Glyn M Ruck

I'm a new member. I have owned a late 2003 C240 Elegance from new. South African build. Zero problems. Great car - only quible ever was noisy Conti Sport Contact 2 tyres. Removed in disgust & replaced with Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2's 225/50/16 - silent and superb!

Yesterday I had the 45,000 Km service done and once again confusion ensued regarding how much oil to put in the car. Dealer spec states 7.5 litres for my VIN number. My Owner's Manual states 8 litres with filter for C240 and 7.5 litres for C240 4 matic.

Elsewhere in these forums the same question has arisen in another thread with no conclusion. In fact a scan of the Capacities page of an earlier Owner's Manual is included stating 7 litres for the 4 matic & 7.5 litres for the RWD.

Does anybody have a definitive answer to this? Did the sump capacity change at some time during production of the W203 series?

Any clarification by your esteemed members would be much appreciated
Regards

Moviela

The suggested fill from the VIN number is probably the most accurate. There are a couple of reasons a difinitive answer is not resolvable. C240 is a sales designation and the engine varies from Country to Country. Even if your car has a 112 engine, there are several variants of that as well. Next we need to consider how much oil has remained in the engine when the oil was removed.

The way I refill is to hold back one liter, give the car a few minutes idle (whilst looking for leaks about the filter housing.) then shut off for five minutes and use the workshop dipstick to measure the oil level. I then add as necessary. My C240 usually takes 8 quarts, but has taken an additional cup to meet the dimension specified in the WIS for my VIN. I then double check using the electronic sensor.

Glyn M Ruck

Thanks - now I understand the confusion. Mine is the 2597cc engine - 125Kw - 240Nm. Bore/Stroke 89.9/68.2 10.5 Comp Ratio. M112 E26. VIN WDC 2030612R124304. Understand the drain situation & how much you get out. We put in approx 8 litres of full synthetic. After run & settle this shows as 6.9 litres on the electronic sensor. Presume the balance is in the filter & oil galleries. Get no warnings of under or over level. Out of service mode the display says oil level "OK". Fortunately these cars have large sumps by modern standards. I'm a retired oil company man and with today's extended drain intervals, testing has shown us that vehicles run at minimum oil level rather than maximum, stress their oil charge badly, especially if they have small sumps. One question - with all of these variants - Were I to purchase a workshop dipstick (my workshop does not have). How do I make sure I get the right one?

Moviela

You can buy the dipstick from a dealer or other reseller of genuine MB parts. It fits a variety of cars because it has a scale to measure the level in mm from the fully sheathed position. There is a specified dimension in the workshop information system (WIS) for each engine, yours being a M112 E26. A regular dipstick usually has a full mark and another mark indicating 1l or 1 qt low.

Mercedes uses large sumps to allow better cooling of the oil and the bottom of the engine. The additive package in the specified oil (only Mobil 1 0W-40 in the US is easily found) and the fleece (polyester) oil filter allow the 1 yr or 13,000 mile change interval. The sheet 229.5 oils have a larger additive package than other synthetics.

Glyn M Ruck

Thank you. You good people run a fine forum - I'm going to buy a WS dipstick for comfort sake & get MBSA to clarify fill levels for my engine vs. VIN . You are spot on regarding sump design & 229.5 approved oils. In support of my old company I run Havoline Fully Synthetic (European version) which is 229.5 approved. The USA version is a different formulation more appropriate to that market.

Glyn M Ruck

So far my investigation tells me that WIS capacity stated at 7.5 litres is sump only and that Owners Manual 8 litres is inclusive of filter. This information comes from one of DBs best service managers that has just moved to Bentley. It sounds feasible but I remain unconvinced