I'd noticed a little trouble with the transmission in my 86 300E. There's a distinct bump when shifting between Drive and Reverse, and occasionally, she'll slip between gears when it's cold. About a week ago, I checked the fluid level inthe transmission and saw that it had good colour and levels.

Then a few days ago, a drip appeared in my garage right under the engine block of my car. After catching it overnight on a piece of paper, I saw that it was a Christmas-y red color. "How festive," I thought! Unfortunately, a follow-up check of my transmission level showed that the tranny was now bone dry.

I have no idea about cars. I just wanted to drive a Mercedes. Help me out here, guys and gals. I need advice. What can I expect from a trip to my friendly neighbourhood mechanic? What can I do at home?

Thanks


Steve

 

Steve,
First things first. Do you know how to check the transmission fluid in your car? Find out with an easy google search. It's probably with engine warm, and transmission in park. If the fluid is low enough not to show on the stick, that's an obvious place to start. Get a local garage that will let you look under the car with them while on a lift, and see where the leak is coming from.The gasket to the transmission filter is a likely suspect, but it could also be coming from the torque converter drain plug.

I don't have enough direct experience to expand beyond this. You can't expect normal operation if you're out of tranny fluid though, so figure out how to check it at least, and find out where it's leaking. Maybe as simple as a gasket.

Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the advice, Marko. I'm going to try topping up the fluid levels, and see what that does for me. Can someone let me know what type of tranny fluid goes into it?