owner
Oz '03 316CDI LWB ex-Ambo Patient Transport
I was doing a basic fluid/filter and leaking connector plug service on the 722.6 trans in my OM612 powered MB ML270 (this vehicle is similar weight to my unladen T1N and same running gear), but things took a turn for the worse...
Stuck to the pan magnet were about 10 loose needle roller bearings. Also inside the filter I found metal shavings...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByLwC5UP406xVE05dHJzak9ZOEU/view?usp=sharing - high res version.
Word on the street is that its some kind of thrust bearing that has broken down. The rollers are about 1.5mm diameter and about 4mm long. I dropped the valve body and found about 8 more rollers stuck on the magnetic speed sensors.
The fluid (Genuine 236.10) is about 50k km old, it was fairly black. The trans has done 285k km. This has happened within the last 50k. The previous full 13l fluid flush/change I did when I got the car 50k ago, fluid was brown and no metal in pan. History beyond that is unknown, but these vehicles were sold new with the "sealed for life" BS guarantee. So MB wouldn't have done any trans servicing during the warranty period.
The trans used to make a whining noise on overrun in 2nd gear, but it seems to have gradually stopped doing that noise at some point, I guess there is more play now with the broken down bearing lol.
I can't afford a rebuild, I have a spare trans of unknown condition that I could put in. But I'm thinking I will just run it till it dies, maybe with a drain plug fluid change every time I do the engine oil (this car has no drain plug on the TC (sealed for "life" remember), so you will only get about 3l out of the pan drain plug). Unless someone who knows more about these things says its better to bite the bullet and somehow fix it before it dies?
For now its back on the road with 5l of fresh 236.14 mixed in with the old fluid in the TC, and a new filter.
EDIT: I should add that the trans runs and shifts perfectly. I did have an issue with very occasional (maybe once every few months) limp mode due to trans speed sensors (implausible gear ratio), but that was presumably due to all the roller bearings stuck to the speed sensors.
Stuck to the pan magnet were about 10 loose needle roller bearings. Also inside the filter I found metal shavings...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByLwC5UP406xVE05dHJzak9ZOEU/view?usp=sharing - high res version.
Word on the street is that its some kind of thrust bearing that has broken down. The rollers are about 1.5mm diameter and about 4mm long. I dropped the valve body and found about 8 more rollers stuck on the magnetic speed sensors.
The fluid (Genuine 236.10) is about 50k km old, it was fairly black. The trans has done 285k km. This has happened within the last 50k. The previous full 13l fluid flush/change I did when I got the car 50k ago, fluid was brown and no metal in pan. History beyond that is unknown, but these vehicles were sold new with the "sealed for life" BS guarantee. So MB wouldn't have done any trans servicing during the warranty period.
The trans used to make a whining noise on overrun in 2nd gear, but it seems to have gradually stopped doing that noise at some point, I guess there is more play now with the broken down bearing lol.
I can't afford a rebuild, I have a spare trans of unknown condition that I could put in. But I'm thinking I will just run it till it dies, maybe with a drain plug fluid change every time I do the engine oil (this car has no drain plug on the TC (sealed for "life" remember), so you will only get about 3l out of the pan drain plug). Unless someone who knows more about these things says its better to bite the bullet and somehow fix it before it dies?
For now its back on the road with 5l of fresh 236.14 mixed in with the old fluid in the TC, and a new filter.
EDIT: I should add that the trans runs and shifts perfectly. I did have an issue with very occasional (maybe once every few months) limp mode due to trans speed sensors (implausible gear ratio), but that was presumably due to all the roller bearings stuck to the speed sensors.
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