Its been a long time....I shouldnt have left you......lol
hows it been family? Havent been on here in ages but....hey....I need help!
who better?

anyway....my 04 X just turned 96,000....never had to do the tune up on it before but its acting funny with me now. I think its trying to punish me for not driving it like I used to.
first things first.....

1. I bought sparkplugs last night for the first time for both my cars. Bought ngk lasers for my m35....bought bosch iridium 9600s for my xfire....should i have bought the ngk iridium IXs? Some say stick with bosch/german cars (i tend to agree) some say stick with ngk/Japanese cars. which is better? Im having a rough time settling on my $85 bosch purchase from oriellys. Whats the oem plugs?

2. What fuel filter is best? I cant find a bosch anywhere.....

3. So my tranny is acting funny. (Automatic trans) going from about 1 to 3 I could feel this weird little movement In the shifter. Just a slight movement. Then all of a sudden I started being able to tell I had a lack of performance. Now theres a hard downshift from 3rd or so when coming to a stop. The trans shop a while back said the fluid was in need of changing so I scheduled a change and filter swap. Could this solve my issue or am I doomed? I need to know the best fluid and filter for that as well.

My baby is running really sluggish and I have had to put my foot on the floor sometimes just to get around the idiots on the freeway.....this cant happen. I plan on keeping it. But if its going to give me issues (spoiled brat talk.....I never had any before) ....then she can go! Lol

 

HI, I am at 86000 miles on my 05 and experiencing the same issues. I also hear what sounds like air bubbles or spats of air coming from under engine near front driver tire area but not tire..

 

Better have your A/C checked ......

 

Well.....the kids come home when they need something....lol. stay with bosch if you can and iridiums is correct. The tranny with those miles certainly needs fluid and a filter. Having SRT's I can't answer your stuggish questions but maybe clean throttle body and check for vacuum leaks around it's base, make sure no hoses are cracked and causing a vacuum leak. Do a throttle body reset a couple of times see if that helps.

 

Throttle body and hoses....I will have them checked. Thanks.

As for the tranny.....I hate the backlash I get from the tranny shops....all of them want to say how its a chance it will all go bad if you change the fluid....im just mad that the car service wss never recommended until the whole "sealed for life" thing blew up in mb's face. Now im past typical recommended times for tranny fluid to be changed and im super nervous. First time servicing a 10 year old 96k tranny has me going nuts! Does anyone you know or heard of have anything to relieve this worry? I can afford a couple hundred to get her back running lovely....i cant afford 2k to keep her in my life you know?

Now as to the spark plugs. The bosch 9600 set I had didnt show up on the conversion chart for the mb stock spark plug so I swapped them for the ngk 4292 (took my price from $83 to $122) laser platinums. The auto store doesnt carry the correct bosch plug listed on the conversion chart and i cant see the 9600 on any conversion chart online.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE OEM PLUGS I FOUND:
003 159 94 03,MERCEDES-BENZ 0031599403 Spark Plug

 

FYI, the factory plugs for the forced induction Benz engines are NGK. IFR6D40 is the NGK number for the factory plug.

Fuel Filter is from Mahle: http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg1.htm#item0

 

Thanks. I will go with the mahl. Going with the double platinum ngk 4292. I geel really gokd about it. Hopefully this will boost my performance. No CEL on right now so hopefully I can get my boost and stay in the clear. This tranny thing.....im a nervous wreck on.

Any other 100k tips out there?

 

Ah...Catalytic converters. There are 4 correct? Two in the front and 2 in the Rear. Any advice on where and whats best to purchase for the car? Also anyone recommend the best place to purchase a replacement convertible top? I know of the place in California. A guy here in Houston wants to charge me 1300.00 to remove and send and then of course the 600 plus for the new top. I need a compadre' in Houston
All your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Dang! Now im mad! I dont know if I want to use the ngk 4292 laser platinums or the ngk iridium ix! I want the best performance possible! Im going nuts.....I am no longer productive at work and sick of research headaches.

