If the vehicle manufacturer specifies a tightening torque, then following that specification and the corresponding procedure is the appropriate way to maintain or repair the vehicle.

All that being said, I agree that tightening the filter housing 'till snug is acceptable.


Tightening torque is also critical on low torque assemblies when excessive torque would cause component failure.

 

Wingless, I absolutely agree, excessive torque can also be a problem. But if have worked on a cars a bit, you know some of the torque ratings by the amount of pressure applied.

They guys above who are fanatically, I assume you have the complete service manual for the car?

 

Of course I have the complete manual, some engineering documents, and some 3rd party service tips.

 

Did you buy the manual from the dealer? I would actually like to buy one myself. Makes me much more comfortable now that my warranty is out, and I'll be doing the servicing.

 

Wow, so much chatter over an oil change?
Geez, on 2002, you just pop the engine cover,
remove the bottom plastic pan, unscrew plug,
drain the oil, unscrew the filter assembly,
(if the tool is 12 bucks at the dealer, get it!)
and reverse. 0-40 is available many places, if not kragen,
then look at a slightly higher class establishment.

Draining from the bottom pretty much guarantees you get it all.
I actually needed 7 quarts to top it off after doing it that way.
Dealer used to put 6 quarts, and it was always kinda dirty after, likely
due to oil not sucked out.

I did it once, using a filter tool recommened online somewhere, from
Penzoil. The tool got jammed onto the cover, and was a ***** to get off,
and then broke. So yeh, I'll be looking at the 12 dollar one from mbz.

 

You can buy WIS DVD's on Ebay...ie closest thing to a manual.
it's a real pain to use, but you can get some info from it...takes
hours to install and uses about 10G on a hard drive.
But i did get it to work...other issues though in that it was hacked and
required network adapter loopback...which has to be deleted
to get the real network working...and reinstalled to get WIS working.
If WIS actually gets to the real internet it tells you its expired.
So, you can only get it work with the loopback adapter.

It was quite a production. Be sure to install some sort of pdf printer so you can print whats on the screen since getting there later is a pain, and much easier to print from pdf.

Try searching on "Cute pdf". It's a free pdf creator.

 

So does anyone know the location of the filter on a 06 c230?

 

The filter should never be on that tight...esp if you do regular changes. As far as aircraft, that's why you pre-flight checks, there's stupid A/P mechanics too! I know, I fly 'em too.....

Good prices on

 

All that for a manual? I'm not a computer guy so that seems like alot of effort. I like the old style Haynes manuals. That thing literally helped me to take apart my Integra back in the day.

ER

 

What I usually do after draining all the old oil is to dump in a quart of (fresh) cheap oil, any brand/type/weight will do.
Let it drain out, it will usually clean out whatever's left in there.
It's not the most elegant solution but it works... I usually see some of the sediment from the bottom of the oil pan getting dragged out by that last quart.

A pressure flush system would be nice, but probably overkill for most cars. As long as you're doing 3K mile OCI's there really shouldn't be any noticable gunk in your motor... if there is then it's a sign of some major problems.

 

The factory work instructions for changing oil and filter give you the choice of evacuating or draining the oil.

As for myself, I suck it all out, and then jack the car up from the front and then the side, and it usually gets some more out than if the car was just level. And, then to prove how **** I am, in goes another quart of Mobil 1 and I jack the car up and down to slosh the quart around, in the hope of picking up any crud. Then I pull that last quart out the same way as the previous.

Sick I know, but....

 

Ha, yeh you'd think there'd be a law.
I never imagined when I bought this car, they'd be this way with manuals. Mere mortals are not even supposed to possess the WIS. (Workshop Information System).
Using it is quite a production, but worthwhile...
I've posted pdf's out there somewhere, (can't say the name of the site here, but it's a 'klasse'y site)
with A abd B service sheets, and info on tranny's.

 

Hi guys, I figured I'd add to the thread as I just changed my oil on my 2006 C230 2.5 V6 6MT, and i thought a few more comments might help some people. So first off, I decided to drain the oil the old fasioned way, using the drain plug beneath the engine. First, I had to jack up the car so i could fit underneath (a couple of 2 X 10 pieces seemed to do the trick). It took a little time finding the drain plug (it sits horizontally on the drivers side beneath the second panel cover underneath the car). I already had the front panel off, looking for the drain plug, but found it hidden beneath the second. Be careful when removing the drain plug, as the oil really pours out. I almost got a bunch on the garage floor.

I let the oil drain for about 45 minutes, and in the meantime proceded to change the oil filter (which is located beneath the front top panel of the engine). My dad had an old filter wrench from his 190E, so I pushed that on, and it came off easily. The filter is a little strange. It is an insert, which can be pulled right off the stalk on which it sits. There are also 3 rubber sealing rings which i replaced as well (lubing them up so I can get the filter off easier next time). I also wiped off any access oil that was in the filter housing. The filter insert goes right over the stalk (it goes on tight, and make sure the writing is on the top, as this is the way it was originally). Then you just screw it on, and torque it to about 25 Nm.

Finally, after the oil has finished draining, use a new copper sealing washer on the drain plug bolt, and tighten the bolt up nice and tight. If you use the old copper washer, oil most likely will leak (as my dad had done this once with an annoying little dripping leak). Put the two covers back on, fill in 8.5 quarts of oil, measure it with the dip stick, and take your car for a little ride around the block to make sure everything is ok . Then you're done!

 

Just did mine again today also. 25nm converts to about 18 ft lbs in case anybody wondered. I think it's really neat that the dyno mode feature in the cluster will show exactly how much oil is in the crank case(credit mb world forums), but for grinns, I purchased a dip stick for my 203.

 

So how many lower panels did you end up taking off or that you should have? I want to change my own oil and will have to in about 1800 miles and would love the advice of someone who has done it! Ill have to do a write up and take pics for the rest

 

2 panels must come off.