schmick325

2 mins with Snap on rattle gun.

I do know for sure my local MB dealer does the vacuum though.

I may do the same if i had a C63 but the ML is high off the ground as it is and easy to drain

bhamg

My last dozen+ oil changes over three cars have been done with a topsider and I'll never drain from the bottom again. I angle the car on a slight incline (my driveway) favoring the lowest position of the dipstick tube relative to the car and can't imagine any meaningful amount of oil being left behind in the pan.

jvanbrecht

I have done this, in fact, I usually do this, simply because I suck at guestimating where the oil is going to launch itself and I keep missing the oil pan I put on the ground to catch it.. every single time.. and usually burn myself while I am at it heh... Draining most of the oil via the top method, and the remaining from the bottom is the cleanest method for me.

I usually get around a quart or so additional oil from whats left in the oil pan and the cooler. This is due to the fact that unless your car is dead level, and the vacuum tube hits the lowest spot in the pan, you are not going to be able to vacuum it all out. Since the dip stick hole has a lovely curve to it, its near impossible to make sure the tube is always at the lowest spot.

Surge

Changing the oil too frequently - more often than in the manual - is BAD. Don't do it guys. Google search and you'll find reputable reports of why that's the case. Here's an example:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1900212

Oil filters as well are NOT as effective for the first few thousand kms. They need to 'break in' and if you are changing them too early, they are not doing the best job they were designed to.

MB does not specific inadequate intervals. Why would they? Their dealers, and the reliability of off-lease cars that MB has to resell, would suffer if they specified an oil change interval that was too long.

And as far as the oil cooler oil, I wouldn't worry about it. You will get it at the next oil change, since it's circulating all the time.

15,000 km / one year

Stop worrying and enjoy!

BLKROKT

Just wanted to say thanks for the write-up here.

Warmed up the car. My Mityvac MV7201 was a bit leaky around the top of the pump assembly, so it took awhile to get all the oil out. Almost filled up the canister - was halfway between the last ring and the top, so I got right on 8.5L (9qt) out of the car. Put in 9qt of Mobil 1 0W-40, warmed the car back up, and the oil level is sitting right at the lower red mark on the dipstick. It's not overfilled as far as I can tell, but got some pretty good oil smoke on initial startup which was a little odd. Could probably use another 1/2qt at least, if I go by the dipstick, but isn't that above spec?

Good news on the Weistec catchcan. Only had about 1/4 cup of oil in it after 5k miles. Looked pretty murky light brown rust colored.... not sure if that's normal...

bhamg

That looks disgusting. I'm curious also as to whether that is normal.

m a x i m u s

Fyi, the oil in my catch can does not look like that. Mine is darker.

tfthach13

I think someone mentioned before that the milky residue is from the air being separated out.

Mine does have some brown, milky residue, but it's settled on the bottom. When I go to empty the catch can, I mostly see dark oil.

Maybe wait and see till the next time you empty the catch can? It might just be initial residue.

Jasonoff

Normal. It's just oil mixed with condensation because of the cooler temps. When it starts to warm up there it will slowly change to straight oil.

A side note. When it's below freezing make sure that ***** is emptied often (every 2 weeks). The water it will collect can freeze and block the PCV routing causing excessive pressure in the crankcase.

rentzington

I've got to buy a mityvac and a catch can
I'm curious though I see everyone mention the 8l mityvac is that really large enough if you pull 9l out? Or is there enough in the oil cooler to offset

And maybe I've got bad eyes but I find these dipsticks so hard to read since the oil is on the thin side

BLKROKT

Yeah that's what I thought. The blowby, if any, will be mixed with condensation and fuel and air so will look a bit frothy and brown I guessed. Thanks for the confirm, I never thought to examine it (we used to just put little K&N filters on the end of the crankcase breather and let it drip everywhere - old school lol). This is my first time emptying since I installed it last Sep, but have not driven much since then, so it saw a lot of freeze cycles here in NYC but very little engine running. Accounts for the weird sludgy stuff on the bottom too then...


The MV7201 is the Plus model, and has 8.8L capacity, which is a little over 9qt. You'll be fine. Still surprised I was able to pull that much out through the top. I'm a believer now.

And yes, the dipstick is hard to read.

rentzington

Perfect that's the one I was looking at guess I'll order one and have them skip oil on my 40k service

Surge

I respectfully disagree - changing your oil more frequently than the automaker suggests is not only a waste of time and money, but is likely more harmful than good. Read the various reports online about how an oil filter works. When an oil filter is brand new, it is not as effective as when it's been saturated and 'worn in'. If you are replacing it 3x faster than normal, you're not letting the filter do its job as effectively as possible.

The only exceptions to this would be if you track the car or drive very short distances.

Do you really think MB would specify an oil change interval that would damage the engine? Think about it - a more frequent interval means more frequent dealer service visits, which means more revenue for the dealer and MB.

Perhaps before synthetic oil, a 5000km oil change interval had merit, but not now. Save yourself $200 every 15,000 km! And protect your engine more in the process.

