Shark

Has anyone changed their own engine oil yet? A few months ago somebody mentioned that the SLK55 does not have an engine oil drain plug, and that the old oil has to be syphoned out like you have to do with an inboard engine on a boat. Is that true? If yes, I'm shocked because there is no way one can drain the oil as thoroughly as with a drain plug. The downside of letting the dealer do the work is that the techicians are paid by the job, not the hour, so they tend to be rushed and don't let the oil drain to the extent that a typical do-it-yourselfer would.

ncamg

Remove the underbody front plastic cover – 6 bolts. You should see the drain plug. Be careful when you jack up the car as the jack point pads do not stand proud of the rocker panels. I made a hardwood block (about 2 X 5 inches) with a small tab on top ( the tab is sized to fit into the jack point recess). This allows me to use my floor jack.

Shark

Thanks, ncamg. Which side of the oil pan is the drain plug on? The reason for my question is I want to know if jacking the car up in the front will help or hurt the draining of the oil (since the car won't be level as it would be on a lift at the dealer).

Is the filter easily easy to replace? Where is it located? Any special tools needed?

Finally, what replacement oil did you use? Thanks!

ncamg

I think the drain plug is in the middle of the oil pan.

The filter is easy to replace. Just be careful when you pull out the filter assembly that you don’t drip oil everywhere. It is quite long. I put a bunch of rags around the oil filter housing to catch the drippings. Also you need a 12 mm allen socket to get the top off the filter housing.

Mobil One 0W40

Shark

Thanks again, Ncamg! So I guess you are saying that the filter is a cartridge type, not a canister type?

guanabara

https://mbworld.org/forums/newreply....e=1&p=1034918#
thumbs
I have done the firstl oil change on my E320 about 5 months ago and from now on I will be doing it for that car and the 99 C230 and also a Pontiac Aztek 01, as long as the weather is good..

It was quite easy. Mind you I did not do it to save money, but to be able to use the best oil in the market that exceeds the latest MB specifictations ( MB229.5, 229.3, 229.1 and BMW LL-01/98 among others) and also to be able to know that all was done correctly and tightened up well. In addition I get to do it on my own time and end up not waisting time at a dealer or specialized shop waiting for other cars that are in front of me always.

If you drive a lot over 1 year (i.e. >10000 miles) it is recommended that you replace the paper filter at least once each 6 months and top off the oil.
MB recommends a new filter element (fleece?) for longer change intervals.

Unfortunately the best Supersyn oil in the US stores and dealers is not as good as the ones used in europe for the tight engine engineering specs to allow those cars to perform the way they do and to fly on the long inter country autobahns for so many thousands of miles between oil changes.

The only match I found in the US market is made by a company called AMSOIL. They started the marketing of synthetic oil for cars when all multi-nationals laughed at them back in the 70s. A US veteran fighter pilot figured that if it was good for his jets why wouldn't it be great for cars. So with that dream and vision he started the company after returning from the war. This company (AMSOIL) is today eons ahead of the big guys in oil performance. Their oil formulations have been measured against all others and produced wear indexes half of the best super-syn oil in the market and as much as one quarter of the wear index of your average oil. In addition it evaporates half the rate the best oils in the market do after 6 months of use. That is the difference between having real protection in your engine crank-case or oil syrup (I have seen that first hand when replacing the top 1 oil at the shops that was used in the E320 for 8 months or 3000 miles prior to the last change I did. It was in quite a thick state even after warming up the engine). No wonder the regular dealers and oil changing companies recommend you to change oil every 3000 miles or 3 months for the regular cars. The problem with MB in the US is that the FSS system was set for a target of 10000 miles between service calls. Most people went by that and unfortunately since the majority of the oil used here is not as good as in Europe they ended up with broken engines very fast and then went and sued MB and won their case because they were not warned about the types of oil to use. So now MB is only recommending oil products that meet their latest and tighter specifications.

So with all that as a historical background, when I bought my 2 used 99 MB, I tried to find out more about this top of the line synthetic oil made by Amsoil after hearing about it from 2 friends that fly airplanes so many times at the office. Since I made a reasonable size investment on those cars I figured I better take better care of them than I would do for a regular car.

