copper7op

1st of all, yes I've searched the Forums and found this: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...sor-sedan.html

But I wanted to make sure the information was Valid.

I had my Service B done 2 months ago, and then drove across the country (6000km in under a week). About 4000km into the drive, it told me to put in more oil. Being in the middle of nowhere (northern ontario) I grabbed some Castrol Edge Titanium 5w30 at a walmart and dumped it in. I've since put on another ... 2500km in the last 2-3 weeks and I got that message again.

I'm 8000km away from a Service a (oil Change) and it looks like I'll be dumping in 3 quarts between changes..... Am I burning a bit much? I've got 190xxx kms on the engine, and it runs like a top, virtually no issues.... Opinions?

Sorry about the Kms/Miles thing, being a canuck and whatnot

amanonfire

That's WAY too much.

Check the front and back of your engine. I bet one of them is covered in oil. The cam sensors eventually leak oil, and if you have the isolation wires installed it just drips down the front of the engine. The vacuum pump on the back of the engine eventually leaks too.

Definitely investigate the source of the leak, and if you don't have the isolation wires installed (no recall in Canada), do it now!

Which side of the country are you on now?

copper7op

West coast, I drove it from Halifax to Edmonton. I'll have to check out the engine and see if one side looks oily....

CaliC23k

I would have to totally disagree with Amanonfire, copper. I have owned coupes for 3 years, and I have been doing oil changes for a year and a half, paying bills while in college. Our cars have VERY large oil pans for 4 cyl engines. If you have an m111 your engine needs 6.7 quarts of oil. To put that in perspective a honda k24 2.4 liter 4 cyl takes 3.8 quarts. We also have very effective cannister filters and use synthetic oil, which resists wear much better than conventional oil. That is why our cars can go over 10,000 miles on one oil change. The mercedes technicians i know all say that you should expect to add 2 quarts in between oil changes and i agree with this from personal and professional experience. You put 6000 miles on your car! In a Honda on conventional oil you would have to have changed your oil twice, once every 3000 miles. Other wise your oil would be a nice thick black sludge right now.
That being said, I'm not saying that you shouldn't check your engine over for leaks. This is always a good practice anyway, and small leaks aren't uncommon. Have fun with the skid plate on our cars.
Also, after an oil change make sure to check that there is no oil leaking from the edge of the cannister filter, which can happen if it isn't totally tightened when it is changed. On a M271 it is on the right side of the engine (drivers side) near the firewall at the back of the engine compartment. On an M111 you have to remove the grey plates on the right side of the engine that cover the fuel rail. The filter will be in front of and down from the fuel rail if im picturing it right right now. Its raining right now so I dont feel like checking.
Basically I would say I doubt you have a problem. Dont worry about adding a couple of quarts.

Edited for completion.

Carsy

Just wondered whether you are driving in a different style than the car is used to?

ie extended period of high speed/high revs.

Rings can bed in differently under different loads & excess carbon deposits which can lessen oil consumption can be burnt off with prolonged higher exhaust gas temperatures.

Also if the car was driven on short trips at low revs water can accummulate in the oil( before the trip) & is evaporated off when running at the normal operating temps on longer trips it can therefore appear to increase consumption.

If you have no leaks & the car is running well as you say , using 3 litres in between changes after nearly 200,000 km , imho you have little to worry about.

If she continues to use a little more oil, best to have a couple of litres of MB approved oil in the boot ( trunk).Also you may be able to go to a slightly higher grade so long that it is approved.

PS,

Nothing wrong with being a Cannuck!!

copper7op

Thanks for the replys guys!

A few things, I do drive fast. If I'm on the highway, I'm rarely under 130. I drove 10 hours yesterday and was going about 140 the whole time. Thats not reving excesivly though, manke 3200rpm, i've got the auto gearbox and it handles it very well.

I had already read that we have huge oilpans, and I figured the guys who did my oilchange didn't put enough in. They're a BMW/Audi/VDub shop ....

Anyways, I'll check it over and see if I've been coating my engine bay in oil, and if not, I guess I wont be too worried It just means I can buy some decent rims instead of doing a rebuild on the seals.

Thanks a bunch, I really appreciate the help

amanonfire

Disagree all you want, its to your detriment.

