Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here represent the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of www.cardiagnostics.be. All data and information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. www.cardiagnostics.be makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article or respondents comments and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.

Fully Automatic transmission/Gearbox


Please Note Repairs to the FTC.ECU (Brains) of your automatic gearbox and Gear selector module PCB (Printed circuit board) can now be undertaken by ECU Testing.com



Of one thing however I am assured, the information and photographs are more comprehensive and instructional than any information you might be able to extract from Mercedes-Benz workshop manager's or dealership who appear to only have one solution to an automatic transmission problem? Replace the complete transmission with all that entails or quoting several thousands of £££££ for the repair which of course will only have a limited warrantee.
Thanks to all readers who have forwarded information and in some cases excellent photos which have been used in the formation of this page along with Lynn who supplied this useful contact. Stephens+Engineering+Automatics when all else failed this company sorted out Lynn's gear box and gave her a warrantee, she in turn recommends this company to other owners with automatic transmission problems


Those of you with handbooks for your Automatic 'A' Class should will have this information in part in your Owners handbook Under Automatic Transmission (In my handbook page page 207) . However I am very much aware that a large number of owners World wide having purchased used vehicles do not have hand books and therefore will not be aware of the procedures to be employed when a Fault occurs on the automatic transmission, 'F' Displayed, hopefully this information will help you and advise you what is going on and what to do to get home or a place of safety when the 'F' displays and normal driving is not possible.


Automatic Transmission Driving your Car.
This information is taken direct from he owners handbook (MB order No.6515 0254 02 Part number 168 584 01 87.



The individual gears are selected automatically, depending on:-
1 Selector lever with shift ranges 4,3,1 and 1.
2 Program switch position.
3 Accelerator position.
4 Road Speed.

The transmission automatically adapts to the individual driving style of the driver by adjusting its shift positions.

The adjustment of the shift points is a continuous process which permanently reflects the road and traffic conditions at any given moment, as well as the drivers own requirements .
If the operating circumstances change , the automatic transmission reacts by adjusting the gear shift program.

Pulling away
Apply the service/foot brake to release the selector lever lock. Release the parking/hand brake
With the engine at Idling speed, select a drive position . Allow the gear engagement process to run completely , especially if the engine is cold .
This is indicated by a gentle jerk.

Release the service brake (foot) and depress the accelerator pedal.

Up-shifts and cold start.
Up-shifts are made at higher engine speeds after a cold start than when the engine is at operating temperature.
This helps the catalytic converter to reach its regular operating temperature more quickly.

Accelerator pedal conditions position.
Light throttle = early up-shifts.
more throttle = later up-shifts.
Kick down -- Depress the accelerator pedal beyond the pressure point = maximum acceleration , shift down into lowest gear possible.
Ease back on accelerator as soon as the desired speed has been reached __ the transmission will shift back up.

Stopping
Leave the selector lever in the drive D or R position and apply the service/foot brake or parking/hand brake to prevent the vehicle from either rolling forwards ( or backwards on an uphill gradient.)

Manoeuvring
When manoeuvring in a tight space, control the speed by carefully applying and releasing the service brake (foot), Do not depress the accelerator pedal too suddenly or too far.

P Parking Apply the parking/hand brake (hand)
Move the selector lever to position P
On steep slopes , turn the the front wheels towards the kerbside, taking care not to damage the tyres.
P Parking lock
Additional safeguard when the vehicle is parked . Only select this position when the vehicle is stationary
Note
The ignition Key can only be removed from the ignition lock when the selector lever is in Position P .
When the ignition key is removed , the selector lever is locked in position P
To engage the steering wheel lock: turn the the steering wheel slightly after the key has been removed .
Reverse Gear
Only select R when the car is stationary.
The current selector lever position is indicated in the instrument cluster display.

Program Selector Switch
S = Standard, switch pressed on S symbol. this position is used in all normal driving conditions .
W Winter, switch pressed on the W symbol
Up-shifts and downshifts are made at a lower speeds and rpm than in the S program. simply press the S/W switch to change between programs .
Emergency running mode
If during a journey the transmission no longer shifts, even in varying operating conditions , the transmission has entered emergency running mode. The letter 'F' will appear on the instrument cluster display. To make it possible to continue the journey , 2nd and reverse gears can still be selected.

In such cases , proceed as follow:-
Stop the car.
Move the selector lever to position
P
switch off the engine
Wait at least 10 seconds
Start the engine
Move the selector lever to position D 2nd gear is engaged.
Move the selector to lever position R reverse gear is engaged.


