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Nag1 Conductor plate brand recomendations?

24K views 68 replies 11 participants last post by  blistering 
#1 ·
Morning all,

Started having an issue lately, with the transmission getting stuck in a gear. Got codes "P2784-INPUT SPEED SENSOR 1/2
CORRELATION" the first 2 times this happened, each a week apart, last being sunday night, then this morning the issue happened again but p2784 grayed out and i got "P0717-INPUT SPEED SENSOR 1 CIRCUIT NO SIGNAL" active instead. With p0717 im guessing this is the conductor plate or the sensor. First time this happened was down shifting after a wot pull and it stuck in 2nd. The next time this past sunday it stuck in 3rd while i was on the highway. This morning it stuck in 4th. putting it into neutral and restarting the car even while coasting seems to reset it. Seems to be when downshifting as far as i can tell, i only autostick so its just really apparent when it does this, as the shifter stops responding. Pushing it into neutral and back into gear leaves it in D in what ever gear its stuck in.

Rockauto has a Dorman brand plate for $135, I know dorman is usually pretty good for everything else and the pics on the rockauto listing have the mercedes logo and name molded into the plastic. However it doesn't seem to include the sensors unless they are built into the plate, but i cant find any information in the manual about them.

If they are a part of the plate im assuming they are the 2 things that are next to what appears to be a float and above the main connector in the curved part of the plate that looks like it would get really close to the rotating assemblies.

More Information for DORMAN 917679

The car still drives really nice, and shifts nice and firm with my tranzformer and diablo tune so i doubt its anything mechanical, it doesnt slip either, torque converter feels a bit loose some times but nothing major. I just dont want to drop the pan to check without having something else to shove in there , because it is my daily i don't want to have to replace that fluid and gasket twice (on a tight budget).

Thanks.
 
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#3 ·
Rockauto has a Dorman brand plate for $135, I know dorman is usually pretty good for everything else and the pics on the rockauto listing have the mercedes logo and name molded into the plastic.
Dorman's reputation is garbage, IMO. They make a lot of stuff that is far inferior to OEM and even other aftermarket brands. Their rubber parts are flimsy jokes. Their oil cooler lines leak quicker than OEM. Etc.

However, it does appear some of their parts -might- be OEM-supplied? The conductor plate is possibly one of those. Research further before purchase. Mostly my point was, dunno where you got the idea Dorman parts are good. In general, they are low grade junk.

Richard
 
#4 ·
When I was shopping for a conductor plate, I found out that all the local parts stores, Autozone, Advance, NAPA, sold the same Dorman plate. And I bought mine from rockauto for less than they charged, a lot less than NAPA charged. And yes it does have Mercedes molded into the plate in a couple of places. So, I assumed that it was indeed the OEM suppplier. As the video link shows, you have to transfer the solenoids etc.

As it turned out I needed a trans rebuild and didn't get to use my particular plate. It was installed but the clutches were worn, so a reman went in.
 
#12 ·
Hey Brian, do you remember what your original plate, and the replacement look like? Finally got the funds to order, and the doorman listing is gone from rock auto.

The other listings have white semi transparent plastic on top, that you can see the copper traces through, and the bottom side is black plastic. Same for the doorman Amazon listing.

Can't find any info on what the thing is supposed to look like. Genuine Mercedes is too rich for my blood right now, but I don't want to waste money on a crap part either. Cheaper to do it right the first time than have to do it multiple times.

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#6 ·
Yea I'm not sure where I got Dorman being decent from, just haven't had issues with the few things from them that I've needed for this car over the years.


So I guess the speed sensors are built in.

Aside from the filter and pan gasket, is there anything else I would need? Guessing the replacement connector comes with an o ring? As far as I know the connector and plate are the main issues people have. I believe last time I changed the filter like 50k miles ago was with an store brand one thats worked great so guess I'll go with one of those again since it came with a gasket.


Wish I could do blue tops while I'm there but it's just not in the cards right now.