The web site where you can read more about this and link directly to the manufacturer's web site is:

http://synthetic-oil-tech.com/1265580

just click on the ONLINE STORE button and search for EUROPEAN .
You should get a list with 4 products with the european formulation. They are all the same but packaged in different sizes. Most MB (E and above) engine oil capacity is around 8.5 quarts of oil . The C class uses a bit less (6.5?). The retail price is a bit more than the "top" line of off the shelf synthethic oils, but then again the old saying that you get what you pay for applies also here. For those that decide to do the oil change for all of their cars and want to save some money I recommend signing up as a wholesale customer for 6 months at a low cost of $10 on that same site and during that time just purchase all the oil you need at the same price they sell to the direct distributors.

I also recommend you order their engine oil flush product, to be used before putting their oil so as to flush out all slush from previous oil used. It is quite simple. All instructions are on the web site and on the product label. They also have excellent products to clean the injectors and other parts of the carburation system.

I did notice even what fews a few more horse power from the E320 and noticed that the engine runs a lot smoother and revs up much quicker when demanded by the driver. I did not measure the mileage before and after for the E320, but will be doing that with the Aztek as it has a trip computer that displays the average mileage between resets.


When you use the AMSOIL oil for the first time you should use the oil flush product. In that case it is also recommended to do the oil draining using the plug in the bottom of the engine, but all future ones can be done by syphoning the oil using a vaccum syphon that goes into the dipstick tube. You can buy at boat stores and it is called Topsider. There are many other ones in the market, but this is one of the best. It costs 39 retail, but can be had for 29 sometimes on sale. It is cheap enough. So just get one and enjoy that care of your second or only lady depending on your situation. It is also a lot cleaner than getting under the car. Many dealers do it that way nowadays. You can try parking the car over a ramp so as to cause the oil to shift towards the dipstick side so as to drain the most oil you can. You can do a test, but many users of MB and BMW have found that if they take out the plug there is less than a cup of old oil left.
One detail about using the topsider or similar systems is that the oil needs to warm but not very hot as it tends to make the hoses too soft and they might clapse temporarily causing a slower drain rate.

For those that live in Texas for example who have to drive hundreds of miles daily for business or even to go shopping, it is easy to put 15 or even more than 20000 miles a year. In that case check-out the AMSOIL product that is guaranteed to work for 35,000 miles or 1 year on the product label (go find someone else that does that). It is called xxxxx and it costs only a bit more than the european formulation oil. Of course you would have to replace the oil filter at the intervals that the FSS recomends the oil service and would be better to use the new filter types using a fleece element instead of paper. You can still go ahead and plan to replace that oil at the 10000 mile intervals, but feel comfortable going over it if for some reason you are away from a service station or still thousands of miles away from a point/time you can afford to check her in for service or do it yourself again.
Common sense should be exercised by those that still have cars under warranty, as far as keeping the records up to date and doing the plan A or B when the indicator on the dash indicates it is time for service. notice that up to the 2004 model year, the routine service was included in the car price, but in 2005 it may have been discontinued for some. Once the warranty is over I normally get more aggressive with the way I maintain my cars. Meaning that I try to do the oil changes and other things myself , such as:
replace air filter by upgrading to K&L or AMSOIL filters that seem to do better in the long run, specially when replacing a regular paper filter,
replace wipers, bulbs,cabin air filter, . (it is quite involving to get them out of the glove compartment area) and I am almost sure that in one of my cars those filters were not replaced even though it had gone through a Plan A less than 12 months before I got to replace it myself.). By now you should be getting the flavor as to why I am trying to maintaim the routine things in my cars as much as I can. I think we the MB owners are fortunate to have a car that is well engineered . Things are usually pretty easy to replace , check or adjust, even though on the more complex ones we are still better off getting the specialized mechanics take care of (or at least try, as looking through these forums you can find answers for problems that the dealers have been kicking around the bush on your car and never fixed) . If they only read the service notes as well as most of us in these forums do there would be a lot less complaints about their quality.

ok that's it in a nut shell.
Can you do the oil changes yourself? Yes most people with a bit of dexterity with house projects can handle that easily. You may want to observe your mechanic doing an oil change so that you can learn quickly and avoid making mistakes. You can allways jot down your question in these forums and someone always seem to have gone through the challenge you are going through and have the answers on what to check or do.

enjoy your next oil change. Choose your oil wisely to make the experience even more worthwhile.

