StratfordShark

I'm just about to do this on my tranny oil change job.

One write-up I've seen talked about saturating the new filter in transmission fluid before installing with the screws.

Is this necessary or can I put it in dry and rely on it getting saturated when the new oil is pumped in? Seems potentially messy putting in a filter full of fluid. WSM just says "install replacement ATF filter" implying no need to staurate before using.

Mrmerlin

put it in dry ,
install the pan / gasket dry
dont overtorque the pan bolts

dr bob

^^ What Stan said.

The filter will be swimming in ATF long before the engine is started, and will get its first bath as you fill the sump. For filters that aren't as well shrouded in metal as ours, wetting the media ahead of time risks fingerpoke-through. Puzzles me why anyone would recommend wetting the filter in advance anyway - makes it a dirt magnet. [headscratch]

Clean and dry, using lint-free towels/wipes. Torque wrench on the sump and drain bolts, noting that the spec for sump bolt torque is way less than the drain plug torque. Use the 1/4"-drive inch/lb wrench on these with the low torque requirements. Teflon thread sealing past on the drain plugs and washers. Grease or assembly lube on the reservoir seal to the sump tube. Go really gentle on the bolts that thread into the bottom of the plastic reservoir, or risk twisting the inserts in the plastic reservoir.

Have fun!

StratfordShark

Thanks gentlemen - dry it is.

I have been using lint free cloths for wiping, and used my 1/4" torque wrench to do the plugs today (the WSM ambiguous here as in the table says sump plug 22Nm, but in text say torque both plugs to 14Nm, so I torqued both to 14. If pan leaks at plug I can always torque it up a bit more)

Will use same low value torque wrench to torque sump to 8Nm.

I will hardly breathe on those reservoir bolts! They only hold to bracket and am terrified of damaging the inserts.

Thanks a lot!

Mrmerlin

filling procedure is
add fluid till the res is full,
start the car and run for about 20 seconds,
shut it off then refill,
do this sequence about three times till the fluid stops going down.
What your trying to avoid is the trans sucking air , as you will be refilling the trans and the TC and the lines.
Once you can start the engine and the level doesnt drop below the min mark,
then you can begin running the engine and filling the pan with the engine running.

You will also want to run through the gear selections with the engine running,
make sure the E brake is on and the foot brake as well.

When going from reverse to drive pause a few seconds in neutral,
same when going the opposite way,
same for putting the trans in park,
pause in neutral then go to park,

Reason being is that if a wheel should be spinning and you jamb it into park,
then you could damage the park pawl inside the trans thus causing major damage.

NOTE make sure to drive the car about 10 miles and cycle through the gear selections,
then recheck the fluid,
what can happen is the level will drop due to the lines being bled of air pockets.

jpitman2

And dont forget to check the p/no of the gasket - MB superseded it years ago, but some have been supplied the old part in Porsche kits - look up a post by Tails. The old gasket is prone to split at one of the bolt holes.
jp 83 Euro S AT 55k

Mrmerlin

have on hand 9 qts to fill the system,
I like Valvoline Max Life dextron 5/6 comes in a reddish burgundy bottle