[R129 SL] R129LIST Digest, Vol 33, Issue 17

[chris wadlow]

Hi Dave, I also find the lack of dealer knowledge a problem. I have an early 500SL (1990) and have all the parts in place to change the transmission oil at the next service which is due now (I do all servicing myself). When I collected the parts from my Mercedes main dealer I asked if they could supply the transmission fluid for the job. This caused confusion in the parts department so the workshop manager was consulted and he specified the latest fully synthetic fluid as used in today's Merc transmissions. Needless to say I declined to use this and have not yet changed the trans oil as I cannot get an authoritive statement on what to use. We do have, in the south of England, a very knowledgeable specialist (non franchised) Mercedes garage and I will be asking him for his recommendation. However, I feel that he should not have to be the source of technical information as he will not earn any money from providing me with this service. I feel most strongly that responsibility should rest with Mercedes themselves after all they made the profit from the original car supply and continue to profit from parts sales. If you ring Mercedes UK you get told to contact your local main dealer and so the circle continues. By the way I am an ex commercial pilot. Used to fly (for a while) the HS 125 now that was a sports car !!!!!! 
 
Regards Chris


From: Lowanover at aol.comDate: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 20:33:30 -0400To: r129list at mbcoupes.comSubject: Re: [R129 SL] R129LIST Digest, Vol 33, Issue 17

Hi Jan,
 
of course it is hard to compare acceleration of an airliner to a car, as the there is not a direct transfer of power to an axle on an aircraft. The Aircraft I fly is an A340 Airbus which at max take off weight is around 372 tonnes or 820,000lbs (A340-500) You loose about 7 seconds just getting the engines to spool up (Rolls Royce Trent 556's , about 56,000 lbs of thrust each.). Then the start of the take off roll is very slow as the power of the engines overcomes the friction from the runway. 
 
Once we do get going it accelerates pretty quickly with lift off speed (VR) at about 160kts, (184mph or 296kph). But getting that thing off the ground is no simple matter, regardless of how long you've been doing it for (in my case over 28 yrs) Nor is any other aspect of Airbus flight for that matter.. Never ceases to be a challenge, which is why I love it. Of course we get tested constantly which also never gets easier, but a necessary evil and a reassurance to those who sit behind us!
 
But getting back to the SL's.....I'm amazed at lack of dealer knowledge out there. Another member on the list mentioned that the fluid used in the sealed transmissions was different than the earlier ones and was very expensive but necessary as using the earlier transmission fluid could be harmful. Again I asked my dealer about this and was told that was the first they'd heard of it. However I don't really trust those guys anyway. What do you know about this?
Thanks,
 
Dave (FC)
 
 


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