463 Transfer case oil
Hi, I have recently had a major service on my 2007 320cdi, undertaken by an official MB dealer, all went well except for them refusing to change the transfer case oil because they could only purchase a minimum quantity of 20 litres and it only needs 2.8 litres.
The MB oil specification sheet is listed as 235.11 viscosity of 75W90, you may know that it is difficult to find this MB product and most opt for an alternative product.
Not being one to give up easy, I rang a few trade dealers who also could not supply the 235.11 spec oil, I finally rang a local Mertrux garage and the kind chap in parts offered to sell my 3 litres from their 200 litre commercial vehicle barrel.
Apparently, the same spec oil is used widely in the MB Actros trucks. £13 per litre.
Yes, or you can use Castrol Syntrax 75W-90, which is fully synthetic
http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-737-castrol-syntrax-longlife-75w-90-formerly-saf-xo-75w-90.aspx
I use Morris Lodexol FS (Fully synthetic) F75-90. It meets Mercedes 235.11 specification.
They have a very good Technical backup. Ask for Simon Mathews 01743 2375557
I'm afraid that my only contribution is to say that I think it's disgraceful that an official MB service department should "refuse" to change the transfer case oil as part of a major service unless you purchased 7 times the required amount of oild from them..
Presumably if you'd gone in with 3 litres of MB225.11 oil at the outset they would have said "sorry, we can only service using parts/supplies purchased directly from us".
Or maybe I'm being oversensitive and draining the transfer case and refilling is actually a very simple job that anyone can do with a couple of spanners.
I agree with Mark in the first place... absurd view point to customer service, CSI or NPS no matter how you judge it!
Teaclipper is correct in the 235.11 spec and it is a common if expensive oil in the CV network.
Push on price and i am sure most will shift a little on the £13 a litre
Again "meets" and "approved" are 2 wildly different terms in this context
Meets basically means that the oil is of a similar make up and should be OK but not tested for the job
Approved means that the manufacturer has extensively tested the oil and is happy it meets its criteria.
Typically it will cost circa £200k for an oil to meet a manufacturer approval, hence a large volume has to be sold to gain back a few pence a litre to pay for the approval and the associated R&D
Any vehicle under warranty should have oil in it that is approved, failure to do so will invalidate the warranty even if the oil is not a contributing factor to the components failure, the manufacturer will not for example pay for a Turbo failure if the oil in the engine is not approved even if the oil is not a direct contributing factor of the failure
Even out of warranty any goodwill will be judged on the same guidelines...
Obviously as the vehicle ages the decision maybe becomes a different one, just as most people seem to use factor parts to service vehicles that are say 7 years old or more, often the dealer part is not only better quality and the latest design available but also competitively priced!
You have to i guess use your own judgment on the price / age / length of ownership equation and make an informed decision... genuine every time for me!
PS Hats off to Mertrux, nice to see the CV network has high standards throughout, direct and local competition to the company i work for, but my view has always been the network is only as strong as its weakest link, and if everybody works together with each other than everybody will benefit in the long run, both customer, network and dealer... good to get some positive feedback!
I also completely agree with Mark on this one: absolutely disgraceful behavior by the dealer! I haven't been impressed by our local one, mainly because of their lack of knowledge and ability to charge hundreds of £s for an oil change, but even they would not stoop to such an argument not to service a critical component of the drivetrain. Since said rip-off glorified oil change - about 2 years ago - I have sworn never to go back to the dealer again: not even for parts. The atitiude of the MB dealership network has annoyed me so much - I'm sorry to say this Gav - that I would consider going to another manufacturer for my next new - or nearly new - car purchase. Lucky for MB, this is not likely to happen any time soon, so there is time to get off of their high horse.
It's the same transfer box that was used on the G since 1990, and back then the oil ill was a mineral, SAE-80W gear oil. The new approvals may be for extended servicing, like the 400,000 km you mentioned. But I doubt that filling the transfer case with Castrol Syntrax will have any negative effects, especially if you change the oil regularly. I've used castrol gear oils in Gs since 1984 and not a single problem. You could also look look at Fuchs, who supply most German OEMs.
The important point is that it needs to be a GL-4 oil and NOT a GL-5.
One thing to bear in mind is that over the years, MB rationalises its range of oils and substitutes newer oils for older equipment where the newer oil may not be ideally suited. this is the same with their coolant/antifreeze range.