QWKSNKE

LOL, I thought I was going to be the first to do a write up on this as I ordered one of these tools this week and used it today. Didn't realize there was already a long thread about it.

Anyways, I used this and I am mostly pleased. Bought this due to losing access to a lift since my buddy closed up his indy shop that I was using. After reading this thread I wished I would have went ahead and pulled the covers to access the drain plug to see how much oil was left before refilling.

My low oil level indicator come on last week, which is about right as it comes on about every 8k miles. I pulled roughly 7 qts out and poured about 9 qts back in. So whatever was left in the bottom couldn't have been much. I do think I might try some modifications to the tube to see if I can get it to go a little further in.

And to Surge, just because you are comfortable with going 10-12k miles on an oil change doesn't mean its the right thing for all owners. If you reference your owners manual you will notice that driving/weather temp conditions dictate oil change intervals. Highway with minimal city driving may be fine to go 10k miles. However I am sure a large percentage of us on these forums drive the car a little more 'spirited' and shortening the required intervals to 5k-7500 miles

Surge

From the owner's manual:

Change the engine oil and oil filter every 10,000 miles or 1 year. If oil consumption should increase, determine the cause and take necessary corrective steps. Do not reset the Maintenance System service indicator if the oil level is adjusted or changed outside the interval of 10,000 miles or 1 year.

There is no shorter interval for "cold weather". Having been an automotive engineer, the only exception would be track use. Otherwise, changing your oil more often than every 10K miles/1 year is not helping, and may actually be worse for your engine.

The oil and filter need some time to 'break in', so if you change too frequently, you are increasing the % of time that the oil and filter are in their sub-optimal break-in states. I don't know what those time intervals are, because I just follow the manual and change the oil when specified

BLKROKT

For what it's worth, I only change the filter every other oil change. I probably put about 3k miles on between changes. Agree that the filter needs time to get established, but also agree that more frequent oil changes are a must when you test its thermal limit regularly.

xxaarraa

I have never heard of bigger nonsense in all my Internet travels on many car forums. Claiming to be an automotive engineer is intended to frighten us? I am not going to get into the long debate on validity of manufacturer recommendations, marketing, prepaid service coupons, etc. but new oil is better than old oil, PERIOD. "changing oil too frequently hurts your engine" what a load of horse****. What else do they say in the owner's handbook? It must all be true so please don't stop there. Keep going.

You may or may not be OK to replace your filter every other time, I have no comment, but I have never heard of oil filters needing to be 'get established' I race Italian superbikes and hang out with many crew chiefs on a regular basis. I have NEVER heard of oil filters needing to be broken in. EVER.

BLKROKT

I was always taught that oil filters when brand new are not as effective. That's why I only change with every other oil change. Take it or leave it, I'm not forcing you to do anything. I change oil every 3k, and filters every 6k - still great maintenance.

QWKSNKE

Agreed.

I can see the efficiency of the oil filter improving but brand new it would still meet the standard oem requirements of filtering, but yeah the longer it is the car because of contaminants caught would also act as filtration to a point but you wouldn't want to leave it in for crazy miles because the necessary flow to the engine will get restricted at some point.

AMG_FamilyCar

All to funny if anything they should promote more frequent changes since it's an AMG and like most people who have them have lead for feet lol. If I waited till I hit 10k I would have some serious mechanical issues while trying to putt it in the service bay lol

deadlyvt

Ya that's an utter load of bs the cleaner the oil the better, the filters as well infact if you are going to do the crazy extended oil change intervals the filter should be changed in between changes...

mbcomer

Everyone needs to remember that common sense, conventional wisdom, etc are very often bunk - as in baloney, malarkey, cr@p, whatever you want to call it.

Overly-frequent oil changes are wasteful and counter-productive. High-frequency oil changes are encouraged by oil makers, "Quick Lube" companies, and other folks who stand to make money. Auto-makers have no reason at all to lie or be overly-aggressive with their service intervals - if anything, you'd expect them to be conservative both to protect themselves against warranty and other claims as well as to get folks back into the dealer service departments which is of course where the dealerships make all of their money. Auto-makers make their service recommendations based on SCIENCE and ENGINEERING.

Modern synthetic oil is NOT the same stuff you ran in 1945, 1965, or even 1985.

Now yes - SEVERE duty such as track use needs to be taken into consideration. Otherwise, all this "I change my oil every 3,000 miles because it makes me feel good" is just crazy.

deadlyvt

Well then why don't we both save some $$ and I'll sell you my better than new 3000 mile oil for less than you would pay for new stuff ?
I get what you're saying that it won't hurt anything to extend the drain intervals and your probably right

AA717driver

I used the Mityvac for the first time today. I only spilled one drop during the transfer from the MV to the kitty litter bottle. Normally, the floor of the garage looks like the Exxon Valdez paid a visit...

I'm changing my oil and filter every 5000 mi. because I'm wasteful and an idiot.

TC

AMG3.2

This really does make the job ridiculously simple. Also every 5k is where I'm at too.