722.6 Filter and Pan Service: Torque Specs, Fluid Recovery and the Right Filter Kit

A filter and pan service on a 722.6 looks simple on paper: six bolts, a felt filter, a gasket. In practice it is where most DIY jobs go wrong, because the pan bolts take almost no torque for an aluminum housing, the filter comes out as part of the pan step rather than as its own component, and the wrong "NAG1" filter kit will bolt right up to the wrong transmission. This page walks the factory sequence from Daimler AG's own workshop documentation, with the actual torque numbers and fluid-recovery figures, plus how to tell a genuine Mercedes 722.6 filter kit from the Chrysler-built NAG1 part that looks identical in a parts-site listing.

Sources, including the Daimler procedure documents, are listed at the end.

Recommended 722.6 parts for a filter and pan service

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Mercedes 722.6 Conductor Plate, Filter and Gasket Service Kit

$84.99View part

Mercedes 722.6/722.9 BMW 6HP/8HP ATF Drain and Fill Kit

$207.99View part

722.6 Transmission Service Kit Mercedes Sprinter 8L ATF

$334.99View part

What You Need Before You Start

Beyond the usual lift or jack stands and drain pan, a 722.6 filter and pan job needs a few things a routine domestic-transmission service doesn't: the correct filter and gasket kit for your specific 722.6 (genuine Mercedes or Chrysler-built NAG1, covered below), enough MB 236.14-spec ATF (Mercedes star bulletin S-B-00.40/89d lists it as red ATF 134, part number A001 989 68 03 10, and says it must not be mixed with the blue 236.15 or gold 236.16 fluids) for a 4 to 5 liter pan-drop refill, and either an inch-pound torque wrench or a very light touch, since the pan bolt spec is far lighter than most techs expect coming off a Ford or GM transmission. If the car has over 80,000 miles and any hint of shift hesitation, also have a conductor plate kit on hand; the valve body is already exposed by the time the pan is off, and that is the efficient point to replace it.

Draining the Transmission

Daimler's factory procedure calls for draining at approximately 80 C (176 F) operating temperature, not cold, through the drain screw in the oil pan (Daimler AG, AR27.55-P-0100A, step 2, reference BA27.10-P-1001-03A). The drain screw torque on reinstall is 20 Nm (about 14.75 ft-lbs) on every 722.6 sub-variant except the 722.649, which takes 22 Nm (about 16.2 ft-lbs). Collect the fluid and note the quantity that comes out; it is your baseline for how much to put back before the first level check.

Removing the Pan and the Filter

With the drain plug fluid out, remove the six pan bolts and lower the pan. Daimler's documentation is specific here and it is worth repeating because it surprises a lot of first-timers: even after the drain screw stops flowing, approximately 2.5 liters of fluid are still sitting in the pan once you unbolt it (Daimler AG, AR27.55-P-0100A, step 3). Have a second catch pan ready, not just a rag, or you will lose fluid across the floor the moment the last bolt comes out.

The oil filter is not a separate removal step with its own torque or fastener; on the 722.6 it sits inside the pan assembly and comes out as soon as the pan is off, in the same step Daimler lists as "detach transmission oil pan and install a new transmission oil filter." This is the same felt-element design covered in our 722.6 fluid type and capacity guide, which is why the filter loads up gradually with friction material rather than failing outright and tripping a warning light.

While the pan is off, wipe down the magnet in the pan base and inspect it, and clean both mating surfaces thoroughly. Daimler's note here matters: the sealing surfaces on the pan and the transmission housing have to be completely free of oil and grease before the new gasket goes on, or you will get a weep leak within the first few hundred miles even with a brand-new gasket.

Which Filter Kit Actually Fits Your 722.6

This is where DIYers lose time ordering the wrong part twice. "NAG1" is used by two different builds that share a design lineage but not a parts bin:

• Genuine Mercedes-built 722.6 (C-Class, E-Class, ML-Class, S-Class, G-Class, and the Dodge Sprinter) uses the Mercedes filter and gasket kit, OE part number A1402770095, and takes MB 236.14-spec ATF. This is the version covered by Daimler's AR27.55-P-0100A procedure referenced throughout this page.
• Chrysler-built NAG1/W5A580 (Chrysler 300, Charger, Magnum, Challenger, Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler) is manufactured domestically on a license of the 722.6 design, uses the Mopar filter and gasket kit, part number 52108325AA, and runs Chrysler ATF+4, not MB 236.14. Trade reporting on this transmission family is explicit that the Mercedes-sourced units, including the Sprinter, "require specific fluid due to calibration issues, while the other Chrysler applications use ATF4" (Sonnax, "Mercedes 722.6, Daimler W5, Porsche W5, Jaguar 722.6").

