shortturtle294

Any advice on doing a self oil change, pitfalls? What size is the drain plug and the drain plug gasket size for replacement? Thank you, ST

agentMurdoc

OH MAN!!! DO IT YOURSELF!

It's easy. I don't remember the exact size for the drain plug, I think it's a 13mm or something near that. You will also need an 8mm i believe to remove the 4 screws that hold the "guard" on the bottom. Also the drain bolt is on the passenger side, not in the center of the oil pan.

Now to get to the oil filter, you will have to remove the intake piping, I believe 3 screws either 8 or 10mm. Don't forget to detach or remove the sensor (be careful with this) that is on the piping. You will also need a special tool to remove the cover to get to the filter. I'm not sure what to call it, but it's a "cup" to remove the cap that covers the filter. By chance I was lucky to find that we already had one is one of our tool boxes. Mine is OEM mercedes, but I'm sure you could get one from PepBoy or Autozone. Also the filter is on the drivers side.

It may sound like a lot of work from my wording, but it'll take like 10 minutes, if that, to do all of it. It's really easy. I think it was something like 10 some odd quarts to fill her back up.

Saves you money too.
-oil, mobil 1 synthetic 11x5.50 = $60.50 (I say 11, just because it's nice to have one in the trunk when you need to top off.)
-OEM filter = like 10 bucks or something. It's not too expensive.
So total will be like 70 bucks for a top notch oil change. Of course you could subsitute cheap oil, but I prefer synthetic, either mobil 1 10w30 or castrol synthetic 10w40.

Hope that helps. Lemme know if you have any other questions.

By the way I am not a MB tech or anything, I just preferred changing the oil myself to save money. I experimented and figured it out on my own.

shortturtle294

Great directions you've convinced me. My only intepadation is the "tool oil cup" could you describe as if I was walking into the parts house to get one? Because that is my next stop. Is this used on any other Mecredes application? I have a Performance Products Catalog handy. I already have 11 quarts of Mobil one 15w-50 a new filter, rags container and a lift. Most tools except the one above. Thank you for the advice.

reddog

This may be the cup that you're looking for:

http://www.startekinfo.de/etools/con...2002%2009%2000

WIldcat465

Why? To save a few dollars? You've got to jack up the car and risk it falling on you. You get dirty. Then you've got to get rid of the oil. What a hassle. Besides when you take it to the dealer to get changed, it's a good opportunity to have someone look under the car for any other damage. There are more important things to do with your time.

dafi129

Fully agree,wild cat...
It never takes the time you assign to it...You'll end up spending 1to2 hours on that job...plus what do you do with the oil?..can't use it in your salad.
And I would never do a job under a jacked car..you need a ramp..
I'm sure those quick service places do not charge a lot of money for an oil change,and it gives you the chance to check your undercarriage...

agentMurdoc

Why take it to a dealer, cause you can't prop a car right on jacks and afraid to get dirty? Not an attack on you, but some people prefer not to be lazy and do stuff themselves when they can. Plus when I change the oil I know it's done right and the way I want it done. I take 2 hours or so to change my oil, why? Cause I let the car sit there and let it drip drip drip on out until almost all the old oil is used up. Good luck convincing the dealer to let the car sit until the oil stops dripping. Just because it's the dealership doesn't mean that they know exactly what they are doing and pamper your car like you'd like. Not to mention the turnaround time is probably shorter doing it yourself than having the dealer do it. If I was to do a fat rate dealership style oil change, I could do it under 30 minutes, maybe even 20.


Dafi- Used oil goes to the local auto shop and get recycled. And ramps are not necessary. And places like jiffy lube, big o tire and stuff like to bank on changing your oil there. I've had experience with that. They tried to charge my brother 120 dollars for synthetic oil only. Oh and wildcat, that's over a 60 dollar savings right there, if that's a few dollars, can I have a few dollars? :p



Back on track, shortturtle, I'll try to get you the part number and maybe some pics of the particular one I have. I do know for a fact that it is shared by other Mercedes models, but I am unsure of which ones.

shortturtle294

Thank you for the balanced interchange this is great. Reddog's picture and Murdoc's discription made finding the filter cup tool easy. Tomorrow is the big day, I'll report back with the outcome, wish me luck .

mebeJOE

When it comes to cars, even simple tasks like oil changes, the question arises: Pay someone or do it yourself?

This is sometimes very important to people like me, a lawyer, who work for hourly wages. Hmmm . . . should I spend an hour washing my car OR make $250 by working an hour and paying someone $20 to wash it?

A piece of advice a senior lawyer friend gave me when I first started: If you start to think of the hours in your life only as a way to make money, you will eventually be paying someone to make love to your wife. (NOTE: beware of private personal trainers.)

So, the question really is: Will I get some personal satisfaction out of changing my baby's oil or washing her? And for many of us R129 owners, the answer is YES! When I have the time to spend an hour or two washing and shining my baby, I am so happy to see her in her beauty.

And I ALWAYS tell myself I do a better job than the poor miniumum wage guys at the car wash.

So, if it makes you feel good, change your oil. Wash your SL. Then go make love to your wife (or girlfriend or husband or whoever).