Have the transmission examined without delay.
Having a diagnostics test done will pin point the problem by code, Owners of Petrol cars built pre February 2001, Diesel's 2004 you will need to visit either a MB garage or an independent Mercedes garage where they have Star diagnostic equipment available. Post 2001 /2004 vehicles your vehicle's should be EOBD compliant and therefore you can use any EOBD diagnostics tool to read the codes.


                            


This above document will print out and will be useful in the event of a problem. Click top left hand corner




Gear Selector PCB failure   One of the problems on the fully Automatic transmission is the PCB that forms part of the gear selector module situated inside the car, Cleaning of this unit as outlined further down the page does seem to help, however it does not always appear to last long term.

Peter from Australia who also suffered this problem had his board checked by an auto technician who found many dry joints and poor soldering on the PCB.
see his e-mail:-
Dear Lofty Many thanks for such an excellent, helpful site. I just want to add one suggestion for other people who suffer the 'F fault' - get an electronics technician to check the printed circuit board and re-solder bad connections if needed.

My wife's A-class suffered the automatic transmission 'F' fault.
I removed the shift sensor module, as your site suggested, and

 cleaned it with no-residue cleaning fluid.
I also asked an electronics technician to look at the sensor module's printed circuit board.

The technician said it was a wonder the sensor module ever worked, because it had various badly soldered or 'dry' joints.
He re-soldered the joints (especially the ones where the main power cable plugs in) and it has worked fine so far.
He only charged $10 (Australian).
I suggest your readers do the same if they have the Auto transmission 'F-fault' problems
Thanks again for such useful money-saving info.
Best regards
Peter Ritchie (Australia)



Common Fault codes that indicate a possible fault with your gear lever module:-
P1709 - Park/Neutral Position Switch
P2031 - no signal or error signal from N15/5 (electronic shift lever mode controller)
P2210 - Selector lever coding is invalid
P2211 - The selector lever is in an intermediate position
P2212 - The selector lever position is implausible
P2318 - Fault in CAN communication with control unit N15/5 (electronic selector lever module control module)
P2318 - One or more messages from control unit N15/5(electronic selector lever module control module
P2333 - The CAN signal from control module N15/5
P2338 - The CAN signal from control module N15/5
P2338 - The CAN signals sent from control unit N15/5
P240C - The CAN signal for the selector lever position from component N15/5


I read with interest the thread about the A class automatic gear selector modules going faulty with the thought being that it is the infra-red detectors that are getting dirty. I found it odd that everyone seems to be trying to clean them out with contact cleaner. There are no contacts in these sensors. They are essentially an infra-red light emitting diode in one side and a photo transistor on the other. The transistor detecting an arm interrupting the light beam. The most likely thing to get into the sensors is dust and an air line will clear this away. Contact cleaner has lubricants in them and this will leave an oily film on the transducers which will attract more dirt. If you want to use a solvent cleaner to wash the transducer I would use Iso-Propanol (IPA) which is readily available from electronic suppliers such as Maplins.co.uk This will leave no residue when it has evaporated and will not damage electronic components. Let it all evaporate before re-powering the board.
John Harmer, Senior Area Engineer
Unquote

Thanks John , the more information on this problem the better, even with 'Star' Diagnostics MB seem to be guessing when it comes to dealing with the 'F' Display or just quote for a new gearbox and selector module which isn't helpful when the repair costs more than the car is worth in money terms.

A little extra information for you on the W168 A170 Full Automatic
The 'F' issue affected us every 2 to 3 thousand miles, however lately its done it as frequently as every 10 miles - I checked the fault codes and found gear selector module to be listed. I note that on your page http://www.aclassinfo.co.uk/mypage.59a.htm the 5th image has an arrow pointing to what's referred to as a selector lever, this is incorrect, its simply an interlock solenoid that stops you from moving the gear lever at certain times.


I have attached pictures of the circuit board, this and the interlock are the only electronic components in the lever. It should be noted that the selector position is detected by infrared break beam sensors, not any type of copper slip connections, which means the usual culprit of dirty copper tracks or cracks is ruled out.
The circuit board looks fine, no broken tracks or dry joints, so I can only presume that if it is indeed the selector module that's at fault(sometimes the fault code could be erroneous) then its possibly a design flaw or perhaps a software fault or perhaps weakening sensor LED's.








