Automatic Transmission Fluid Service S204

[Caminada]

Hi all, I have been looking at gearbox service/ATF change as recommended by a few on here when I posted my first post and have been quoted £ 240 by a MB main dealer, £280 by a different MB main dealer and £300 by an indie. Seems strange the indie comes out more expensive? Anyway the difference is marginal but the thing is one MB dealer told me it is not needed and not due but if I wanted it doing I can. The other said the unit is sealed for life and should not be touched unless displaying issues. The indie recommended to service. Its apparently the 7 speed gearbox and the car is a 2010 C200 2.1 cdi with 83K.
For £250-£300 it is worth it for peace of mind but now I am wondering that if I tamper with a 'sealed for life' unit I could be making things worse for myself. Not displaying any signs of problems and slick changes for information. Advice greatly received.

 

[DSM10000]

Hi all, I have been looking at gearbox service/ATF change as recommended by a few on here when I posted my first post and have been quoted £ 240 by a MB main dealer, £280 by a different MB main dealer and £300 by an indie. Seems strange the indie comes out more expensive? Anyway the difference is marginal but the thing is one MB dealer told me it is not needed and not due but if I wanted it doing I can. The other said the unit is sealed for life and should not be touched unless displaying issues. The indie recommended to service. Its apparently the 7 speed gearbox and the car is a 2010 C200 2.1 cdi with 83K.
For £250-£300 it is worth it for peace of mind but now I am wondering that if I tamper with a 'sealed for life' unit I could be making things worse for myself. Not displaying any signs of problems and slick changes for information. Advice greatly received.

They are most definitely not sealed for life. If they were then why would Mercedes publish service intervals?

The Independent may be draining the Torque Converter, the dealers possibly just the gearbox l would ask exactly what they are quoting for.

 

[AMGeed]

Get it done. The days of transmissions being sealed for life are long gone. That Mercedes guy should have known that.

 

[Petrol Pete]

A quick youtube search '722.9 transmission service' you will be inundated by content. The whole 'Sealed for life ' is utter nonsense, Take a look at theses images , You do not have to have a technical bone in your body to realise that , when you consider all you see runs in AT fluid that can start off at (let's say) -15.C and go up to 100'C+ while all the time handling high torque and horsepower shifting up and down countless times, this unit needs some kind of maintenance.

While it is true these units (particularly the 722.6) are very robust , replacing the fluid and filter at least once in it's life is (IMHO) a must.

The sealed for life argument collapses the first time you search for a service kit only to find most main MB dealers will sell you one , including oil/filter/gasket/drain plug seal ring etc...

 

[Skd884]

£ 240 by a MB main dealer,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

What are you waiting for?

 

[Chrishazle]

DSM10000 is correct, the lower prices almost certainly refer to just the GB, and it's about what I paid for having my 5 speed box done - the 5 speed does not have a seperate TC drain so doing a full change is a PITA, not sure but if the 7 speed does have a TC drain plug I'd have that done as well as the GB.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Some 722.6 do have a TC drain , but that's a mute point for the OP , the varying prices will be for one who just drains the sump , pops a new filter in and re fills it. the other probably for one who will disconnect the cooling pipes , open the TC drain and fill with 2 (or more) litres of ATF than the first guy.

All sorts of variations of the job for the 722.6 when it comes to service , take your pick , The OP's transmission has a different filling instruction than the 722.6 but if I were OP , using knowledge gained on here , I would ask the garage EXACTLY what they were planning to do .

If you collect the car and they have only charged for 5 litres of fluid they have not done the full job.

By pure coincidence I am about to service my 722.6 on my C55 AMG next week . I wont bore you with the details but I have the fluid, sump gasket , sump plug , seal washer, new sump bolts , filter and TCU plug all ready and waiting for me to get my a$$ in gear (pun intended) , Probably wont post too much detail of the job , Lord alone knows there are hundreds of 'how to videos' out there , we don't need another one

 

[Caminada]

Thanks everyone. Most certainly will be getting it changed. The difficult bit from a main dealer will be finding out exactly how the job will be done so will probably go to good indie and discuss it

 

[Caminada]

The indies website states they do not drain the torque converter on gearbox services. I looked at YouTube and some have a drain plug and others don’t. Is there any way of finding out if mine has one or not (other than getting underneath) it’s a C200 2.1 diesel early 2010.
Main dealer I am sure won’t but the guy on YouTube got another 2 litres out so contamination surely if not done.

 

[Petrol Pete]

The easiest way to check for a TC drain plug is to pop the little plastic cover off the bottom of the bell housing and turn the engine over and have a look .

Going down the rabbit hole of looking for the answer on the internet will take longer and possibly give the wrong result , it's unlikely , but possible, that It might not even be the TC the car left the factory with.

Apropos of nothing I have just looked at the invoice for the recent work on the SL63 AMG . The transmission service part of it came out at £285 inc VAT
Kind of 'off topic' as this cars 7g+ transmission does not have a Torque converter.

 

[Caminada]

By way of an update. The gearbox in my car is 722.6 the 5 speed. I’ve booked it in with Merc main dealership Mercedes LSH the price is £245.36 and I have been assured that includes draining from the torque converter as it is one of the steps on the sheet for the technician.