X72

I am not familiar with your particular car, but gregs210 has posted excellent pictures of an oil change on a W210. Even though it won't be the same, there is enough overlap on the MB models to make the post likely worthwhile for you.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w210/113724-okay-pictorial-diy-oil-change-three-parts.html

For instance, I don't know if your car has a metal spin-on oil filter or if it uses the cartridge. If it uses the cartridge where the oil filter element slides onto the plastic bayonet like in the pictures in the thread above, get the correct oil filter wrench. If you use one that doesn't fit right, it could damage the plastic oil filter housing. I use a plastic universal one that fits well. I would avoid a metal filter wrench on the plastic housing unless it fits perfectly.

I use ramps as the W211 oil drain plug is in a different location than the W210. Remember that these oil pans are made of aluminum, so they are not as tolerant to over-torquing the drain plug as a regular stamped steel pan.

I enjoy changing my own oil for the reasons posted by agentMurdoc. But that doens't mean that doing the oil change is right for everyone. If you don't enjoy working on the car or you don't have mechanical skill and experience, you are much better off paying someone to do the work while you earn money where your competitive advantage lays. Still, it is good to glance at the oil change pictures because a little knowledge will help you have a more informed discussion with your mechanic, who won't assume that you are a total mechanical idiot.
Good luck!!
William
2003 E320

X72

Excellent points mebeJOE!! One of the things I get out of crawling under my car is that I love to see the mechanical details. For me, an intricately cast aluminum oil pan is art, compared to the cheap stamped steel you will see in other cars. I get a lot more pleasure out of seeing beautiful engineering than looking at paintings. It is functional art, as far as I am concerned.
William
2003 E320

dafi129

I think there is a lot of good points in what was discussed in this thread.
Eventually,we all would like to work on our cars,being enthusiasts and all,but time and commitments are factors hard to ignore..
I have four kids and a wife and a dog,and they take priority .
I used to do jobs like complete suspension change,gearbox rebuild when I was
under thirty,but now [time stopeth for no man],I have to let other people do it,specially that here in Lebanon labour is sooooo cheap...
Maybe ,when the kids have grown and I've made enough money to loiter around,I'll go back working on cars again....

reddog

Hi Shortturtle,
I purchased the "cup" tool from my local MB dealer about a year ago for about $20. As it is a MB part you won't find this exact tool at a Napa, Pep Boys, etc. store. Those stores may also have other "cups" that work.

Lincoln

I have a Mityvac oil extracter (a Lincoln company, as in the floor jacks not me). I haven't tried it on my car yet since she had an oil change (Amsoil) right before I got her. The Mityvac worked great on any BMW I tried it on (02 M5, 01 M3 and a friends 00 Mcoupe) but it will NOT work on my Chevy truck with the 5.3 V8 (the dipstick tub has something that blocks the Mityvac suction tube from reaching all they into the pan, which is important if you wish to suck out all the oil.

You still need to change the filter as normal, but with the topside extractor you DO NOT need to jack the car, get under the car, or risk stripping the pan bolt. You also don't get as dirty. It takes 10-15 minutes to change oil in this manner and is very tidy. Around here, many auto parts stores will let you dump used oil for free. I prefer to do it myself, not to save money but b/c I enjoy working on my cars and I know it will be done to my satisfaction. With my BMWs of the past I found that many shops (including the dealer) overfill the crankcase by 1/2 to 1 1/2 quarts. Overfilling is extremely bad if you run dino oil b/c it will foam if the crankshaft "beats" it. On synth this is not as bad since it supposedly won't foam but it did raise the oil temps on the BMW engines with just a 1/2 quart overfill. I've used the extractor to remove just the overfill amount with some success in the past.

Rallyfan

I'm glad I had a Looksy at this thread as I thought the oil filter cannister was located on the other side of the car I'm am going to try a strap wrench on the filter first as I already have a set in me box. If no worky then It's a ball cup I'll be shopping for.

sl3204me

Personally I like to change the oil myself,when I can.I can do it in about 30-45 minutes.Just have a nice floor jack and stands rated for 2 tons.Buy an oil cap remover from Mercedes if you plan on keeping your SL for more than a few years.The cost won't bankrupt anyone.Use correct MB parts and tools if possible.Don't skimp on oil and filters.Stick with true MB oil filters.They will pay for themselves many times over.I use Mobil 1 synthetic 5-30W in my SL320.Don't even consider using anything else.Your SL will love you and will purr like a kitten.If you can't do it yourself or would prefer someone else do it,then check with your local MB dealer.Ewing in Plano, Texas always has a special they are running and they can do it within 30 minutes.It really makes it a love thing if you want to DIY anymore.The main reason I change it myself once in awhile is to check for any leaks under the car and to clean off the dirt and grease on the oil pan and surrounding areas.BTY Ewing uses an oil extractor machine that sucks the oil from the dipstick tube.They don't drain anymore.They claim it is faster and removes more dirt particles,ect than draining does.I haven't actually read any statistics confirming this fact,but if MB dealers are using this method now,I assume they have confirmed it.Good luck.