My car has 201K kms and I've owned it since it had 11 kms on it. It burns less than 1 litre of oil between oil changes. When it has, its a sign there is a leak, and leaving the leak undiagnosed can lead to big issues with these cars.

The Mercedes techs told me "burning" 1 litre of oil pre oil change was fine 6 years ago, turned out to be the infamous cam sensor leak instead - so don't trust Mercedes techs, they don't know any better than what's documented in the computer.

Remind me to avoid anywhere you think is "professional".

Wow, so you know how synthetic works. You'll also know you're not supposed to add 3 litres of oil during that timeframe, and that's what he's on pace for.

This ain't a Honda. Oil leaks have been proven to be a sign of bigger issues on the M271 motor and he needs to check it out, stop giving him bad advice.

amanonfire

Again, don't listen to them. I drove from Ottawa to Vancouver by lapping the US, total of > 7K kms in one trip averaging > 120 kmph on US interstates. Burned a few 100 mLs of oil, I monitor it via the diagnostic menu.

If you don't know about the diagnostic menu its a great way to monitor oil consumption as it gives you a measurement. Turn your key to position 1, change the dash screen to the odometer, press the trip reset button 3 times and you''ll hear a beep. Now there'll be a new menu in the dash screen. Turn the key to position 2 (yet don't turn the car on) and the oil level will be displayed.

That may explain the first low message, yet not the second. If it was burning 1 litre per 2500 kms you'd see it in the exhaust.

You have a leak. I hope you have the isolation wires, if unsure, read this: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...nsor-leak.html

copper7op

AAAH! Thank you for the diagnostic menu!! I was wondering how the hell to manually check it!!

Dont worry, I take all advice with a grain of salt. Obviously the oil is going "Someplace" so I'll look into it.

copper7op

Also, I've got an M111, is the isolater wire issue still applicable?

amanonfire

Your info says you have a 2003 so I assumed a M271 as the M111 only came in the 2002 coupe. If you have a 2002 the diagnostic menu instructions are different - I think you have to hold the reset button until it beeps.

The isolation wire issue applies to the M111 too as it shares the same leaky cam sensors - albeit the M111 only has 1 not 2.

Lets first confirm which engine and model year you have.

It could also just be a bad drain plug washer. Some shops are known to reuse the crush washer. My GF's Volvo just had this issue, damn Mr Lube they are usually better than that. Its really easy to get under the car and pull the lower body panel. If your car is stock height you can get it off without even lifting the car if your arms are long enough.

copper7op

Crap, my bad, you're right. I've got the 2003, so it would be the M271

Boom vang

each engine uses a different amount of oil, some M271's use none and others use a lot more. I need to put in a liter about every 5000 km and it has been like that since new, so for me i need add 2L between A's and B's

My emission testing for the car is excellent but do notice lots of oil in the wideband silencer which is normal for supercharged cars

Hey Copper7op, don't worry about the km/mi thing as the vast majority of the world is using Km's

amanonfire

Now stop posting and go pop your hood. Pop off the front engine cover (pull forward) and take a picture, lets see if the isolation wires are installed and if the cam sensors are leaking. Then run your hand down the back passenger side of the engine, you'll find the vacuum pump at the top with a hose coming out the top, feel below it. This will help eliminate the 2 most common sources of oil leaks on this engine.

Carsy

Cannuck,

If you were leaking this much oil it would show up all over your garage floor for #%* sake.

amanonfire

Please stop giving bad advice.

The cam sensors and vacuum pump are on the TOP of the engine. This means they only get oil while the engine is running which will NOT leak while parked. Even if the leaked oil makes it to the underbody panel, it can hold more than a litre of oil (try it, since you like to think you know what you're talking about). You'll get small drips, not puddles, which most easily miss.

In the case of the cam sensors they'll leak onto the belt which splatters oil all over the front of the engine, and the vacuum pump leaks all over the back of the engine.

OP, grab a flashlight and look under the car. You might see the back of the underbody panel wet with oil, as any oil in the underbody panel will be forced back while driving and drip over the edge - otherwise the underbody panel tends to hide most leaks while parked.

