722.5 Planetary, new and ready to install. Fits the 722.5. Ships fast from the USA.
The 722.5, factory code W5A 030, is the five-speed automatic Mercedes-Benz offered from 1990 to 1996 as an extra-cost option on the W124 E-Class, the early W210 E-Class, the W140 S-Class, the C140 coupe and the R129 SL. It was built in small numbers, and hard parts for it are some of the hardest Mercedes transmission parts to find. If your 722.5 has a whine that follows road speed, has lost a gear, or came apart with steel debris in the pan, this new planetary gearset is listed specifically for the 722.5.
Mercedes made the 722.5 by taking its four-speed 722.3/722.4 design and bolting a separate overdrive housing to the back. The main case uses a compound Ravigneaux gearset in front followed by a simple gearset, controlled hydraulically for first through fourth and reverse. The overdrive housing adds a fourth simple gearset whose ring gear drives the output shaft. Mercedes called its two control elements the S brake and S clutch, S for schnell, German for fast: the S clutch locks that gearset at 1:1 for the lower gears, and for fifth the S brake holds its sun gear so the ring overdrives at 0.75:1. In total the unit carries four gearsets, four brakes and three clutches, one more of each than the four-speeds, so a 722.5 gearset is not automatically the same part as its 722.4 look-alike.
Many 722.5 complaints are not gear failures at all. The 722.3, 722.4 and 722.5 share a well-known hydraulic pattern: a harsh 1-2 upshift and soft or flaring 2-3 and 3-4 shifts. That is a valve body calibration problem, and the 722.5 shift kit is aimed at exactly that, not at a worn gearset. A fifth gear that will not engage on a quiet transmission usually points to the overdrive section's electrical control rather than the gears. A planetary is the likely fault when the noise is mechanical, follows road speed, and the pan shows steel rather than only clutch lining. With the unit apart, spin each pinion, check end play and inspect the sun and ring splines for twisted or rounded teeth. For background on the Mercedes automatic family, our 722.6 common problems guide covers the successor unit that replaced the 722.5 in 1996.
This gearset is listed for the 722.5 without a single model year. Mercedes ran the 722.3, 722.4 and 722.5 side by side in the same model lines, so the year and model will not tell you which transmission you have. Read the code stamped on the case and confirm it says 722.5 or W5A 030, then match the tooth count, spline count and carrier style to the gearset you removed. If you are not sure which of the 722.5's gearsets you need, send us your year, model and VIN before you order. The 722.5 sun shell is sold separately, and the rest of what we carry for the 722 family is on the 722 transmission parts page.
| Fits | 722.5 |
| Part type | Planetary |
| Condition | New |
| Brand | OEM |
| Ships | From the USA |
| Warranty | 1-year |
Doing this repair right usually means replacing these at the same time. Same transmission, ships together.
Mercedes offered the W5A 030 five-speed from 1990 to 1996 as an option on the W124 and early W210 E-Class, the W140 S-Class, the C140 coupe and the R129 SL. Check the code on the transmission case, because the same models also came with four-speeds.
No. The 722.5 shares its main layout with the 722.4 but adds a fourth gearset in a separate overdrive housing, and the 722.6 that replaced it is a different design. Match the tooth and spline count to your old part.
Yes, the listing is for a new 722.5 planetary.
Usually not. That pattern is a known hydraulic issue across the 722.3, 722.4 and 722.5 and is corrected in the valve body. A planetary fixes mechanical whine, a lost gear or broken pinions.
Worn thrust washers, thrust bearings and bushings, the filter and fluid, and any drum or sun shell with damaged splines. Flush the cooler so old debris does not return.
