I need to do a fluid flush on my 2000 XJR trans, I was wondering is this a transmission oil drain plug, or is it just a freeze plug?

 

Yes, drain plug.

 

Some XJR transmissions also had a drain plug on the torque converter which allows much more of the old fluid to be drained out. There are two rectangular openings at the bottom of the bellhouse through one of which you can turn the torgue converter with a large screwdriver (as shown on the pics below) until you see the plug. My 1999 Super V8 has it but, as I understand, the plug was omitted at some later point.

 

You may be well ahead of me but after draining you'll still have plenty of fluid that will come out when you drop the pan to change the filter, in addition to the fluid that will drip from everywhere the pan covered. I picked up a large "slide under the bed" style plastic storage container to leave under the trans while I cleaned out the pan, set up a new gasket, and replaced the filter.
Also I only got about 4 qts out when I did this on my 99 XJR so I ended up doing another change (4 qts & filter) a year later to accomplish most of my fluid swap.
You could probably do one of those "cooler hose in a bucket" flushes but I'm always nervous about running something dry (or making a huge mess in my driveway) and usually have to do my car work alone anyway so the two change method worked out better for me.

 

MB did a bunch of upgrades to to the 5 speed to coincide with the refreshed W210 in 2000 -- one was the elimination of the TC drain. Bearing upgrades as well. So -- no 2000 should have.

Remember this was back when they did not have service intervals ... it was sort of a left over item from previous.

The MB dealers drain ....add 4 quarts ....check the fluid. re-lock the filler tube or replace if "0" ring damaged.

Frankly ... have had so many cars with that transmission and have never touched them .. many going upwards of 200k. The only failures have been cause by outside forces. Accident damage to cooler on one of my W210 .... and improper service on my 911.

 

My 1st fluid came out pretty brown and not at all translucent.
The second 4 qts was closer to red and you could see thru it.
My shifting also seems to be a little better than before I did the draining of the 1st 4 qts (& filter change), so now 8 qts invested and 2 filters everything seems smooth.
Of course that could be my imagination but this is all with a little less than 100k on the old cat. I wonder what that original fluid would have looked like with 200k on it!
I think on the next change I may look into dropping the valve body and swapping the conductor plate (plastic nest for the solenoids above it) as well as a new connector as these seem to be common failure items.
Up until now though I've been avoiding the job as it's got "messy" written all over it...

 

There were specific items designed into the MB transmission to account for aging fluid ... not that fluid ages the way oil does. But the fiction does change .. they accounted for it. Again this was back when cars did not last as long as they do today .. car longevity changed dramatically in the late 90's. The connector is another thing to leave alone unless leaking .. some never leak. It's not uncommon to have the replacement leak ..... don't fix what's not broken. If you do replace it must me a genuine MB product .. don't use an aftermarket. The real are $15. The MB dealers had so many cars come in with failed transmissions back in the late 00's .... the joke was they always had perfect fluid. Many times the wrong fluid -- wrong filter install ... improper fill.

Doing a proper fluid refresh is fine -- as long as it's done correctly. The fill and fluid has to be spot on.

 

Thanks

I'll look and see if I've got that.

What is this cooler hose in a bucket method?

What is this connector you are talking about? So I should leave it alone if its not already leaking?

 

Sorry OUS was responding to dwgates ..... was talking about the round electrical connector/socket. This is where the cars wire harness connects to the transmission in models with the MB transmission. Some leak ... none of mine have except when I had to have a unit rebuilt after an accident and they screwed it up. Then the replacement leaked. Yes -- not leaking ........ leave alone.

He also wanted to do a preemptive connector plate replacement ??? Some things should be done -- the tensioners ... yes. Higher mile ZF trans .. doing the piston. Replacing every possible failure point because "some fail" is foolish. In many cases playing with a old car causes more problems. My independent inspects mine at every oil change as he looks over the car -- I pay attention to anything under my cars.

