7g tronic DIY advice from people who have done it

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Given that I could go down to Halfords and buy 5L of ATF for around £30 and a filter for around the same price , that's an awful lot of labour for a job that is really easy to do .
Halfords ATF? I doubt that meets the spec required. Either MB supplied or Fuchs is the only stuff I’d use.
There’s other components as well as the filter though, such as the sump pan gasket... and I’d only use genuine ones.
 
Not attempted the brakes yet as I've had the car for only a week or so but would of have thought they are relatively straightforward??
Brakes are not difficult : I just rebuilt the entire system on my W140 : new discs all round , new pads/handbrake shoes , new guide pins for the pads , new springs/clips etc , made up new brake pipes throughout , new flexible hoses , complete fluid change ; all parts and even the fluid genuine ATE .

This is something I do with every car that is new to me , so I know the brakes are 100% right . I have had such jobs bodged by garages in the past which it why I don't trust them and do everything myself .

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Old components coming off

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New going on

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Halfords ATF? I doubt that meets the spec required. Either MB supplied or Fuchs is the only stuff I’d use.
There’s other components as well as the filter though, such as the sump pan gasket... and I’d only use genuine ones.

I have always bought the filter kit from MB - as stated they tend to be around £30-£40 ; when you buy the filter , you get a kit .

As for the ATF :


From Halfords website
  • Meets the requirements of many specifications including Ford Mercon V, MOPAR ATF +3and +4, VW G 052 162, MB 236.6/7/10/12, GM D-II & D-III
 
I have always bought the filter kit from MB - as stated they tend to be around £30-£40 ; when you buy the filter , you get a kit .

As for the ATF :


From Halfords website
  • Meets the requirements of many specifications including Ford Mercon V, MOPAR ATF +3and +4, VW G 052 162, MB 236.6/7/10/12, GM D-II & D-III
Doesn’t meet spec for 7 speed, you need 236.15
 
Doesn’t meet spec for 7 speed, you need 236.15
ECP sell a range of ATFs , they're still around the same price - Dexron III does for my cars .

For 236.15 they only have Febi , which is MB branded , in 1L bottles at £24 before the discount ; you should be able to shop around and buy it cheaper .

They have a Triple QX , which meets MB 236.14 at £44 for a 5L bottle , again before the discount .

The Febi stuff is listed by CP4L at £19.71 for 1L , currently less a 17% discount . However , if I needed that stuff , I'd be looking to buy in bulk as 1L bottles of anything are always overpriced - you can be sure MB don't buy 1L bottles for their workshops ; nor do garages .
 
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ECP sell a range of ATFs , they're still around the same price - Dexron III does for my cars .

For 236.15 they only have Febi , which is MB branded , in 1L bottles at £24 before the discount ; you should be able to shop around and buy it cheaper .

They have a Triple QX , which meets MB 236.14 at £44 for a 5L bottle , again before the discount .

The Febi stuff is listed by CP4L at £19.71 for 1L , currently less a 17% discount . However , if I needed that stuff , I'd be looking to buy in bulk as 1L bottles of anything are always overpriced - you can be sure MB don't buy 1L bottles for their workshops ; nor do garages .

I think you’re missing the point. Regardless of where you get the fluid, you’ll still end up spending over £100 inc the filter. The labour on an ATF change is only about £80.
 
I think you’re missing the point. Regardless of where you get the fluid, you’ll still end up spending over £100 inc the filter. The labour on an ATF change is only about £80.
No - the point is that if you need 236.15 , you will be spending at least double on the fluid ; up to 236.14 , the fluid can be bought for around £30 for 5 litres ( choose your favourite brand and shop where you like ) , actually Amazon seem close to unbeatable on this , and they will sell you the filter pack ( complete with gaskets ) so you can actually get everything for well under £100 ; that's a big saving on £150+ for a change which really isn't difficult to do .

Oh , and Opie oils will do 20L of MB 236.15 for £180 - that's enough to do two changes ( almost three changes ) and much better value than their offer of 5L for £89.95 ( given that you need around 7 litres to do the job .

That's a pretty good deal


Actually , if you buy the 20L pack , plus an extra 1L bottle for another £20 or so you will have enough fluid to do three changes for around £200 . I don't know what MB want for a 7G filter set , but up to the 5G they are around the £40 mark ; so you could DIY change a 7G box with 236.15 fluid for around £100 , as long as you don't mind buying 21L of fluid at once .
 
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A friend of mine owns a garage and the number of cars he gets in to sort out the mess enthusiastic DIY'ers have caused is surprising.
So my advice would always be to "makes sure the talent far outweighs the enthusiasm"
Again I totally agree with w1ghty and you also mate. I have built myself over the years on jobs and learned research throughly, get all the right parts and tools for the job regardless of cost, go slow, triple check everything and do not guess. So far the only tricky about this job seems to be getting the correct torque specs, filling the tranny and running it to 45 degrees then sealing the drain plug when level is right. But u have also learned no job goes smoothly and you must be prepared to think on your feet and have a backup plan. Don't get me wrong I am nervous but will properly understand the job before going in.
 
Parts wise I would just buy them from merc. The is around 11 quid a litre. Fine for the peace of mind. For the next oil change I'll source oil from elsewhere for cheaper
 
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I've always bought the filters from MB , same as engine oil filters .

Usually , I will buy the fluid from ECP , 2x 5 litre bottles , once , for a 190E , I used the Halfords fluid , which was fine .

