Your comments please, about the following.

I have heard that Mercedes decided not to recommend transmission oil changes on the E320 and that at about 100,000 miles, they are usually toast. I'm told and I believe that the problem is not with the transmission itself, it's with the manufacturer's service recommendation. Or, more precisely, the non-service recommendation. I'm curious whether any of you out there have experienced difficulties with your E320 trannies after following the Benz hands-off policy. I have a chance to buy a 1997 E320 at a great price - everything on the car is perfect and the transmission oil was changed at 90,000 (since it came off dealer warranty, the car has been maintained by someone well-known to and well-regarded by me). The cost to replace the tranny is about $5000 all-in, I'm told.

This car would replace the W124 TE in my signature.

Your thoughts please. Thanks.

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David

His:
2003 Dodge Durango SLT
2002 BMW E39 530i Sport
1988 Mercedes 300TE
Hers:
2003 Chevrolet Suburban
1999 E430

From what I read on this Forum there are those who say to change the trans fluid regardless of Mercedes "sealed for life" attitude and those who say the trans fluid does not need to be changed.

I am from the old school that nothing is sealed for life and change fluids and filters on a regular basis. I also tend to keep my vehicles for 200K miles.

I change the trans fluid on my 98 E320 at 80K miles and wish I had done it sooner. I found 1/8" sludge on the bottom of the transmission pan and the fluid was far from the original red color - this is mainly due to Mercedes using graphite on the clutch packs.

I now have 95K trouble free miles and plan on changing the trans fluid every 75K miles. Just make sure you use the expensive Mercedes synthetic trans fluid on the 722.6 tansmissions and that you check the fluid level at the proper temperature.

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Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

Ray, I don't understand. Why are you planning on changing the fluid every 75K if you're unhappy with the condition of the fluid after 80K? Typo? Consensus among DIYers is to change the fluid every 30K. This is what I use.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

There is no consensus here to change the fluid on a 722.6 every 30k miles, it is unnecesary. I bet you would be pretty hard pressed to find anyone here that changes their 722.6 tranny fluid every 30k miles. You also have a transmission in that 95 model year that does not require the use of 8 quarts of fully synthetic $14 per quart fluid.

The recommendations are about every 60k miles for the 722.6. I changed my fluid at 70k miles and so far have 125,000 miles with no problems. My mom has an E320 that is at 100k miles and unfortunately the fluid has never been changed, but no problems so far.

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Ali Al-Chalabi

2001 CLK55
1999 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins Diesel
2002 Harley-Davidson Fatboy
Merlin Extralight w/ Campy Record

Kestas,

With my other vehicles which use Dexron III I change the trans fluid at 30K intervals because the fluid is not synthetic and there is no drain on the torque converter - about 1/3 of the fluid is actually changed.

With my Mercedes the fluid is synthetic and since I can drain the torque converter I was able to change over 7/8 of the fluid. From my experience changing trans fluid on vehicles, I find that the initial fluid change is the worst as far as the fluid being discolored and the pan magnet being very dirty. The subsequent fluid changes the trans fluid is still red in color and the pan magnet is only slightly dirty.

Another reason to change the trans fluid on an earily build 722.6 trans is that Mercedes did not use a pan magnet, I have installed a pan magnet when I changed the trans fluid. I recommend installing the pan magnet away from the trans filter pick-up since the pan magnet will attract the magnetic sludge. If it was located near the trans filter pick-up the trans filter could suck-up the magnetic sludge and reduce the amount of fluid flow through the transmission.

__________________
Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

Alll helpful. Thanks.

__________________
David

His:
2003 Dodge Durango SLT
2002 BMW E39 530i Sport
1988 Mercedes 300TE
Hers:
2003 Chevrolet Suburban
1999 E430

I was surprised when Iread in the manual that there is no dip stick to check transmission oil. I just found little leak ( reddish color) near the transmission pan. How do I check if the transmission has enough oil? Thanks