 

Although I don't know for sure, and probably won't until I get it apart I have had the old girl go into limp mode and throw a trans code related to input & output sensors not matching.
I did have trouble with the trans delaying while going from reverse to drive when backing out of my driveway. I haven't had the delay trouble since the second fluid change (update) so I'm thinking something in that original batch of fluid must have been gumming up a passage or something.
The limp mode showed up on a MB you tube channel (mercedessource, I think?) and he fixed the issue on that car with a new conductor plate. The last time the fault came up on mine it seemed to be related to several turns in quick succession on my way to work. I've since slowed down on that stretch of road so I'm not sure if the fluid change helped anything there.
I agree with not fixing things that aren't broken but have a Beemer 540i that I applied that thinking to and found out that the "hundreds of miles" of warning some owners got from their timing chains & guide could end up being less than 30 miles (my experience). I hate being stranded or throwing away something unnecessarily when a PM could have kept me running. My latest beemer was showing no indications of chain troubles but I took her apart anyway. Found out I was "this close" to having my guides start falling apart (phewwww!)
As for the "pull the trans line" flush method it's all over youtube, you pull the input to the trans cooler line and put it in a bucket. Someone has to keep new fluid supplied to the system while the car runs but when good fluid comes out the hose you've pulled to the cooler you're done with your flush.
This synthetic trans fluid is too expensive to waste (IMHO) and this process seems like it would have lots of downside so I elected to do the 2 step "flush" process. So far it seems to be working but keep in mind this is a data set of one!

 

The connector can leak ... in the MB's the way the harness is designed the fluid can actually be pulled/ pushed all the way up and flood the control module. It's on my check list. The transmission is very sensitive to low fluid ...most modern boxes are. Maybe your fluid was low and got starved.

If there is any evidence of a leak -- you have to check the fluid --- adjust and recheck.

Unless something happened there should be no reason to do a flush ... a simple refresh will do the job.

 

I was having my car throw a trans code and going into limp mode even though it was not have any issues at all when shifting. That's the reason I was going to do the trans flush.
Shutting the car off and restarting it would make the code go away.

 

That's a whole other issue ..... people think that fluid is going to solve these issues. I'm not sure why ,,,, fluid is not going to fix a mechanical problem. And trashed fluid is indicative of other problems.

In your case I would inspect the connector ... the one I speak of. You could have a fluid contaminated connection causing intermittent issues .. The connector plate can also have issues. When you get trans codes and they go away -- it's a lucky warning that should be quickly looked into.

 

If I remember correctly the code it was throwing was for trans overheating, but I'm not totally sure, the car has been non-op for three years and I'm just now getting it back on the road.
So I was thinking it could be a low fluid or clogged filter issue. Figured a flush and filter change was a good place to start.

 

That's one to give a good look over ... how many miles? Is the OE black lock still on the trans tube? none or red? If there are no signs of leaks and the OE lock is in place -- it has not been played with .

 

I think you may need to replace the conductor plate.

 

A few months ago, my Super V8 suddenly showed "gearbox temp high" and "restricted performance". This happened just a few hundred meters before reaching home so I managed to drive it slowly and park. When I then checked the voltage on the battery (engine idling), it was some 10.8 volts - my alternator had failed. Rebuilding the alternator solved the problem.

So, you should check the voltage on your battery while the engine is idling, just to eliminate the possibility of a bad alternator.

 

It's still the original black lock tube, no obvious signs of leaks

I'll look into this. What is this conductor plate exactly and whats involved in replacing it?

I think that's the same code I was getting. I'll look into the alternator and battery when I get the car running, it sounds like a plausible explanation as I was also getting some weird electrical quirks popping up from time to time. For instance driving occasionally the sun roof and driver's side window would randomly close itself and roll up. I could roll them down and open and roll them down again but it would just happen again. The solution to this seems to be to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery for a few min then reconnect it, then everything would be fine for awhile until the problem occurred again weeks later.

 

Where is this connector? Sounds like it is inside the trans? How would I know if its leaking without removing the oil pan and having a look?

 

No, it is seen from the outside, just above one of the sump corners (light brown ring on the pic). I f you don't have any oil leak in the area, leave it alone.