Check the transmission ID tag, not just the badge on the car, before you order. A Sprinter van with a Mercedes-built unit and a Durango with the Chrysler-built NAG1 both get called "NAG1" at the parts counter, and putting the wrong fluid behind the wrong filter kit's friction-modifier calibration is how a healthy shift pattern turns into a harsh or flared one. Trade reporting on this family corroborates the split at the identification level too: Transmission Digest notes a German-built 722.6 carries a pin stamp (or pin stamp plus bar-code tag) on the driver's side of the case, while a Chrysler-built unit carries only a bar-code tag, which is a faster field check than hunting for the full transmission ID tag (Transmission Digest, "Mercedes 722.6, Daimler W5, Porsche W5, Jaguar 722.6").

Installing the New Pan and Filter

Install the new filter first, then set the new gasket on the clean pan surface. Daimler's torque spec for the pan bolts is 8 Nm (about 70 in-lbs) and that figure is identical across every 722.6 sub-variant Daimler lists, including the 722.628, 722.648 and 722.649 (Daimler AG, AR27.55-P-0100A, torque table BA27.10-P-1002-03A). That is light. A shop air gun set for a typical domestic transmission pan will easily overtighten these bolts, which strips the aluminum boss or crushes the gasket unevenly and causes the exact weep leak a "fresh service" is supposed to prevent. If you don't have an inch-pound wrench, snug them by hand feel in a star pattern and stop well before you'd stop on a steel pan.

Refilling and the Level Check

A standard pan-drop service, as opposed to a full dry-fill after a rebuild, typically recovers 4 to 5 liters total between the drain screw and the fluid sitting in the pan. Pour in roughly what you measured coming out, then follow the factory cold-check procedure: start the engine, idle briefly in "P," cycle through every gear range with the vehicle stationary, return to "P," and check the level with the special dipstick tool through the filler pipe. We cover the complete cold and hot check procedure, the dipstick tool number, and the full capacity table by sub-variant in our 722.6 fluid type and capacity guide — don't skip it, because guessing the level on a transmission with no conventional dipstick is how a correctly serviced 722.6 ends up back on the lift a week later.

Should You Add the Conductor Plate While You're In There

The pan is off, the valve body is exposed, and the single most common hard-shift and limp-mode complaint on this transmission family traces back to conductor plate connector corrosion accelerated by old fluid. If the car is over 80,000 miles, has any delayed engagement, or the owner can't confirm the conductor plate has ever been serviced, do it now rather than dropping the pan a second time in a year. Our 722.6 conductor plate failure guide covers the symptoms, codes and the replacement procedure in full, and the combined filter, gasket and conductor plate kit above is sized for exactly this job.

What This Service Costs

Parts for a standalone filter and pan service run $26.99 to $84.99 depending on whether you add the conductor plate, plus 4 to 5 liters of MB 236.14-spec ATF. A full drain-and-fill tool kit, useful if your 722.6 has no accessible drain screw on your particular body style, runs $207.99. We break down the full parts-versus-shop-labor math in our 722.6 fluid change cost guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What torque do the 722.6 oil pan bolts take?

8 Nm (about 70 in-lbs), and Daimler's factory spec is the same 8 Nm across every 722.6 sub-variant, including the 722.628, 722.648 and 722.649. That is a light torque for an aluminum pan on a six-bolt pattern. Overtightening with a shop air gun is one of the most common causes of a stripped pan boss or a gasket that leaks right after a DIY service.

How much fluid comes out when you drop a 722.6 pan?

Daimler's own flush procedure (AR27.55-P-0100A) warns that even after the drain screw stops flowing, approximately 2.5 liters of fluid are still sitting in the pan once you unbolt it. Combined with what came out through the drain plug, a standard pan-drop filter and fluid service on a 722.6 typically recovers 4 to 5 liters total, well short of the 7 to 9.2 liter dry-fill capacity because the torque converter and cooler lines stay full.

What torque does the 722.6 drain screw take?

20 Nm (about 14.75 ft-lbs) on every 722.6 sub-variant except the 722.649, which takes 22 Nm (about 16.2 ft-lbs). Daimler's procedure also specifies draining with the fluid at approximately 80 C operating temperature, not cold, so the figure you note for the refill is accurate.

Can I use a Mopar NAG1 filter kit on a Mercedes-badged 722.6?

Not as a blanket rule. The Chrysler-built NAG1/W5A580 used in the 300, Charger, Durango, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler runs its own Mopar filter kit (52108325AA) alongside ATF+4. A Mercedes-badged 722.6, including the Dodge Sprinter version, uses the genuine Mercedes filter and gasket kit (OE A1402770095) and MB 236.14 fluid. Match the kit to the fluid spec on your transmission's ID tag, not just the NAG1 name on a parts-site listing.

Should I replace the conductor plate while the pan is down?

If the car has any shift hesitation, a delayed engagement, or is over 80,000 miles with no conductor plate service history, yes. The pan is already off, the valve body is already exposed, and conductor plate connector corrosion from old fluid is the single most common hard-shift complaint on this transmission family. Doing it as a combined job saves a second teardown later.