ammar_rage

I have a 2003 c230 Kompressor and my engine oil level sender unit is busted so I dont see anything on the dash other than the permamnent (Check engine level msg)..this morning i noticed a pool of engine oil on the ground.. I was very concerned , esp. not being able to check the oil level..

I know some of the guys here have that universal dipstick to check the oil level..I would like to know the reading on the dipstick when the oil level is good..to the best of my knowledge it should be 160 mm on that tool..

I ended up running my transmission fluid dipstick down the engine and noticed that the depth was only 50 mm or so..pretty scary...so I ended up adding 3 litres of oil to some what correct the problem...now i am concerned abt too much oil...i Just wantd to confirm the reading on that tool or the length of the tool at which the reading is normal...i cud always use my tranny dipstick as long as i know the depth of oil i am supposed to see.

splinter

M271?

Carsy

Have you been able to check where the oil on the floor is coming from ?

ammar_rage

Thanks Splinter for the chart. So its not 160mm, i guess i have too much oil now. I called the stealership the guy also said 160mm...I am kinda confused now cuz your chart says 120mm is the right level. It is m271.

I have not been able to check where the leak is...I am gonna look into it today and post here.

JUAN CASAUS

First get the right dipstick and then measure it the tranny and oil dipsticks are not the same length so you can't measure it correctly. They are cheap on ebay.

ammar_rage

I will order the right dip stick and its gonna take some time to come, in the meantime i will have to drive the vehicle. So for those of you who have the m271 engine and the dipstick if you could please measure the length of the dipstick with a ruler where the level is supposed to be O.K that would be verryyy helpful. I appreciate that there are different dipsticks with different markings, but even if you immerse a long stick (for the sake of argument) into it and measure the length of the stick that was under oil that wud tell me if i have more or less oil.

So please ignore the markings on your dipstick and just measure the actually length of the dipstick from the bottom to where it the oil level should be O.K

thanks!!

JUAN CASAUS

Drop your oil back down and go to a shop with a dipstick...doesn't your car measure the oil on the computer?

ammar_rage

well if my car measured the oil then i guess this discussion wud be pretty pointless.. haha

anyways, i mentioned right at the beginning that my sensor is busted.

JUAN CASAUS

Lol...woops. Its better for your car to be a little low than over filled so I'd suggest dropping it and going to a shop with the proper dipstick or don't drive it until you get the dipstick.

bheng

not sure on the c, but on the clk, theres a way to access the diagnostic menu which gives you a direct read out on the number of quarts in the car. im sure if i have the diagnostic menu on the clk, there should be a way to access it on the c.

splinter

Both methods receive data from the same sensor…it's worth a shot though.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...oil-level.html

ammar_rage

thnks guys for the input...the problem is my sensor is completely busted..i get a constant red screen no oil msg. There has to be one guy out there with a dipstick who cud measure the length with the ruler...lol

KalC240

I believe the 160 mm oil level is for the M112 engine. I did the measurment right after changing the oil and adding the 8.5 Quarts. I used the AT dipstick and got 6.5" (approx. 160 mm).

So trust the chart for your engine. M271 = 120 mm.

ammar_rage

yeah man...i thnk you are right. the guy at the stealership prolly had no clue what he was talking abt. I checked the level today and it is 135mm ..wayy more than the indicated chart.

I am just wondering if that 120mm reading is on a certain specific dipstick where the graduations may not start right from the bottom of the stick or is it the depth of the oil. Another guy at the stealership said that 120 mm reading is a dipstick specific, Anyhow i am still hoping somebody here with the dipstick wud measure the actual length of the stick where the level is ok and post it here. This is very critical info for everybody, ur sensor cud act up anytime anywhere and it does if u know this info then all u need is a long tube and a ruler to know where u are at.

PS: where do i get this damn stick from, didnot find anything on ebay.

KalC240

I looked one ebay and amazon and could only find the dipstick for the transmission but not the engine. I got it on ebay for $25. The funny thing is I havn't even used it to measure the tranny fluid level yet. But after changing the engine oil I used it as reference. I let the oil drain for several hours then I put the specified 8.5 quarts and used the dipstick and found out the bottome 6.5" on the stick to be wet. It means oil level is OK at 6.5". The computer says level is OK.

You can find a similar tool at any hardware store or auto parts , it looks like a plumbing (snake) flexible helical wire, about 1/8" diameter. Get 4' length. You should drain your oil completely and then add the recommended amount and then measure, and hopefully it will the 119mm (or 4.7")

Silver C

You really should get the right dipstick immediately, and then find out where the leak was coming from. The pool of oil scares me more than the oil level right now. Getting it to the correct level doesnt mean it wont leak all over the place again.. Hope it turns out well my friend.

C230 Sport Coup

120 is number that thou shalt count.
For it is not 160, nor is it 159 nor is it 119, nor is it 118 or 158....

KalC240

The real dipstick is nothing more than a regular dipstick that is marked up as a yardstick. goole "MW 120 589 07 21/00". So if you can ge a hold of any 33" long dipstick, from a truck for example, you can just use that. For the m271, the chart shows 119mm maximum, 98 minimum. Done.

Silver C

And please find out where the leak is coming from...

ammar_rage

Thanks alottt guys!! I was at 135mm and i drove the vehicle like that for over a 100km. I sucked the oil out last night to about 122 mm when my siphon pump gave up. Anyhow i will bring it down to 118 or so. Hopefully not much damage was done to the engine for being at 135mm.

What type of damage are we talking abt anyways??

KalC240

Like others have asked, you need to find out where the puddle of oil on the floor came from. You may have a blown seal from being over filled. If there's no leak just drive with the correct level and keep an eye on it and probably no damage done.

ammar_rage

i took a good look, i dont see any major leaks except for sweating from the bottom. i was thinking abt those "No leaks" products that they say are safe to use with any engine and any oil type..it basically swells up the gaskets....anythoughts on that and any thoughts on any good engine flush products...??????

Silver C

I dont get it then, how did you get the puddle of oil and got your oil level so low in the first place? Is your engine burning oil or what? Im baffled.

ammar_rage

i hear u brother, i never saw any oil on the ground and then i park the car for a week and notice all this oil on the ground. But a weeek is not enough to cause the gaskets to dryup ..its just weird. as for burning oil, all engines with the synthetic oil burn oil, some more than the others. Thats definitely one issue with this engine that it burns oil. now when i topped it up and drove around the leak is not as prominant anymore. Other thing to remember is if there is a leak u dont see it right away because it starts getting collected in the splashguards underneath the vehicle, i just noticed sweating on the bottom of the crankcase. thatswhyi was thinking abt using those no leak additives.