Originally Posted by
N8BENZ
Hey Wadsworth, I finally got the XF to my mechanic who said the fluid level was full. No leaks so no loss of fluid. What he did say was the fliud was "burnt". Drained and replaced 9 quarts of oem fliud, new filter and "conditioner" added. The car drives with normal automatic transmission shifts up and down. Was told this "fix" was only temporary and that I should seek out a replacement tyranny. On the flip side, I spoke to my old Mercedes mechanic who I now live 4 hours from, who said... "if it's driving normal after the fluid/filter change, you're probably good for another 100,000 miles! Don't know who to believe and can no longer drive with confidence, not knowing that I won't get stranded somewhere. Where would I even start to look for a new Transmission for a 16 year old car...
It sounds like your transmission problem was simple a lack of proper maintenance. You need to change the transmission fluid at least every 70,000 miles. It really is not much different than the oil in the engine. It will not last for forever. I'm with your Mercedes mechanic: if it ain't broke don't fix it!
Run it for 5,000 miles and change that trans fluid again to get out the crap it has acquired from the previous burned fluid. After that keep up on proper maintenance.
When was the last time the coolant was flushed and changed? The differential oil; how about the power steering and brake fluids? Have you looked at the flex discs lately or the central hanging bearing and spline boot on the drive shaft?