 

[Petrol Pete]

If thats the case look for 8+ litres of fluid charged on the invoice. Instruct them to replace the TCU plug while they are under there , it should add very little to the cost of the service and you will probably never have to do it again it's a 2 bolt job (one of which is the removal of the small heat shield) I am surprised they didn't suggest it as the plug is a known weak point on a car of this age.

If they say it's not required tell them according to MB the whole Transmission service is not required as it's a 'sealed for life ' gearbox IMHO they will only be able to add a max of 30 minutes labour time to the job and the plug is dirt cheap and they will have them in stock.

If you have a TC drain plug the mechanic will be able to replace this plug in the time it takes the TC to drain.

Let us know how you get on .

 

[Caminada]

If thats the case look for 8+ litres of fluid charged on the invoice. Instruct them to replace the TCU plug while they are under there , it should add very little to the cost of the service and you will probably never have to do it again it's a 2 bolt job (one of which is the removal of the small heat shield) I am surprised they didn't suggest it as the plug is a known weak point on a car of this age.

If they say it's not required tell them according to MB the whole Transmission service is not required as it's a 'sealed for life ' gearbox IMHO they will only be able to add a max of 30 minutes labour time to the job and the plug is dirt cheap and they will have them in stock.

If you have a TC drain plug the mechanic will be able to replace this plug in the time it takes the TC to drain.

Let us know how you get on .

View attachment 174527

Dropped it off and they wanted £220 for the adaptor to be fitted on top of gearbox service as it’s an hour and half labour so I left it. He did say the part is around £20.

 

[Skd884]

Dropped it off and they wanted £220 for the adaptor to be fitted on top of gearbox service as it’s an hour and half labour so I left it. He did say the part is around £20.

Post no60 might be useful -

Thread 'Reduction in main dealer service pricing'

Jan 15, 2024

Main dealer quotes have recently reduced

MB Dartford were quoting £1085 for a B service with brake fluid and gearbox service, received a quote today for £930

Lakeside quote was £685 and today it is £602

£226 for the gearbox service is very good value, a local gearbox indie quoted £460.

• Skd884
• Replies: 64
• Forum: Parts, Maintenance & Servicing

• 

 

[W1ghty]

Dropped it off and they wanted £220 for the adaptor to be fitted on top of gearbox service as it’s an hour and half labour so I left it. He did say the part is around £20.

It’s 10 minutes to fit it . It’s got a single screw in the middle .

 

[Caminada]

Yeah I will get an indie to do it when the times right and there is another job there. They did advise on the health check there is a slight oil leak from gearbox to get looked at

It’s 10 minutes to fit it . It’s got a single screw in the middle .

 

[Petrol Pete]

Dropped it off and they wanted £220 for the adaptor to be fitted on top of gearbox service as it’s an hour and half labour so I left it. He did say the part is around £20.

A$$holes , obviously . Never let them near your car again . The whole Transmission service takes les than 2 hours and when it is empty of fluid and the car is already up in the air replacing the TCU plug is no more than a 20 minute job.

Are you sure they have not quoted for a TCU plug change as a 'stand alone' job ? and not one to be done during the service ?

 

[Caminada]

A$$holes , obviously . Never let them near your car again . The whole Transmission service takes les than 2 hours and when it is empty of fluid and the car is already up in the air replacing the TCU plug is no more than a 20 minute job.

Are you sure they have not quoted for a TCU plug change as a 'stand alone' job ? and not one to be done during the service ?

This was when I was there booking the car in. The booking in person went to speak to the technician who said it doesnt need doing but if I want it doing it would be extra labour of 1.5 hours. Told me the part itself is about £20. They told me about a nail in my tyre which needed repair on health check quoted £280.12 for that! Still 5mm on tyre and the puncture repair cost me £20. Granted the ATF service was more than reasonable at a MD but the add ons on the health check are extortionate.

 

[Petrol Pete]

This was when I was there booking the car in. The booking in person went to speak to the technician who said it doesnt need doing but if I want it doing it would be extra labour of 1.5 hours. Told me the part itself is about £20. They told me about a nail in my tyre which needed repair on health check quoted £280.12 for that! Still 5mm on tyre and the puncture repair cost me £20. Granted the ATF service was more than reasonable at a MD but the add ons on the health check are extortionate.

90 minutes to undo 2 tiny bolts (one utilises a 7mm socket ) and twisting a plug socket in the middle of an already paid for (costed) transmission service !?

The 'technician' says (replacement of the TCU plug) "doesn't need doing" ? ...how does he/she know ?

The failure of this plug is not a massive issue across the tens of thousands of 722.6 transmissions out there , but it is an issue , and one that is very easily and cheaply avoided by replacing the TCU plug when servicing the gearbox, almost a 'no brainer' , but neverminded , if this cheap and easily replaceable item fails I an sure this 'technician' will be happy to replace the wiring loom that runs up to the TCU unit that is fixed in the passenger footwell where 'surprise surprise' he/she will find the TCU unit needs replacing as well.

This is a known issue to the point where MB stopped supplying replacement 'o' rings and just sold the new plug with o rings installed. I do not think the issue is as widespread as some say , but why not take the possibility of it happening to you for little cost while having the transmission serviced.?

Not sure who you are dealing with , but they are talking $hit.