automatic gear box juddering.

[steve pratt]

Hi, i have just bought an automatic 53 plate C200 kompressor and due to an oil leak from the gear box i had the sump gasket and filter changed plus new oil. This was 3 days ago however last night leaving work with a cold start when i put the car into drive it attempted to move off and when the brake was applied it juddered and was noisy. A mechanic friend at work said it could be slightly low on transmission oil causing this problem. It had driven fine up until this point and this morning there was only a slight judder.
Any ideas please

 

[wongl]

What transmission oil did you use when refilling the transmission and how much did you use?

 

[steve pratt]

Hi, i used the oil specified and obtained from the local Mercedes dealer but didn't take note of the oil type im afraid, although it is probably on the receipt at home so i can post this info later. Due to a **** up by the garage hand the first 5l of transmission oil went into the engine oil so the whole lot was drained and refilled with new filter then another 5l of transmission oil added to the gearbox .
Would a slightly low oil fill or wrong grade oil give me the symptoms i am describing?

thanks.

Forgot to add that i have bought a transmission box dip stick so will check oil level tonight if i can understand the markings on it.

 

[a111r]

So, you pay M.B. £XXX/hour.... and they put it in the wrong hole.

The dipstick's lower marking is the correct level at 20C when running in P, and the upper mark ditto when at 80C (this is one to use, it has to be hot after a run).
I'd take it back to them, as you've paid.

 

[steve pratt]

It wasn't the MB garage that did the work it was my mates and his mechanic got a right roasting.
The dipstick actually shows the level is slightly high at about 5mm above the upper range marks. However the gear box seems to be behaving but i will get the level put right at the earliest opportunity.
Now all i have to do is sort out the BAS/ESP warning on the display and the solid emissions light which could be brake light switch and stick coils respectively as the car tick over is erratic. Hopefully both cheap fixes.

 

[Stratman]

There is a specific process to be followed to check the transmission fluid level.

Transmission up to its running temperature of 80C. A run of a few miles should achieve this.

Car on level ground, engine running, cycle through the gears a few times then put the transmission in P and leave the engine running.

Dip the level, it should be at the 80C MAX mark. Too much can be as bad as too little, as the fluid can froth and not develop the correct pressures.

 

[french]

5mm @ 80+ is about 0.5-07 litre over! take it out asap, you'll damage the valve chests internals if you carry on.

 

[steve pratt]

Update, i took car into MB Leicester who found that there was still a bad leak coming from the transmission sump gasket despite this having been changed the week previous. Turns out that two of the bolt holes had stripped the threads and were very loose thus allowing oil to escape. They are in the process of heli coiling and will then do a transmission service. My code reader has also arrived and pointed to a mis fire on cylinder 4 which has been cured by changing the coil pack.