Still learning ! That shot of to post without a chance for me to complete it... I was writing : Certainly some responses with conviction. The sole purpose of my post was to present a source for procurement of the correct spec MB 235.11 oil for the transfer case. A number of friends have commented on the complexities and expense of running specialist vehicles such as the G class. - I'm sure they read this forum and hope to be guided to one day purchase a vehicle. I'm happy to help guide and support where I can to remove some of the concerns against ownership and the misunderstood service and parts costs. Of course MB car dealers are a business, I understand that and with me being of the " cup half full type" more than happy to take care of the TC oils etc - it's not rocket science. The same dealer service manager that made the comment re the 20 litres, is a good friend of mine and as much as he wanted to help, the accountants would have pulled him up on it at some point. I sympathise with this. This same dealer has had my Vehicle in for a health check and to resolve an issue with the Webasto remote control. It was in there for over 3 hours on and off for diagnosis. They don't see many, so they let me stand alongside and talk to their top technician who was working on it, he was genuinely excited to be working on it.... Eventually, everything was working and they even replaced an exhaust bracket that was worn. I asked how much, they replied, nothing, zero and said its a pleasure to work on this vehicle and the job was complimentary.. Hope that balances it all out.
Sorry I cant believe the oil is a unique blend just for Mercedes. If you read the WIZ (Official Mercedes workshop manual ) they list over 20 aftermarket non Merc brands which they say can be used for example in the transfer box.
What I do come across is that the wrong oil is often used by garages as they do not appreciate the importance or understand the science behind oils used in modern day vehicles and machinery.
I think it's good that you are concerned about using the correct lubricants in your G.
Mobil have an approved 75W 90 and also Castrol (Syntrans AT 75W-90):
Main important spec is that it should be a GL-4 type (non-corrosive to brass / bronze, 'yellow metals')
All is explained here:
http://www.widman.biz/uploads/Transaxle_oil.pdf
Castrol
Castrol also have a Syntrans Multivehicle, 75W90 without specific approvals. This is the one that I meant to say that I have used.
The Syntrax 75W-90 (similar name) that I mentioned earlier contains some other additives that also cater for the more extreme GL-5 requirements, but which are safe for the 'yellow metals'. It is a 'universal' type oil, approved to MB 235.8, which covers 75W-90 oils for the final dive, but also suitable for manual transmissions with synchromesh:
API GL-4/ GL-5/ MT-1
SAE J2360
MAN M 3343 S, MAN 341 E3
MB-Approval 235.8
Scania STO 1:0
ZF TE-ML 02B, 05B, 12B, 16F, 17B, 19C, 21B
Eaton Transmissions (Europe) approved for 300.000 km drain
Also:
Fuchs:
The axles (apart from the difference with disc and drum brakes) are the same design going back to 1990. For these, the latest spec i think is 235.8.
You can Buy Castrol Syntrax 75W90 which is approved to that spec.
I use Morris Lodexol FS (Fully synthetic) F75-90. It meets Mercedes 235.11 specification.
They have a very good Technical backup. Ask for Simon Mathews 01743 2375557
Same. Maybe 60k miles on it.
You're welcome
Last year we took our G400 for a similar trip and took the Bernina pass into italy. Great trip. Make sure you have some winter tyres for snow, not just M+S, but also with the snowflake symbol.
Yes, got the snowflakes on - I bought a good set of snow chains for the motorhome a couple of years ago, they're the Spikes Spiders Alpine Pro, a bit pricey, but so easy to put on when it's dark cold and wet. With these, before you leave home you attach a fixing to the 5 wheel nuts, the chain system, when needed, just pushes on with a click to lock them in place. As the wheel then turns or slips, the chains position themselves. Luckily they can be adjusted for differing wheel and tyre sizes , so I've just done that for £24 and now they will fit on the 18" G wheels.
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Yes Arnie, I rang Opie oils up on Tuesday and spoke to a helpful chap there, he did though state that they do not have an oil that meets the MB Approval 235.11 specification. Even though my vehicle is out of warranty, I much prefer to use fully endorsed MB products, have you found that the Castrol Syntrax oil has the MB Approval 235.11 ?, I am keen to know as it is certainly easier to obtain and I have always liked the smell of Castrol especially Castrol R from my 2-stroke days.