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#10 ·
Yea I'm not sure where I got Dorman being decent from, just haven't had issues with the few things from them that I've needed for this car over the years.

So I guess the speed sensors are built in.

Aside from the filter and pan gasket, is there anything else I would need? Guessing the replacement connector comes with an o ring? As far as I know the connector and plate are the main issues people have. I believe last time I changed the filter like 50k miles ago was with an store brand one thats worked great so guess I'll go with one of those again since it came with a gasket.

Wish I could do blue tops while I'm there but it's just not in the cards right now.

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Ya o-ring should come with connector and then just filter, gasket and fluid.
 
#7 ·
Some Mercedes part numbers for reference:

Trans Pan w/drain plug
140 270 08 12

Transmission Pan Gasket
Normal maintenance part
140 271 00 80

Transmission Filter
Normal maintenance part
140 277 00 95

Transmission Electrical plug Adapter with O-rings.
You need this if you have a leak at the plug on the transmission.
203 540 02 53

Transmission Electrical plug Adapter O-rings.
These are replacement o-rings for the above plug.
026 997 40 48 28
026 997 41 48 28

Blue Top Transmission Solenoids
These will increase line pressure and therefore shift firmness in the 5 speed NAG1 Tranny.
240 270 00 89
 
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#8 · (Edited)
I went with a genuine Nag1 conductor plate from Mercedes, but purchased it off ebay. The guy agreed to take some nice close up shots of the part before I bought it. All the numbers on the box matched up and the part looked great, crisp mold lines and razor sharp edges! I have not installed it, but plan to soon. I'm still gathering transmission parts...

I looked at a few conductor plates on Amazon and saw too many red flags in the reviews. One bad review showed a doorman plate, you could see it was poorly made from subpar base materials. I also went to RockAuto and didn't like what I was seeing, iirc not all the conductor plate images matched up. Some showed the Merc stamping, others were without and it was a doorman part.

Not saying all doorman parts are bad, I've bought and used them before. I just don't feel comfortable using one for the "brain part" in my transmission. I'm sure many people have the doorman conductor plate and no issues, but some on Amazon said they installed the part and it failed, then installed OEM and it worked.

Good Luck!
 
#9 ·
I went with a genuine Nag1 conductor plate from Mercedes, but purchased it off ebay. The guy agreed to take some nice close up shots of the part before I bought it. All the numbers on the box matched up and the part looked great, crisp mold lines and razor sharp edges! I have not installed it, but plan to soon. I'm still gathering transmission parts...

I looked at a few conductor plates on Amazon and saw too many red flags in the reviews. One bad review showed a doorman plate, you could see it was poorly made from subpar base materials. I also went to RockAuto and didn't like what I was seeing, iirc not all the conductor plate images matched up. Some showed the Merc stamping, others were without and it was a doorman part.

Not saying all doorman parts are bad, I've bought and used them before. I just don't feel comfortable using one for the "brain part" in my transmission. I'm sure many people have the doorman conductor plate and no issues, but some on Amazon said they installed the part and it failed, then installed OEM and it worked.

Good Luck!
Yea some of the ones I've seen on Amazon look really cheaply made. Comparing to those, the doorman appeared to be higher quality although without having each one side by side that really doesn't say much.

I'll probably just have to get the doorman one and hope it lasts at least a few years.

I'm not sure if Ive just been imagining it, but some times in first gear as it's revving up on the converter just before 2k from a stop, I hear a noise. Like 2 pieces of rubber trying to spin against each other. It shifts nice and firm though, no slip, no flair shifting 1-2 or 2-1, atleast no more than the converter should alllow. It's so random and non repeatable I feel like my mind is just trying to find things that aren't there.

I'm also that person who hears other people's cars making noise around me and slightly freaks out till I know it's not mine lol.

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#11 ·
So I got a dip stick clone of the Miller tool with the mm markings for dirt on Amazon ( I measured it to make sure its accurate) it seems it was a bit low on fluid, although that thing.l is hard to read. At 160f it was only reading ~40mm so I put in a quart of atf4. Drove it around for a bit and tried to recheck but there was still fluid on the sides of the tube, making it hard to get a good measurement.