I have cleaned up the infra red sensors and put it all back together and so far its been fine, but its too early to call it, I will update you in a few months to let you know if cleaning helped.













I decided to purchase a gear selector module from the dealer, I got a 10% discount making it £332 inc vat
Despite the dealer insisting that a new module needs to be coded, I decided to just try it anyway and on my 1999 car it plugged straight in without coding and it selects gears correctly without the dreaded F

 
I just want to add one suggestion for other people who suffer

the 'F fault' - get an electronics technician to check the printed circuit board and re-solder bad connections if needed.

My wife's A-class suffered the automatic transmission 'F' fault.
I removed the shift sensor module, as your site suggested, and cleaned it with no-residue cleaning fluid.

I also asked an electronics technician to look at the sensor module's printed circuit board.

The technician said it was a wonder the sensor module ever worked, because it had various badly soldered or 'dry' joints.
He re-soldered the joints (especially the ones where the main power cable plugs in) and it has worked fine so far.
He only charged $10 (Australian).
I suggest your readers do the same if they have the Auto transmission 'F-fault' problems


The key to checking the oil level in this box is this; Get the gearbox up to 78C, [Do Not Guess, drop a temp probe down the dipstick or get a infrared temp gun] [after a long run the gearbox will be over 80C} go thru the gears, then put the lever into N or P with the engine running and make sure you are at 11.5 on the dipstick. If you are going to do an oil change, get the level correct with the old fluid first. Measure the amount of oil you get out of the box when you drain it (because you never get all the old oil out) and replace with the same amount of new ATF. THE OIL SHOULD/MUST BE “MOBIL ATF320”.
Just changing the oil will not on its own fix the F problem, but it is good practice to know what you are starting with, after all new oil in the box is always good.
The thing about the F problem that did not make sense to me was the fact that you could turn off the engine and the problem would go away for a bit before returning. If it was a major problem it would come back at once. The next thing I had read about the problem was from people who had replaced the car battery, and the problem was not as bad. This got me thinking, why did this made a difference.
The answer is quit simple and proves where the problem lies! And also points to the fix.
When you restart the car you put the ‘Gear selector module’ back into N, and with this the F goes away, i.e. you have cleared the problem for a short while, and if you have a new battery the problem goes away for a longer time, all this point to the infrared sensors in the ‘Gear Selector Module’ being dirty!! And why a new battery helps.

I can not take all the credit for this because half way through my repair I looked at what ‘Darren Smith’ had done, and he is 100% correct. You do not need to take the unit all the way apart, and in fact you do not need to take the unit of the car to repair, but it does not take very long to remove. All you need to do is take the gear knob off, [half twist the bottom part of the knob and then pull up, do not punch your self in the face!]
Remove all the plastic from around the selector, unclip the part of the selector that holds the circuit board, (easy job if you have the unit on the bench) make sure you do not drop the small spring or small white part that is under the S & W switch. You do not need to remove the circuit board from its plastic housing; all you need to do to fix the unit is spray it with Electrical Contact Cleaner!
I would love to know how many new ‘Gear selector modules’ have been sold because of a small amount of dirt!!

So to end my story, my mother now has a Mercedes A160 that runs like new and cost very little to repair because of your web site, a big thank from us all!!
,
The PCB is just under the gear lever indicator panel; i.e. the bit that has P/R/N/D on it. I have attached the photos. The PCB is the gear selector module. The part on the side lower down is just a lock out pin driven by a solenoid, this is to stop you from changing gear at speed (from D to R). The procedure to remove the PCB is;
1. Remove gear knob. [twist the bottom plastic ring {on the gear knob}, then pull up on gear knob]
2. Remove the plastic cover which is attached to the centre console (by the bottom of the gear lever). {you do this by pulling up on the cover}.
3. Remove the switch panel from the centre console (windows switch etc)
4. Remove centre console. (on my model it is 3 screws, one in the cup holder, 1 each side of the gear indicator. Also I removed the hand brake lever complete; 2 bolts only). {I removed the hand brake lever this way for two reasons, 1. so I could remove the centre console, 2 I did not want to remove the hand grip off the lever}
5. Remove the plastic trim from under the radio console, the bit between the carpet and the radio console. (1 screw each side of the gear lever housing, then pull back on the trim.)
6. With the lever in 'N' unbolt the 3 bolts that hold the unit to the floor, remove the electric connectors, turn the unit on its side and push out the pin that holds the Bowden cable to the unit.
7. Remove the Bowden cable and place the unit on the bench.

