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 .