Figured I'd start with the fluid lvl before I start ordering parts.

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#22 ·
Yea last time I did it, I kept one hand under the middle of the pan as I removed the last 2 bolts that I left in on opposite corners and just used both hands to tip it into a 15q drain pan.

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#21 ·
OK. Finally in the budget to order parts... Went with the bapmic 722.6 kit that comes with conductor plate, plug, filter and gasket for $85. Only time will tell if it lasts.

Also ordered a pan with a drain plug, cuz last time I had the pan off, I don't know how I didn't make an absolute mess.

I also can't find a cheap vacuum pump locally with a hose small eneto fit down the dip stick tube. .

Should have the parts next week.
Today I was driving to the store and instead of just getting suck in gear with the converter unlocked, it went into limp mode with very limited throttle, not enough to maintain 60mph. Same fault code, but instead of it being yellow it was red and the trans requested the Mil.

It's also made me terrified of driving through my favorite long tunnel under the harbor, I usually down shift and make some noise in there but there's no shoulder and always on a slight turn so people coming up don't have much warning for stopped cars. Would really suck if I were to get stuck in there even if just for long enough to stop and restart.

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#23 · (Edited)
Well Amazon's shipping partner damaged the box so bad that usps rejected it. So now I have to wait for it to ship back for a refund, before I can order the same stuff again. Mildly infuriating.

Guess that's what I get for choosing free shipping.


EDIT - now the kit is out of stock till the 19th. Gotta love my luck.



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#29 ·
Well Amazon's shipping partner damaged the box so bad that usps rejected it. So now I have to wait for it to ship back for a refund, before I can order the same stuff again. Mildly infuriating.

Guess that's what I get for choosing free shipping.

EDIT - now the kit is out of stock till the 19th. Gotta love my luck.

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If your luck was anything like mine, on top of all that, the shipper would have "lost" the replacement package, or porch pirates would have stolen it!

Chin up; the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. Just pray it's not an oncoming train. :)

Richard
 
#24 ·
Morning all,

Got the kit off the front porch this morning.

Would like to confirm that these parts look correct to everyone. I've seen pictures with slightly different connectors for the solenoids. Also the white float, looks like it should bridge the gap of the 2 contacts that are on either side, but the float doesn't appear to have any conductive material to make that connection.

Thanks.


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#27 ·
Yes that is it.
You're getting alittle too paranoid here. There's nothing electrical with the float. It simply blocks fluid in case you add too much.

I'm finishing up a video of when I did mine. It'll be up soon.
So are the copper contacts just there to retain the float? If so then I don't see why they didn't just add them into the injection mold. It just seems odd, but alright.

Id just hate to get into the swap to find that something is wrong with the new part, or something doesn't appear to function the same.

Anyway thanks for the info. I'm just waiting on a big jug of fluid to arrive tomorrow, Weather permitting gonna get at it wednesday morning.

The issue has been getting worse and worse as time goes on, nothing like being in the fast lane to go in limp mode with no throttle above 20mph and no shoulder to pull off on lol.

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#28 · (Edited)
Actually the oil level control float plugs the opening between the oil gallery and the gear set chamber when fluid level (naturally) rises to the point of entry. It has an added benefit of reducing power losses due to slinging hot oil during normal transmission operation.

OP; as BryGuy states, the conductor plate / barrel connector appears to be correct (again, all 722.x / NAG1s etc. are identical in form / fit / function).
 
#31 ·
Haven't done one yet and hope not to for many years; are the torque figures in inch-pounds? That would have me looking for a more reliable tool than anything from HF. I know that quality torque wrenches cost a fortune, but.......?

Richard
 
#32 ·
Yea it's all in inch pounds / nm. 71 in.lb for the torx on the inside, and 22 in.lb for the 13 pin connector.

