The car is a 1993 220E with the 722.4 transmission and it has 133,400 km on the clock. I don't know when the ATF was replaced but it has been done a few times over the life of the car, just looking at the drain plug i can see that it has been screwed and unscrewed a few times. Right now the ATF looks more amber than red on the dipstick but doesn't smell burnt at all.
Bevo says MB236.1/7/9/10 for the 4 speed transmissions but I've been told that Dexron IID, MB236.6 was the factory fill and what was available at the time. Total Fluidmatic ATX meets Dexron IID and MB236.6 and is available everywhere and the price is very good. I don't really want to use anything synthetic in this car as it already has a few leaks. The transmission looks dry but I don't want to gamble, especially until I replace the cooler lines.
Also, since I don't know the last time it was done, I don't want to take the risk of dislodging too much dirt like clutch material and such and take the risk of clogging the valve body or even the filter. I've seen it happen on similar transmissions on MB forums. What about just opening the drain plug without dropping the pan and draining the torque converter and just change half of the fluid, do it again a few thousand kms later, maybe this time with a new filter and then go back to a normal procedure of draining the torque converter, dropping the pan and changing the filter every 50,000 km?
Does it make any sense not wanting to "shock" the transmission if no ATF change was performed for many years?
Bevo says MB236.1/7/9/10 for the 4 speed transmissions but I've been told that Dexron IID, MB236.6 was the factory fill and what was available at the time. Total Fluidmatic ATX meets Dexron IID and MB236.6 and is available everywhere and the price is very good. I don't really want to use anything synthetic in this car as it already has a few leaks. The transmission looks dry but I don't want to gamble, especially until I replace the cooler lines.
Also, since I don't know the last time it was done, I don't want to take the risk of dislodging too much dirt like clutch material and such and take the risk of clogging the valve body or even the filter. I've seen it happen on similar transmissions on MB forums. What about just opening the drain plug without dropping the pan and draining the torque converter and just change half of the fluid, do it again a few thousand kms later, maybe this time with a new filter and then go back to a normal procedure of draining the torque converter, dropping the pan and changing the filter every 50,000 km?
Does it make any sense not wanting to "shock" the transmission if no ATF change was performed for many years?