Podguy

Ok, I finally have the correct kit, the case is cleaned and painted. So I am ready to assemble the trans. Three questions.

1. The metal plate on the front pump has a little wear. Is this normal and how do you tell if it is too much. I only have this one transmission apart as a comparison.

2. What type of assembly lube should I use on the bearings when I put it back together?

3. What is the best auto trans and differential fluid to use?

Thanks much.

Dan the Pod Guy

borland

I assume your doing the 4-speed auto like I did on my 90' S4.

What have you done so far? Did you replace the o-ring seals in the gearset? Disassemble the clutches and inspect them? That stuff should come first. I had to make the special tools shown in the WSM out of commonly available hardware.

The caliper measurements are the most important part of the reassembly.

1. Not sure what your describing. I replaced the thrust washer, only because the part was cheap.
2. There are some carbon shaft seals that require a very small quantity of grease to hold them squeezed together during assembly. The very small quantity of grease will disolve into a much larger quantity of ATF over a short time. Other than that, I used ATF as an assembly lube. New friction plates and bands were soaked in ATF prior to assembly.
3. Any ATF that meets the spec. Same for Diff.

Podguy

Borland,

Thanks for the tips. I have the entire transmission disassembled and on the bench. I have a rebuild kit with all the seals and gaskets. I also have new clutches. The old ones looks fine, but I figure since I am in there to replace all the wear parts. The bands look fine, so I will be going with them. I replaced one caged roller bearing only becaused I damaged it. Other than that the roller bearing look fine.

The only wear point I see is the plate that backs up the front oil pump. It has a bit of wear. One member suggested using some valve gringing compound to smooth it up. Is there any way to check the front pump for too much wear. It looks like an expensive part to replace and at the moment I will have to remove another transmission to get a core.

Anyone local to San Francisco have any broken 4 speed transmission they want hauled away?

Thanks

Dan the Pod Guy - soon to follow with detailed pictures.

borland

On the clutches, the frictions and steels come in different thicknesses. So the stackup needs to be sized and measured as shown in the WSM. Replace any steels with burn spots. Check the steels for flatness too (a new one against the old one would be good for that check).

On the pump, the backer plate (pc 12 in the WSM) is not shown in the PET as a separate item. You would expect some wear on that part. On my transmission with 89K miles, had minimal signs of wear and was reused. Mercedes probably sells it as a separate part. That part can't be expensive. Something to check if yours looks excessively worn.

Mrmerlin

when you fit the torque converter into the front pump make sure to add some grease to the bronze bushing just inside the front pump seal this is where the torque converter snout rides, the grease will prevent the bushing from seizing when the engine is first started BTDT