 

Bought some seafoam for my fuel system cleanout. Picked up mothers nu lens power4ball kit for headlight restoration too anyone tried it? May do a post on it.

Settled on the ngk iridiums bkr6eix-11. Going to tell the guy to gap them at .039

 

Replaced the tranny filter, gasket and crush washer around 40,000 on my 05 Limited with Amsoil ATF. 40,000 miles later and she still shifts like buda!

AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid

Also used 2 qts. of their Severe Gear Synthetic EP Gear Lube 75w-90 in the rear end....

AMSOIL Severe Gear® 75W-90

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

No emissions check in FL so I replaced the rear cats and "H" pipe with a "X" pipe. The front cats have all the sensors so just leave them be. She breaths much better now!

 

Whats a crush washer? And I am at 96000 and never serviced the tranny....think its safe to now? First it was never then 80k now im confused and scaredQUOTE=syfi;802391]Replaced the tranny filter, gasket and crush washer around 40,000 on my 05 Limited with Amsoil ATF. 40,000 miles later and she still shifts like buda!

AMSOIL Signature Series Multi-Vehicle Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid

Also used 2 qts. of their Severe Gear Synthetic EP Gear Lube 75w-90 in the rear end....

AMSOIL Severe Gear® 75W-90

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ .

No emissions check in FL so I replaced the rear cats and "H" pipe with a "X" pipe. The front cats have all the sensors so just leave them be. She breaths much better now![/QUOTE]

 

Forgot to take pictures of the headlight restoration process. Mothers power ball did great! Didnt even sand them. Polish buffer ball and my drill worked like a charm

 

Crush washer goes on the drain plug. It's usually replaced whenever you drain the trans. You can usually find the 3 kitted together (filter, pan gasket and crush washer).

Mercedes Transmission Filter Kit - Meyle 1402700098MY | FCP Euro

Quit freakin out. You're only 4000 away from 100,000 which is when you would have originally changed it anyway. Leaving the old fluid in with a dirty filter will do WAY more damage then if you renew now, like M/B intended you do. It will probably rectify all the little ticks you're experiencing, and I'm sure you won't hurt it. The 722.6 trans is nearly bullet-proof. That's why they use it on some Jeeps and the Gen I Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Magnum and with a few dimension changes the Dodge Challenger (referred to by Chrysler as the NAG1). While you're under there, you'll probably want to replace the conductor plug that's known to leak fluid up into the computer of all places (not to freak you out). Cheap fix if it hasn't already been done. And don't worry about what filter. They are pretty much the same and are intended originally to last 100,000 miles.

 

Ok. That puts me at ease. Ordering my fuel filter from needs wings today. Looks like my valve gaskets are minor leaking in front. I may go ahead and order those too. Seafoam did great in my oil. Drove 120 miles with it and got the oil changed today. Changing the plugs and the trans fluid tomorrow. Thanks everyone.

 

Good job. After all is done, please come back and let everyone know how she's running. Alot of us are probably starting to push the 100,000 mi mark and would be interested how everything works out. Happy continued motoring!

 

Plugs just got changed. I see alot of what looks like oil on the coil packs. Smelled a burning scent and seen a little smoke. What could that be?

 

The vent covers on each valve cover are installed at the factory with RTV silicone, it tends to degrade over time and oil starts leaking around the covers. This is a common problem, easily remedied with a good cleanup and re-application of a good RTV silicone sealant.
There's a sticky thread here somewhere on that.

 

Thanks. My dad has al the tools I need for diy. But he is a drill sergeant and strictly by the book. He wont work on it with me without a repair manual. Cant seem to find it anywhere locally. Online they want $300 or so.....any help locating a repair manual so i can cut costs? Its adding up and i just got laid off.

 

Try this one.

http://www.jodykrivohlavek.com/_docu...ice_Manual.pdf