With my cars , after draining , including the TC , where accessible , I pour the specified quantity in ( less a small amount ) using a funnel into the dipstick tube , warm the car up , running through the gears to circulate everything , then take for a run to get up to temp and make final fill referring to the dipstick . Works for me . I know some fill from the bottom now , but not mine .

The most important thing is cleanliness : clean all around the sump pan before disturbing anything ; make sure NOTHING can get into the internals ; make sure the area you are working in is clean and dust free . Clean out the sump pan thoroughly before putting back on with new gasket . As stated above use a torque wrench and tighten in stages , in the right sequence .
 
I've always bought the filters from MB , same as engine oil filters .

Usually , I will buy the fluid from ECP , 2x 5 litre bottles , once , for a 190E , I used the Halfords fluid , which was fine .

With my cars , after draining , including the TC , where accessible , I pour the specified quantity in ( less a small amount ) using a funnel into the dipstick tube , warm the car up , running through the gears to circulate everything , then take for a run to get up to temp and make final fill referring to the dipstick . Works for me . I know some fill from the bottom now , but not mine .

The most important thing is cleanliness : clean all around the sump pan before disturbing anything ; make sure NOTHING can get into the internals ; make sure the area you are working in is clean and dust free . Clean out the sump pan thoroughly before putting back on with new gasket . As stated above use a torque wrench and tighten in stages , in the right sequence .


If only the more newer cars allowed pouring oil down a tube. We'd all be servicing our own.
 
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A friend of mine owns a garage and the number of cars he gets in to sort out the mess enthusiastic DIY'ers have caused is surprising.
So my advice would always be to "makes sure the talent far outweighs the enthusiasm"

The contrary experience I've had over the years , having used numerous supposedly reputable garages , is having jobs bodged , one example of this was when I let the local MOT place replace the front to rear brake pipes on my S124 ; when I got in the car , I realised the interior lights in the load area were on , then I found on investigating that , that the tailgate locking mechanism was no longer working . On looking under the car , there were new brake pipes , and where the clips were , I could see shiny metal screws in place of the plastic fittings - yes , they had driven self tapping screws right up into the wiring loom above and shorted these circuits out ! I now make my own brake pipes ( Kunifer ) and always buy the correct fittings from MB before starting the job , same with petrol and SLS pipes . Had another garage bodge the fuel line on the W140 earlier this year after claiming it was leaking ( which it wasn't before they got their hands on it , I know because I'd been under the car renewing the brake pipes prior to putting it in for MOT , and fuel was spraying out under pressure , even after they had passed it ! This highlights the other issue with a lot of garages - deliberately creating faults so as to drum up additional work ) , I ended up cutting out the corroded part and temporarily replacing with petrol hose , but still on my to do list to replace the entire pipes ( both send and return ) . Another time , I had a new clutch fitted to one of my cars , only when I went out to collect it , supposedly ready , the pedal was locked solid - I never found out what was wrong , but they had to fix the car before I could remove it , and since I'd already paid the bill before I discovered the problem , they had to fix it at their own cost .

The only place I would trust now is Merparts in Port Glasgow , but they are more expensive than many other garages , due to the three of them being MB Master techs and keeping up with everything required to remain an approved workshop .

I have a healthy distrust of general garages and only reluctantly take my cars to them for MOTs , since that is a legal requirement .

Most garages are staffed by trained monkeys who I wouldn't trust to do up my wheel nuts ( in fact many years ago I had a wheel come loose after having a new set of tyres fitted by a well known place named for the speed of their fitters , thankfully I stopped when I felt the vibration and found all five bolts on my nsr wheel coming undone ! Now , I always check with my own torque wrench after having any such work done .

If you want a job done correctly , the only way to be certain of it is to do it yourself . This is why I steer clear of later cars which can only be worked on with computers ; my cars are all DIY-able .
 
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For the 7g gearbox you need 236.14 ATF which is a red colour.
For the 7g+ you need 236.15 which is a green/blue colour.

I'd be nervous of using a fluid that "meets the needs of" as compared to "approved by".

The full change including the TC will take over 9 litres. You have to pump in too much and then let the excess flow out.
 
This is all well and good but I doubt very much that the every day man or woman would be able to carry out their own work on a Mercedes.
Lets face it, a high percentage of people nowadays would struggle to open the bonnet.
This is why I say "make sure the talent outweighs the ambition"
 
So the OP wants to service his car himself, but doesn't know the version of the gearbox, the tools, gaskets or fluid specs (despite being quoted in the owners handbook) required. MMMmm
 
don't know if its the same 7g transmission but this is a good video explaining how to do it.

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This is all well and good but I doubt very much that the every day man or woman would be able to carry out their own work on a Mercedes.
Lets face it, a high percentage of people nowadays would struggle to open the bonnet.
This is why I say "make sure the talent outweighs the ambition"
There’s nothing particularly more difficult because it is a Mercedes as opposed to any other car : German cars have always been engineered for ease of maintenance compared to others - especially French cars .

Anyone with some basic competence and attention to detail can do what are , after all , pretty basic tasks .

Remember , Mercedes-Benz cars were traditionally the choice of engineers .
 
So the OP wants to service his car himself, but doesn't know the version of the gearbox, the tools, gaskets or fluid specs (despite being quoted in the owners handbook) required. MMMmm
He is asking for that information before attempting the job .

If you never try anything, you will never achieve anything .

We all start out by doing something for the first time and will never get anywhere if we don’t .
 

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