And I know, but I'm broke, and I trust it more than my hand. I have one of their cheap 1/2 and 3/8 ones and I checked them against a (former) friends snap-on and it was right on the money. Watched a few YouTube vids of people really testing and abusing, common conclusion was to make sure it's completely unset every time you put it back in the box to keep the spring from fatiguing and it will last and be fine. If I had the money sure I'd get a decent named brand one, but it's just not in the cards.. Well wallet. And also not like I'm using them every day for work. I use the big one at the track for my wheels and occasionally either of them for other stuff. So far they haven't let me down.

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#33 · (Edited)
After being in and out of NAG1s, the TORX bolts securing the valve body won't be difficult to tighten by-hand without a torque wrench. The key here is to use common sense, which relies on your history of turning wrenches - and knowing when enough torque is enough. There is no gasket, the mating surfaces rely on machining tolerance to adequately seal passages. The real key is to follow the tightening sequence to ensure the valve body is not distorted (make doubly sure there is zero grit / debris on both mating surfaces).

The critical bolt is the 7mm brass unit that holds the electrical connector body. For this - never(!) use a ratchet! Simply use a 1/4" or 3/8" extension and very VERY lightly tighten by hand. Barely snug is more than adequate.

Just use common sense...

Finally, do NOT attempt to use a torque wrench that measures in ft*lbs and try and fudge it. They will be way over-tightened.
 
#35 ·
Yea I'd never use a ftlb torque wrench for inlb stuff. As much as I trust my hands hands to get it right, I believe in Trust, but verify. Even if verifying is done with a extremely dirt cheap wrench, it's better than nothing.

2 questions, is the 7mm brass unit your referring to, the one in the 13 pin connector? If so the torque wrench I just picked up bottoms at 20 in.lbs so no point in even using it for that @ 22 in.lbs.

Also as far as I see the manual does not specify a torque pattern to follow when bolting the valve body back to the housing. I planned on snuggling them all up by hand initially then working from the center out, well depending on where they are all located.

Im also aware of the cleanliness required for valve bodies, last thing I need is a piece of freaking lint getting stuck on a check ball some how and having to tear it down.

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#34 ·
I looked up my inch-pound 1/4" SnapOn that is in my box, that I bought used along with a bunch of other tools and a large Snappy roll box. Got 'em off CL for a song from a guy that was not sketchy at all, just seemed like he needed some quick cash. I refuse to buy anything that I believe is stolen. Anyway the list price for the thing about knocked me over.. $330! That's about what I paid him for the box (which was around $3500 new) - though the box was beat up and has some surface rust, it still works just fine and I don't need showpieces for my toolboxes. :)

Richard
 
#39 · (Edited)
(phone shut off on me last night when trying to reply... Pos)..

So got the part swapped yesterday morning, drove 55 miles, was a really nice day, had no issues with the speed sensors, appears to be fixed, almost.. .

So I did find an issue with the new part.. On the original behind the connector, on the side, is a funnel to guide the dip stick straight to the bottom of the pan. On the new part, it's a smaller tube, found out my dip stick doesn't fit through it, so I can no longer check the fluid level.

Found out by attempting to check repeatedly but having the stick not go in as far and coming out dry. So I ended up having to guesstimate what came out, was able to measure all the fluid, except when I pulled my pan off the gasket got stuck and I proceeded to dump the remaining contents all the **** over the place.... So figured it was like a quart that got spilled.

It shifts extremely well, didn't over heat temps sat at 159.9 and occasionally climbed to 165 before quickly dropping back down. So I'm assuming that the fluid level is close enough. Shifts smoooooth while cruising, and then at Wot it shifts nice and firm with how my tranzformer is set.

So yea time will tell, I also changed the pan out for a new one with a drain plug, because **** that ****. I'm gonna be smelling atf for days. My trans mount is also starting to fall apart, poked it and had se rubber fall off, if I start feeling a clunk, I know what it is lol.

Oh also, my original conductor plate has dark green plastic on the top, not white or black..


I didn't get as many pics as I wanted, but was covered in Atf and wanted to just get it done.