To get to the PCB all you have to do now is take the unit apart by pushing down on the plastic clips on the side of the unit. {When you see the unit out of the housing it is very self explanatory)
To 'FIX' I sprayed mine with "Electrical Contact Cleaner" you can buy this at Halfords. {I sprayed mine 3 times and blow dry each time} you can spray the whole board.

Having located the board you will be able to see the infra-red sensors which are ringed in Darren's photos above, Marked Photo1 & 2


So in the case of the fully automatic transmission if your selector display shows 'F' there is every chance that it is the 'Gear selector module' This is the generally called the gear lever on Manual boxes and selector on automatics. This selector module does include electronic equipment and it appears it is this that causes the problem.
 

The trouble code on the Diagnostics will be P1872 and the component costs £274.00 part number A168 370 1309/7088 If this item is required on your car always use your vehicles Vin number to ensure the correct part is obtained/ordered.
Also if you have a diagnostics tool see page 69 It is worth deleting any fault codes to see if it re-appears before spending out on spares.
If you car is pre 2001 you would need to get this carried out by a garage using 'Star' diagnostics , post 2001 you can delete the code using your own diagnostics tool and it is cheaper to buy one rather than go to Mercedes-Benz for the deletion of this codes.

The owner with the 'F' Problem on his car has now had the car sorted, however he is of the opinion that garages with 'Star' diagnostics have to fit it as the module requires synchronising with the car ,

What this involves I really do not know however

he does say that the whole repair only takes about an hour , see mail

MB "assured" me the fault was within the selector module, just under the gear stick....so although the cable harness comes with the selector unit this was not fitted as the old one was deemed OK......so I hope, as wherever the cable harness terminates...I presume the gearbox, this apparently requires the engine to be dropped to gain access. So far the "F" has not come back, although sometimes the gear change in drive can be unpredictable, for instance I can put the accelerator down but it takes more than a moment to do anything....not handy when pulling out of a junction at rush hour. The MB parts guy did say my faulty gear selector had been superseded twice so the part number of the new unit was slightly different. Replacing the unit is straight forward as once the covers are removed its just 3 set screws that hold it in position however the unit has to be configured to the car so unfortunately a definite MB job, no more than 1 hour.
This has been contradicted by Darren in his comments above.


Honestly the car is coming up for 10 years with

54k on the clock....if I can get another unblemished 25k-30k out of it I'll be happy.
Cheers Paul

To fit the unit complete as sold with the Bowden cable assembly, according to Mercedes, the engine has to be lowered, obviously another good design feature to ensure mercedes Workshops do not run out of business!!

It could be of course, that the fault lies in the selector Module/mechanism alone, so you may get away with fitting just that part of your purchase.
if contracting Mercedes to do this job for you, make sure you know what they are contracting to fit, in respect this complete unit, to lower the engine and replace the linkage/cables which could be perfectly sound will cost you about 6 hours in labour.




As is confirmed in Peters mail above the module may alsorepairable, I understand that there are a number of soldered joints that breakdown as they get older. Re soldering these joints (work carried out by an auto technician(ECU testing are working on these units at present 1/4/2011)and you may well find it cures the fault, If you are able to locate the fault then in this instance because you are simply replacing the existing repaired unit, re-programming should not be necessary. Speak to you garage in respect of this matter.











Do remember when they 'F' displays on your display that your car will automatically go into the 'limp home mode'(speed will be limited) when this happens normal driving and speeds will not be possible

If you have to resort to MB workshops sorting out your

problem make sure you get a written quote and a wise move is to make the point to any garage you use that you want all bits removed available to view when picking up your car.
That way you will know what's been fitted and will be able to ensure that all the new components supplied were fitted and not bypassed because the engine has to be lowered to undertake certain tasks. Few of us mind paying where a good job is done, none of us like being conned, if an item supplied as part of a kit is purchased and then not used it is your property if you have paid for the complete kit.
An example of this is the selector module that comes complete with the Bowden cable, it may not be necessary to replace this component and to do so may require the engine to be lowered increasing the cost of repairs.
So watch points . If the garage do not fit this cable and it may well not be necessary, you need to be able to pick it up with the car, the alternative is they will have fitted the new cable for which you have paid and you can now view the old unit when collecting your car. Sad but we just cannot trust garages to do what they say, and I'm afraid history has shown that MB are no acceptation to that comment.