CP1

How do you reset the computer if you do the oil change yourself?

guanabara

It is a little tricky in the sense that it is written all over (manual, internet, forums,etc) in different ways as far as the sequence that you need to do it.

I will dig out the instructions for my E model and post soon. In the mean time anybody else reading that can help pls do so.

I have done it on my E and C class cars. Each one took a little different sequence, but basically it has to do with pushing the button used to check the oil lifetime for a short while before or after turning the key on.

I will let you know soon, it is misteriously easy once you do it, but hard to remember as I have done once so far.
Stay tuned or reply within a few days to steer me back into this thread.
Thanks

guanabara

Move start switch into position "2"
Within 4 seconds press the reset button for trip counter twice within one second.

The display for the service request is thus activated for 10 seconds

Within these 10 seconds move start switch into position "O". The service request continues to be displayed

Press reset button for trip counter and hold pressed

Move start switch into position "2"

Continue to hold reset button for trip counter (about 10 seconds) until the signal sounds and the new start distance appears in the display.

I hope this helps, it does work in most pre 2000 MB models. I am not sure if it is the same way for 2000 and later.
Keep in mind that the FSS alert is not only for oil changes. See the listing of items that are checked or replaced at each of the Services A & B. They are easy tasks to be done by those of us that take car light maintenance matters to our hands.

guanabara

answering the question about the location of the drain plug, I have the following to offer, after doing the oil change in all my cars last week:
99 C230 center rear of tank. Better way to drain thru plug is to drive up ramps on both front tires side.
99 E320 left (passenger side) mid way the tank length. Better way to drain thru plug is to drive up a ramp on the front driver wheel side only.

I have done a test to see how much oil is left in the sump tank when syphoning oil out and found out that on the E320, the syphon actually took more oil out left after having drained the oil thru the plug.

I have placed a photo showing the additional amount of oil drained by a Topsider oil extractor in another thread. Let me know if you need directions to see it.


WARNING:
Ramps are quite cheap. Buy a pair if you do your own oil change. Read the manual for those jacks (OEM or after market, hydraulic or not), don't place your life or health on the line sticking your body or any parts of it under any car that has been jacked up. It is not worth it and you take a serious risk.

AMG SLK55

Here is how I change the oil....

1) Put key in ignition & start car.
2) Drive to MB dealership.
3) Pick up car after oil change.
4) Write big check for being lazy.

guanabara

Your car is brand new. You probably get free oil change. That will end after 4 years. Given the value you invested on your car I don't think you will have the time to do what some of us do for the car maintenance after that.
In any case enjoy your car.
In any case, if you are following the FSS warnings to get the oil changed, please make sure that you do not go more than 1 year without having the oil changed as well as make sure the dealer is installing the fleece element filter and not the paper element.

I was looking at buying an used SLK a few months ago, but gave up due to lack of passenger space, As I still have 2 kids growing up, who bring friends with them when we go out.

Have a great day.

guanabara

Hi folks,
back in April 05, I reported the results of the lab tests on the engine oil for my 2 1999 MB cars in one of the related threads.

This week I got the results of a follow on oil lab analysis conducted recently on the engine oil for the 1999 C230K. It was done after it had run 8+ months on the same oil. At this time I just replaced the oil filter. There was no need to top off the oil. I will continue using the same oil installed in Mar 05 until it reaches 12 months of use or the FSS flags it as time for change (currently the FSS display indicates 6000 miles to go on the current oil.)
The lab results state the following for the current oil:
NO CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUIRED, OIL IS SUITABLE FOR CONTINUED USE. RESAMPLE AT NEXT REGULAR INTERVAL

here is the summary of potential wear related metals for the 99 C230K:

=oil ========Iron=Molyb=AL=Co=Si=Visc100=TBN==miles==mo nths_use
Mar 14, 05
MOBIL1 0W40==11==80===3==6==5==10.27==8.7==3700===6.5
Nov 27, 05
AMSOIL 5W40==10==18===3==5==4==12.72==5.6==4360===8.5

The other wear metal counts were virtually the same.