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#41 ·
(phone shut off on me last night when trying to reply... Pos)..

So got the part swapped yesterday morning, drove 55 miles, was a really nice day, had no issues with the speed sensors, appears to be fixed, almost.. .

So I did find an issue with the new part.. On the original behind the connector, on the side, is a funnel to guide the dip stick straight to the bottom of the pan. On the new part, it's a smaller tube, found out my dip stick doesn't fit through it, so I can no longer check the fluid level.

Found out by attempting to check repeatedly but having the stick not go in as far and coming out dry. So I ended up having to guesstimate what came out, was able to measure all the fluid, except when I pulled my pan off the gasket got stuck and I proceeded to dump the remaining contents all the **** over the place.... So figured it was like a quart that got spilled.

It shifts extremely well, didn't over heat temps sat at 159.9 and occasionally climbed to 165 before quickly dropping back down. So I'm assuming that the fluid level is close enough. Shifts smoooooth while cruising, and then at Wot it shifts nice and firm with how my tranzformer is set.

So yea time will tell, I also changed the pan out for a new one with a drain plug, because **** that ****. I'm gonna be smelling atf for days. My trans mount is also starting to fall apart, poked it and had se rubber fall off, if I start feeling a clunk, I know what it is lol.

Oh also, my original conductor plate has dark green plastic on the top, not white or black..

I didn't get as many pics as I wanted, but was covered in Atf and wanted to just get it done.

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What kind of dipstick are you using? Note that the OEM (Millar) dipstick is round and ~4mm in diameter. Change to the correct unit or narrow the unit you are using...
 
#43 ·
Hmm, I wonder if there is something blocking the guide tube. You can it in the pics you posted - just north of the connector housing...
 
#45 ·
Looks like china made a knockoff B&M Racing Nag 1 dipstick for cheap.

eBay
The Miller dipstick is made in China. What is wrong with stuff made in China?
 
#46 · (Edited)
Alright, my dipstick is 6.5mm on the round tip, and the blade is 5mm and the cable is 2.5mm. I may just cut the end off and mark the cable, it's of no use as is, which sucks lol, gotta **** up a perfectly good tool.

I stuck my scope down the dip stick tube, camera is 8.5mm and it doesn't appear to be blocked, it's just a small freaking hole. My scope couldn't fit through it. However, shaking the car aggressively ( neighbors are probably like wtf) I could see the fluid level change in that tube.

The original unit just has a large channel for it.

Took a video gonna see if I can get it uploaded.




Edit: Uploaded same picture twice

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#56 · (Edited)
Alright, my dipstick is 6.5mm on the round tip, and the blade is 5mm and the cable is 2.5mm. I may just cut the end off and mark the cable, it's of no use as is, which sucks lol, gotta **** up a perfectly good tool.

I stuck my scope down the dip stick tube, camera is 8.5mm and it doesn't appear to be blocked, it's just a small freaking hole. My scope couldn't fit through it. However, shaking the car aggressively ( neighbors are probably like wtf) I could see the fluid level change in that tube.

The original unit just has a large channel for it.

Took a video gonna see if I can get it uploaded.

Edit: Uploaded same picture twice

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To confirm; the OD on the camera end of your boroscope is 8.5mm? Before I modified anything, I would find a length of say 22awg wire, clean it, insert it and bottom it out. Then mark the top of the wire where exits the dipstick tube. Then repeat with your dipstick and compare.
 
#47 · (Edited)
Some chinese manufactured stuff is good quality. Some of it is not. But, it is almost always less expensive. The B&M Racing Nag 1 dipstick is now over Seventy bucks! it could be made in China also. Don't know. This ebay stick looks very similar for a fraction of the cost. Who knows? They could be made in the same factory? I like my B&M stick and the transmission shop that replaced my trans told me that it read the same as the one they use.
 
#49 ·
Yea I saw that same dipstick, no way in hell I'm paying that much for one.

For that price it better have a dro hanging off the handle and a temp sensor and be gold plated

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