This photo shows the automatic gearbox /transmission removed from the car, in this instance we can see where the sector module Bowden cable connects. So what does the Bowden do? Well according to Paul H (we have more than one Paul donating information to this page )The Bowden cable selects between P/R/N/3(D position) and the selector just sends commands via the CAN bus to the control system that then controls the transmission to swap third gear which is the default for one of the others.
When 'F' is displayed the transmission control shuts down (Goes into 'limp home mode' or 'F'(Fail Mode))and you only have third gear, hence no ability to go up hill with only 1000rpm max in third gear, (perhaps a bit of an oversight on MB here,) they should really have allowed a few more rpm when in 'Fail mode'('F') on the automatic because the torque converter loses all of the 1000 rpm at low speed).
I suspect that third gear is the straight through where gearbox output rpm = crankshaft rpm and fourth and fifth gears are overdrive gears which makes it simpler and less likely to fail than the others which all have cogs.
This is the case on the ZF electronic transmissions used by Volvo and BMW which conveniently have the electronics in an external box!


The 5 pin connector can also be seen at th3e rear of the transmission casing, this is where the electronics for the transmission connect onto the NTC.ECU
where both the Bowden cable and or the electrical loom are replaced it may be necessary to lower the engine as like so many other things the cables are located between the under floor and upper side of the engine, albeit these would located adjacent to the selector module.


Transmission Fluid change Procedure

Reference the the dip stick mentioned in this procedure which is not installed/fitted on the automatic gearbox as standard, unless fitted by the previous owner)
 

The details are:- DIPSTICK for measuring automatic gearbox fluid level. Part Number: W168 589 012 100 the current cost including VAT is £23.22 14.01.11
(The part number is correct as W168xx and not the normal A168xx)

The oil filler/dipstick pipe has a plastic sealing cover retained

by plastic "tamper" pin which has to be broken to remove the cap the original pin is black (as is the cover) the replacement pin is red.
The details are:- PIN Part Number: A1409910055 the current cost including VAT is £1.20


. Other parts also needed are:-
1. Transmission fluid (See link below.)
2. Filter
3..Sump gasket
4. Sump plug
5.Copper washer
6. Tamperproof plug

7.Pan magnet(may be reusable )Note on later models the sump pan has been

increased in depth by 3mm, MB recommend that this be fitted, but it is extra cost! but is does come with a drain plug and seal.
8.Transmission fluid
I would suggest the use of genuine Mercedes fluids, bearing in mind the cost of a replacement gearbox!
I would suggest getting the transmission fully hot and checking the fluid level before starting work. If you then drain the fluid into a marked container you will know how much fluid to use on initial refill of transmission.
Removal of the sump pan to change the transmission filter and install a pan magnet [magnets were not fitted to earlier cars] is also a good thing to do.


Note:- Both the drain plug and sump pan bolts can be quite tight so proceed with care, ensuring that Torx bits are fully located in the head of the bolt.


With reference to above:

1. Drain fluid/fluid from transmission


















2. Remove sump pan [note that there will still be a quantity of fluid within the sump pan which is best not relocated down your sleeve]

3. Change transmission filter

A [this simply pulls out of the transmission case]






4. Clean out sump pan using a lint free cloth
5. Install pan magnet
6. Refit sump pan using new gasket
7. Refit drain plug with new copper washer





















8. Refill with the required amount of fluid ( Auto Trans MB Fluid £!0.20 a litre 14.1.11 ) before starting the engine
9. Start engine and allow to idle in P. checking/correcting fluid level if necessary
10. Warm up transmission and shift through all gears [with vehicle stationary] while warming up.
After warming up transmission, wait at least 2 minutes and check fluid level with engine running in P or N
 

11. Check transmission fluid temperature
When transmission is cold, level must be between marks 2 and 4. The exact fluid level must be between 8 and 12 at 70-80 degrees c [transmission fluid temperature] If you want to get an accurate reading you will need an infra red temperature gun or similar device Temperature gun next day delivery tel 07864991164 [as mentioned previously I would suggest aiming to get the fluid level exactly on the 12 mark] Model 168, use HHT to call up current transmission fluid temperature in one of the selector positions P R N or D [this is where I used a hand held infra-red thermometer pointed directly at the sump pan to determine fluid temperature, I would also suggest checking the temperature only in P or N as checking it in D or R could prove to be dangerous]
12.(*** see information above) Insert dipstick as far as the stop, pull out, read off level. Insufficient/excessive fluid quantity causes malfunctions and transmission damage.
13. Check fluid level again. Correct if necessary.
14. Refit tamperproof cap
15. Check for leaks

