with an angle grinder ! Good job I wasn't trying to do this on the roadside with the car on stands.
3) The old oil (I think it was the original) was in quite good condition and much better than I'd expected. It was a dark red, not burnt and would have been ok for a while yet we felt (despite 134k miles).
4) No swarf of any kind was found in the pan.
My indy then proceeded to thoroughly clean the pan, refit it with a new filter in place on the box (and some new fasteners), new gasket and then drained the torque converter. Finally the box was topped up with a few litres of fresh MB fluid, plugged into star and then warmed up until the gearbox ATF temperature reached 83 degrees C when the level was very carefully topped up to maximum. At this point my indy road tested the car, commented that it changed beautifully and asked me to road test as well. All in, the cost was £160. I think the difference since this work is sometimes a little subtle. Changes up are extremely smooth ( I thought very slight flare was present before but it isn't now) and changes down are similar. I used to get a little bump sometimes on slowing down (as the box changed into 2nd) and this has more or less gone.
In conclusion, I'm pleased with the work (which I feel was done by someone who really cared and knew what they were doing) + the price and I now have the peace of mind knowing the job has been done and that nothing untoward showed up whilst doing it.
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