Also when I removed the lock the pin was red. I'm trying to figure out how old this fluid is before I change it.

 

I dont think at 45K the fluid has ever been changed.....You can use
Fuchs Titan ATF 3353
Fuchs Titan ATF 4134
Both are MB approved for the w163

 

You can use
Fuchs Titan ATF 3353
Fuchs Titan ATF 4134
Both are MB approved for the w163

Art, the 3353 is not approved for the W163. It's from sheet 236.12, so it's approved for W164, and then only in the transfer case.

The W163 was filled with 236.10 fluid from the factory.

 

There are no "compatible" fluids. You need ATF 134. I found it at Wolfs in Florida. Previously I had several other supplier's ship but upon arrival the bottles had leaked because Shell doesn't "seal" the mouth on the bottle. No leaking issues with Wolfs. It was also the most reasonable at around 6.00 per quart. Make sure you change the filter and gasket and check the pan bottom for sentiment or metal filings on the magnet. Good luck.

 

Valvoline Max Life?

 

There are specific viscosity requirements and the graph shows the 134 as meeting the specs. FYI I researched and there were essentially two suppliers here in USA. One was Mobil but they do not sell to the consumer they ship it in 55 gallon drums to Germany (hello Mercedes?). Shell was the other but finding it was a real treat and since I needed to do the changes on two vehicles (02 ml55 and 06 cls55) with the exact same transmissions I needed double filters gaskets and oil. Make sure you can check the oil because they don't have "dipsticks" and you need to check it hot and cold for level. Don't overfill it or you will have issues. Did both of mine, bought the dipstick checked both hot and cold and both vehicles run fine.

 

Check the pdf's

 

Perfect. Thanks! I can't believe people are buying that image file saying Valvoline Max Life is supported it's obviously poorly Photoshop.

 

and it appears yellow. It's not dirty but is definitely not cherry red. Is this common?

Factory filled fluid was a clear color, not red. The clear fluid is another way of determining if the fluid was ever changed for warranty purposes, besides the locking tab being changed from black to red.

There is nothing wrong with your fluid and in my opinion you would only be wasting your money.

 

The approvals don't apply forever - they get superseded. In this case, back in June 2007, 236.12 was the latest spec.

On the same table, the A001 989 21 03 has MB approval 236.10 and was recommended for use in 722.6 transmissions.

Forward to 2014, and neither of these fluids are recommended for use in W163 or W164 (except the transfer case). Only 236.14 is advised. That said, many transmissions (including mine) are still running older spec fluids.

Back in 2008, your statement was correct. Now it's outdated. There is no need for confusion.

Edit: Here's an old sheet 231.1 from c.Jan-2008, back when both 236.10 and 236.12 were recommended fluids. --> specified-gear-oils-cars-cross-country-vehicles