Hi everyone, I recently had a problem where the radiator leaked a small amount of coolant into the transmission fluid, the transmission began to slip so I immediately took it to a gearbox specialist about 2 miles away who told me about the leak. The garage changed the fluid and I drove away without any problems, the gears shifted perfectly so I took it to a radiator specialist straight away for a new radiator before any more coolant could leak into the transmission. The radiator garage is only ten minutes from my house so it wasn’t a long drive. When I picked up the car from the radiator garage the car was still driving perfectly until it got hot, then the transmission began to slip again and it was unusable until it cooled down. When the transmission gets hot and slips it makes a whining noise and the gear selector cannot be used to select gears manually, it will let you choose R or D but not 1, 2 or 3 etc.

I guess the gearbox is broken now so I need a new one, a friend with a workshop said he will do it if I can get the instructions so can anyone help me out here?

Many Thanks

 

I supplied info in your other thread.

 

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Three posts about this issue? Please try to not make post after post when you already have the one original post concerning the coolant leaking into the transmission. It gets members replying to all three in a short period of time. Thanks.


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Hi, yes I had a look at that thanks, but it only seems to cover servicing the transmission and not actually replacing the whole gearbox?

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OK thanks for the advice, I thought that it would be better to start another post as it’s a different problem and the people helping out with the transmission problems might not find my question if it’s in the cooling section. The coolant leak has been fixed so the radiator replacement issue has been done, but now I’ve been told that I need to replace the gearbox too, so I didn’t think anyone would answer if I tagged it on to the end of the radiator replacement post.
Is this transmission the exact same one as is used in a Mercedes? I’m trying to find a good used box but there don’t seem to be any for a Crossfire, however, there are loads of Mercedes ones, so if someone can tell me the model number I will probably be able to find a box using that.
I’d be really grateful if someone could send me a link to the instructions to replace the beatbox too so I can print them off.
thank you
Sue

 

A gearbox from another model may have subtle changes, gear ratios etc. Just keep on looking.

 

Donkeyface should not be replacing a transmission without knowing what Diagnostic Trouble Codes are present. Scan the car with a tool capable of getting into the Mercedes DTC BEFORE replacing such an expensive and labor intensive item as the transmission. Get the DTC then proceed with the repair; It may be fixed with something as simple as a new conductor plate.
Scan your Crossfire as a 2003 Mercedes SLK 320

 

Hi Zip439, according to the transmission garage the gearbox is beyond the fault code stage due to the coolant leak and is unrepairable without a full rebuild so they told me to get a new gearbox

 

I do not know the integrity of the garage you are working with, but for myself I would insist on the DTC and knowing the interpretation of the current garage I would want a second opinion from someone who will run a proper scan tool. They may be right, but from my experience I would be very skeptical.

 

Thanks Zip, so do you think that the transmission might be ok with a good clean out and new fluid? I think I’ll take your advice and get someone else to check it over.

 

There is a problem, that must be repaired, hopefully you do not have to replace the transmission, but more than likely it will take more than just a flush with new fluid. The conductor plate has electrical contacts and solenoids that control fluid pressure. Changing the conductor plate is a rather simple job. Will it fix your problem? At this point no one knows, because no testing has been done. Get the DTC codes read with a scan tool that can dig into the Mercedes codes. A general scan tool will not get you where you need to go. The scan tool must be programed to read a 2003/2004 Mercedes SLK 320 on a R170 frame. These NAG1/W (Chrysler designation) 722.6 (Mercedes designation) are precise pieces of machinery. The proper fluid is Pentosin or Shell ATF 3403 made to Mercedes spec's MB 236.10. Do not use Mopar ATF+4 fluid! There are several "clutches" in the transmission as well as the torque converter that are serviceable. Depending on labor it may be less expensive to buy a used transmission and simple replace the one you have. POINT is no one really knows what is wrong with your transmission. If you decide for a second opinion take the car to a transmission shop who are experienced with Mercedes/European transmission repair and start by getting the codes read. Good Luck.

PS. I may have made the mistake of assuming you have an automatic transmission! Most Crossfires are so equipped. If you have a standard manual shift transmission, some of what I have said is incorrect. However it will non the less be advisable to get a second opinion and learn what is actually wrong with your transmission. It may be repairable for less than a replacement.

 

Donkeyface, another thing I should mention is the original scan tool used by Chrysler on these cars are now hard to find and expensive to purchase. The correct scan tool is a DRB III with the correct card and cable. These have been replaced years ago at all Chrysler dealerships to newer tools and the new tools can not link into the Crossfire system. The best tool to use is the DRB III to scan your transmission. It can find both electrical, communication and mechanical problems in the transmission. and it's controlling modules. HOWEVER, it is unlikely you will find a shop with a DRB III scan tool and the correct cable with updates and that is why the best you can do is scan the car as a 2003 Mercedes SLK 320.