I have a restored great running 1957 Mercedes 220. The oil and coolant get changed regularly whether they need it or not. (Every 2-3 years) The car gets driven to local shows and also to "exercise it." However I have not changed the transmission fluid or the differential fluid since 1999. The car only has about 2,000 miles on it since the restoration and is kept inside in a heated garage. So, what do you think about a change of those fluids? yes or no? The trans takes ATF and the diff 80w-90 both conventional. Thanks
Time to change the trans & diff fluid?
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Not going to hurt anything . If it makes you feel better , go for it .
I'd change it out. It's 20 years old.
If its not driven does it matter?
Is it a humidity controlled garage too?
Sure, change it. And nothing fancy.
Is it a humidity controlled garage too?
Sure, change it. And nothing fancy.
I would get several viewpoints on changing out transmission fluid if it has not been done over many years, usually not recommended, but I would check around..
Change the ATF, Diff and Trans filter, I'm assuming it's a automatic transmission.
Originally Posted by anndel
Change the ATF, Diff and Trans filter, I'm assuming it's a automatic transmission.
I thought MB didn't start putting automatic transmissions in its cars until the early '60s. A 1957 220? One of the Ponton convertibles might have had an auto, I guess, but I don't think the sedans did.
Change the ATF, Diff and Trans filter, I'm assuming it's a automatic transmission.
I thought MB didn't start putting automatic transmissions in its cars until the early '60s. A 1957 220? One of the Ponton convertibles might have had an auto, I guess, but I don't think the sedans did.
I own an 87 diesel and use maxLife ATF + Lubegard Red, it works great now. before the UOA was pretty bad (full of clutch material). Valvoline told me the Max Life product is most likely the best option for my vehicle and is formulated for older vehicles. On your diff I would just use a premium GL5 and not worry about having problems.
I normally am in the "leave it in" as most people change fluids too often in my experience. But in this case, I would change it. I "had" and drove a restored '66 230SL for ~4 years so some familiarity.*
WHY:
General things your concerned with in oil life - oxidative and thermal break-down, contamination, shearing out of grade. In your case you aren't likely to be getting anything but the first. But over 20 years, it can be substantial. The effect is more pronounced on dino oils vs. synthetic, also.
Both the boxes are vented so some air is always reacting to oxidize the fluid, as well as any condensation accumulated or not burned off. So the diff has suffered 20 years of degradation, too.
WHAT:
In the transmission, I think that was originally a Borg-Warner unit using Type A fluid. In which case, I'd look for a modern synthetic Dex III quivalent. It will meet the original specs and be backward compatible. It will also match the original viscosity, which DexVI will not. In my experience, this matters. Most current Dex/Merc or DexIII offerings are not synthetic, but pennzoil makes one that Pep Boys often has quite affordably. Whatever you get, make sure not to get any "LV" labeled stuff, that would be DexVI.
This one would be ideal, for example - synthetic for added stability, added seal conditioners for long-term storage:
https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/prod...sLzIwMTZuZXdzbGV0dGVyLz9sb2NhbGU9ZW5fdXM
Redline and some other boutique makers also make full synthetic DexIII. If I paid more for one of those, I would then skip the ester oil additive (more below).
Diff: a synthetic 80w-90.
EXTRA:
Into each, I would add the spec'd amount of Lubegard additive, red in the tranny and yellow gear oil in the diff. Not so much for the aw additives, but for the ester oil content. It will coat the components for corrosion protection (like the sperm oil in some DexII), and condition the seals.
* - I didn't own the car, but a good friend did. He left it with us for several years while he was overseas. I could use it at my discretion in exchange for storing and maintaining it. So I did learn about maintaining this vintage MB, though I think by '66 they had in-house transmission vs what may be in your '59.
WHY:
General things your concerned with in oil life - oxidative and thermal break-down, contamination, shearing out of grade. In your case you aren't likely to be getting anything but the first. But over 20 years, it can be substantial. The effect is more pronounced on dino oils vs. synthetic, also.
Both the boxes are vented so some air is always reacting to oxidize the fluid, as well as any condensation accumulated or not burned off. So the diff has suffered 20 years of degradation, too.
WHAT:
In the transmission, I think that was originally a Borg-Warner unit using Type A fluid. In which case, I'd look for a modern synthetic Dex III quivalent. It will meet the original specs and be backward compatible. It will also match the original viscosity, which DexVI will not. In my experience, this matters. Most current Dex/Merc or DexIII offerings are not synthetic, but pennzoil makes one that Pep Boys often has quite affordably. Whatever you get, make sure not to get any "LV" labeled stuff, that would be DexVI.
This one would be ideal, for example - synthetic for added stability, added seal conditioners for long-term storage:
https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/prod...sLzIwMTZuZXdzbGV0dGVyLz9sb2NhbGU9ZW5fdXM
Redline and some other boutique makers also make full synthetic DexIII. If I paid more for one of those, I would then skip the ester oil additive (more below).
Diff: a synthetic 80w-90.
EXTRA:
Into each, I would add the spec'd amount of Lubegard additive, red in the tranny and yellow gear oil in the diff. Not so much for the aw additives, but for the ester oil content. It will coat the components for corrosion protection (like the sperm oil in some DexII), and condition the seals.
* - I didn't own the car, but a good friend did. He left it with us for several years while he was overseas. I could use it at my discretion in exchange for storing and maintaining it. So I did learn about maintaining this vintage MB, though I think by '66 they had in-house transmission vs what may be in your '59.
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