Moreso, if you read the OP's post you'll see he did the majority of his mileage while travelling, so I doubt he was monitoring oil under the car at the time.

Carsy

Ha Ha !! We will await the OPs information.

Glyn M Ruck

Calm down amanonfire. Everyone is trying to help here & I have little doubt that JC is a better engineer than you are.

OP - Look for leaks. At that consumption they have to be visible if you have a leak.

Mercedes considers max oil consumption as 1% of fuel consumption which is the only proper measure. i.e. how much fuel does the engine see & not mileage.

If you exceed this it is time for valve stem seals &/or rings.

Have you changed what oil you use recently. Frequently moving to more highly detergent oils can cause a sharp rise in consumption that will settle over time as can suddenly doing a really long trip on a car that spends it's life doing town mileage.

Good luck!

CaliC23k

Wow amanonfire, thanks for being a complete ***. I tried to be respectful and give information based on my experience and knowledge and even agreed that he should check for leaks to be sure. Wtf did I do that got your panties in such a bunch? Not to mention, trying actually reading my posts before being a dick. I didn't say that stealerships are "professional." if you paid attention you would notice that I said my job is changing oil, and stated "in MY personal and professional opinion." And from my personal opinion, I wouldn't take advice from someone who admits they don't even change their own oil, namely you. Have a nice ****ing day, dick.

amanonfire

No thanks.

Having been bitten badly by the "its OK it burns a little oil" Mercedes tech advice turning out to be the leaky cam sensors and an expensive fix it is NOT good advice to ignore it as those giving bad advice have posted. The recalls in the US were NOT performed in Canada, so if it is an oil leak he could be looking at some serious damage.

amanonfire

The only one being a complete *** is you. I have asked you please stop giving bad advice and pointed out where and how this engine leaks oil, and how and where to check. While you have offered nothing to help, and only bad advice to hinder wile wasting a lot of space with silly rants.

Consider yourself reported for the insults. Way to be low class, I haven't insulted you once.

ScottW911

Everyone needs to take it down a notch, cut back on the caffeine intake and stop assuming internet attitudes.

The OP posed a fairly innocuous question. There is no need for name calling over this.

By the way, it's never a good idea to report someone for something you are doing yourself. Rather than issue infractions to anyone/everyone, I'm asking everyone to be civil and just answer the question to the best of your ability.

Thanks.

Midnight Koop

just for the record... the cam solenoids were "fixed" under recall in my 2003 m271, but leaked after the fix. until this was discovered... i was putting comparable amounts of oil in my car to keep the level up.

i had to change 02 sensors a couple times because the oil was leaking down my wiring harness...

hopefully you can find your leak.

goodluck

CaliC23k

"Remind me to avoid anywhere you think is "professional". "
"Wow, so you know how synthetic works."
"This ain't a Honda. Oil leaks have been proven to be a sign of bigger issues on the M271 motor and he needs to check it out, stop giving him bad advice."
Yeah, you totally weren't being an *** there. Oh no, pwease dwont weport me to the MODS! You must think your really cool, you can be a tough guy on the internet. Nowhere in my original post was I rude, and I was simply giving my impressions and trying to explain some things about these cars and oil in general. But hey, if being a dick to people online is what gets you off, keep fapping away. I only came back at you like that because your posts clearly show you only know about specific problems you have encountered, but other than that you have no idea about mechanical issues. Claiming that you once had a problem and so that must people the problem with everyones car shows your lack of experience.

To the OP, I'm truly sorry for my part in your post devolving into a dick swinging contest. For what it is worth, I still think it could be nothing. Putting that many miles on oil that quickly causes the oil to break down much quicker than normal usage. It is still a good idea to check for leaks, as there could be small ones, but I think this is totally with norms from my experience. GL with your car.

amanonfire

I posted good information yet criticized his bad advice and knowledge of this engine with some sarcasm for referencing another unrelated vehicle. He's posted noting useful to the OP while making personal insults with offensive language. At least I know what's tolerated now, especially from a member with only a handful of posts and limited knowledge, and now this gem:

OP I hope you find your leak. I sold a used vacuum pump to a local member only hours ago as his engine was leaking a lot of oil too. If you had travelled further west to Vancouver I'd check it out for you.