Hey guys,

With this coolant contamination, does it do any good to flush out the tranny with new oil? And if so, how long before is contaminated again?

 

Hi Gaz,

I took my car back to the dealer I bought it from on Monday morning, they said they spoke to Mercedes Liverpool who were very aware of this type of problem on E-Class mercs but NOT on clks - however, they wern't ruling it out. I should here tomorrow re. the results of their diagnosis.

As I mentioned before, the dealer I bought the car from gave me a 6 month warranty up to £3000 per claim. The dealer says that the car wont be repaired by MB Liverpool but by a "Mercedes Specialist" who doesnt charge £95 per hour labour as the warranty only allows for £50 per hour labour. To be honest I dont really care who fixes it as long as they fix it & I dont have to pay!

Have you got your car back now then? How long did it take MB to fix? (Ive been told 2 weeks if its glycol contamination). Also, have they replaced the gearbox or re-conditioned it?

Cheers

 

In answer to BlueSilver, apparantly flushing the system out is not an option, the itemsmust be replaced.

John I'm picking the car up today (26th), it has only taken the Dealer just over a week to get it diagnosed, parts ordered and repairs done which isn't too bad really, its' just the fact I've had to pay for theirdesign fault that's bugging me.

Interesting that your dealer has heard of the same problem on the E Class but MB's Customer 'Don't' Care Dept. hasn't.

Got a feeling this one is going to roll on for a while.

 

gazzyd,

"the itemsmust be replaced. "
That's terrible. From a design perspective, who could have imagined that happening? I haven't read about this condition, but i'm sure it must be embarassing for MB by now.

I'm fairly familiar with the way the transmissions work; I'm thinking that the clutch-rings in the clutch-packs must be soaking up the glycol, perhaps changing the surface tension properties, and causing them to slip, which will eventually/quickly wear them out. Before, I was thinking that the coolant mixed with the oilwas simply causing low hydraulic pressure or foaming, but I never imagined this. What a disaster.

Blue

 

Questions will be asked, because for £2,300, which is what I've ended having to pay after the dealer stepped in with their contribution, I feel there should be some answers.

Still very miffed about this.

 

Hi Gaz,

Results have shown that it wasnt glycol contamination - however - wait for it - this is only because the previous owner of the car had a new radiator fitted & the gearbox flushed out at Mercedes benz warrington, before he traded the car in to the dealer where I bought the car. The damage had already been done it seems by this stage &, the best part is that the previous owner was a Reverand! You would have thought he may be a little more honest!

Anyway, its having a new gearbox on Monday & Im told Ill have it back by next Friday (a week today) at the latest. I must admit that in this instance it seems that an independant trader armed with a 6 month £3000 warranty has been more helpful that Mercedes as I am not having to pay for the new gearbox & as a gesture of goodwill they are re-furbing my 18" AMG alloys while they are at it! (nice touch i thought).

So fingers crossed that the proplem does not re-occur on either of our cars. If you like, & if it will help I am happy to give you the chassis number of my car for you to pass on to Mercedes so that they can see that my car suffered the same fault & had a new radiator at Mercedes in Warrington which they will see on their system.

Let me know...

Cheers, John

 

John

I may well come back and take up your offer of the chassis number if that's OK.

In the meantime, I'm advised by a reliable source at the Dealer to adopt a soft approach with MB in the first instance, when I write to them.

Anyway the car feels great and I'm glad you've got yours sorted and by the way I'm told that because the new parts were fitted by the dealerI get a 2 year warranty on thoseitems, worth checking at your end.

I'll keep you up to date on this.

Gary

PS. I hope the Rev. sleeps well at night.

 

Many older people that I have known will trade a car at the first sign of tranny trouble. Its like dodging a bullet. Not much their problem who buys it .

Sometimes I hear people say that their tranny oil is brown and glittery, and hear people tell them to have it changed, thinking that it will clear-up any small shifting or slipping problems, but the problem is that changing the oil will not magically electroplate all the clutch material back onto the internal clutch rings. Its good to keep the oil clean no doubt, but honestly, brownpowderyglittery oil is a very bad sign that the damage has already been done.

 

so you then buy it with clean oil, and about .002 left on the clutches.

Blue

 

Hi gazzyd, I have a 2003 CLK500 with now 48K on it. I had the exact problem you are having 2 months before the end of the warrenty period. Took engineer on a test drive, he said they needed to analyse the transmission oil, and as expected found water in the oil. He had had one in before but said he didnt think it common. They fitted new radiator, gearbox and torque convertor under warrenty. He did also say that they would have fixed it free of charge even if warrenty had run out!! But who knows if thats true. They have to recognise this as a known fault and honour the claim. Hell we bought Mercedes for reliability and quality build didn't we? This is my first Merc and I have had more problems with the car than any other car I have ever owned.
The MB dealer who did repairs was Greenoaks, Bracknell in Berkshire.