Torque settings;
Drain plug 22NM
fluid pan to transmission 8NM



Fully Automatic transmission information

There is little doubt that the automatic transmission is a very complex piece of machinery, these are photographs of just part of the automatic box known as the valve chest the 4 copper/brass caps along with one alloy cap. these according to owner Paul support the solenoids against there retaining spring in each case

If you look at the automatic gearbox valve chest, right hand photo, you will see a five pin connector, this connects the electronics of the gearbox/ECU to the selector module in the cab. when a new selector module is purchased it comes complete with cable but the engine has to be lowered to get it down the back of the engine and gearbox AS far as I'm concerned this whole set up is a mystery something I'd prefer not have on my car, at least with the manual gear box I know what I have and how it works.

.
 



Repairs to the ECU of the Fully automatic transmission.(Gearbox)
This repair can now be undertaken by ECU Testing
Be warned there are other companies claiming they can repair these units one such Company is in Milan.
As one owner found they can't! They simply returning his FTC/ECU in bits and claiming it was not repairable leaving him now in a situation where a new ECU will cost him 1700€ and Mercedes-Benz refusing to supply unless they fit it.
It is also apparent from what this owner says that only some of the solenoids are available from Mercedes, another good reason for using ECU Testing.com

Quote
I called BBA Reman in RHO (Milan, Italy) as they stated they're able to fix a faulty Mercedes transmission ECU for euros 400+vat, with 2 years warranty...and unlimited kms coverage I sent them the ECU for bench testing and they called me at the phone after a couple of days to tell me that the ECU can't be repaired, they were not able to explain why, but they simply told me they were going to send it back to me......I waited for the ECU shipped back and everyone will agree my disappointment when I opened the package and I found my ECU totally dismantled, please see picture. BBA Reman don't have a reply for this, the Technician said : "it just happens when you try to repair it ......" Unquote

So be warned this is not a DIY repair it requires the attention of a skilled technician who is fully aware of what he/she is doing.
If having to send your valve chest to the UK is inconvenient, it may well be an inconvenience that will pay dividends in the long run saving you a great deal of money and Heartache as a replacement Valve chest with ECU costs £1038.00 Plus 20% vat £207.60 in the UK 2.6.2011.

Part number A168 370 54 06 which may have to be coded to your car.
If your present 'A' Class is an early model then their is every chance that you present FTC-ECU is not coded, however the new unit may well be dependent on your Vin Number.
Where a satisfactory repair is carried out on either a coded or none coded unit/valve chest and FTC-ECU this will not adversely affect the running of your vehicle as the same unit is being replaced.


Common fault codes for a failed transmission ECU:-
P1843 - Valve Y3/7y4 - Pulse width Modulated Solenoid Valve. Torque Converter Lock up clutch
P1842 - Valve Y3/7y3 - Pulse Width Modulated Solenoid valve 2/5/R shift
P1840 - Valve Y3/7y1 - Pulse width modulated solenoid valve 1/4 shift
P1884 - Valve Y3/7y5 - Pulse width modulated solenoid valve. Shift pressure
P1841 - Valve Y3/7y2 - Pulse width modulated solenoid valve. 3 shift







But please study the information provided on their page for part numbers etc.
ECU Testing have kindly agreed a 10% discount off the total cost off £228.00 (08/02/2011) for my readers.
If contacting the company you must mention 'Lofty's Homepage' and when completing the test page downloadable from the above link, enter 'Lofty's Homepage' in the Company Name, box, this will secure you the 10% discount.

Fault codes and information along with photographs kindly provided by ECU Testing.com
Note the location of the component information details




Removal Of valve chest from transmission



STEP 1 After removing transmission oil and oil pan, you find the valve chest including oil transmission filter and valve solenoids; pull the transmission oil filter gently by hands. go to STEP 2



STEP 2 You have to unbolt 26 Torx T20 screw to remove the valve chest and the multi channels alloy unit, please have a look at the MB dealer step by step instructions to avoid mistakes about loosing oil strainers, then go to STEP 3



STEP 3 The Whole unit is on your desktop/workbench please have a look at the gear selector as featured in the photo on the right, gear selector's teeth must mesh with a toothed plastic selector in the auto transmission, if it doesn't mesh correctly the selector teeth will not engage to select gears.
Refit is simple, just follow the steps in reverse order.
If you have a digital camera take photos as you go or print this page as a guide.


Remove/re-install Valve chest from Automatic Tranmission.