As you can see there is something definetely going for the Amsoil oil here. It is not just a bunch of lunatics pushing for their team colors that post their satisfaction with results they observe and better yet, get it to be quantified scientifically.
I have on purpose done the test on the same car and consequently with about the same mileage (about 55,000 miles) and under the same daily driving conditions (city/highway 75/25% driving) and driver. This defuses some of the brush offs I got when I posted the initial results in Apr 05.

So here you go, Another myth debunked. There are other companies out there that make excellent quality oil without resorting to heavy promotinal and paid sponsorship. In fact the money they save in not doing that can be better benefit me when used to improve the quality and quantity of better materials in their formulation.
Another myth debunked most FSS based car owners should know by now is that, if you use a top of the line excellent quality synthetic oil it should be safe to go through the full FSS period of 10,000 miles or 12 months without an oil change in most cases of well taken care of engines still operating well. A lab analysis which costs less than 20.00 serves mostly to check the conditions of the engine or transmission components on occasional basis or when buying a used car. So in that case it is good to reduce the middle east oil dependency and brake the 3000 miles/3 months chain around your neck.
The oil filter (if not the new felt element type) should still be replaced each 6 months and oil should be added routinely (after engine has been stopped for more than 15 min), if needed to keep the level near the max on the dip stick.

guanabara

I received the following information from the friend that supplies me with the Amsoil I use for the engine and transmission:
Quote:
As of January 1, AMSOIL Synthetic 5W-40 European Car Formula Motor Oil (AFL) has been reformulated to meet the VW 505.01, Mercedes-Benz 229.51 and BMW LL-04 specifications.
The reformulated AMSOIL Synthetic 5W-40 European Car Formula Motor Oil (AFL). Offers advanced protection for all major European gasoline and diesel passenger vehicles
Fully formulated for turbo direct injection (TDI) vehicles.
It is recommended for European gasoline and diesel vehicles, including but not limited to, Saab, Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Land Rover, Opel, Mini Cooper, BMW, Peugeot and Porsche. Unquote:

What do you guys think?
It looks like Amsoil is raising the bar again on the other brands. A single oil formulation good for both the gasoline and diesel engines.
The Amsoil fully synthetic APO based, European Engine oil was reformulated so that it meets the MB latest Specs for even diesel engines. Wow..
I will ordering this new formulation around march 06, when I will be doing the yearly engine oil change in my MB cars.

I was able to find the following about the new MB specs:
MB sheet 229.51 approved oils; low ash long life
Mercedes pioneered this new spec for passenger cars with diesel engines with EURO 4 soot particle filters and longer service life than the 229.31 oils. The spec was introduced in 2005. Change intervals increased to 20,000 kilometers.(about 12500 miles)
They listed only 2 european made oil brands as meeting these specs. So It looks like Amsoil should be soon listed there too, with no other brand available in the US listed.
Source: http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html
The previous specs 229.31 were good up to 15000 Km . (about 9500 miles)

So there you go, it seems that there is now an alternative for the new and old Diesel engine MB passenger cars in the US besides truck oil.

Shinigami

Mine is similar, except I don't have to pay for service fees during a 10 year period. Service is free over here in Switzerland.

However, the liquids do cost money, but even there I'm able to buy it for cheap from France, and I can just bring it along with me to the dealer.

big SLK

will mb void your warranty if you have it done outside mb?

guanabara

If your car is still under warranty you may have the free yearly oil change already included, but if not anymore, but still under warranty, it would still be better to get it done at the dealer, so that their records would contain all the oil changes and that way any future issues, which are unlikely, can be quickly dealt with. Mind you that all car manufacturers and distributors in the USA, by law, cannot require that oil change be done at the dealer only.
Another alternative is to take whatever oil brand you like (that meets the required specs) to the dealer and have them replace it for you. Some dealers will do that if you explain your point well.