I'm planning on doing an oil change this weekend since I finally ordered an oil extractor. I'm used to draining the oil from the pan so I've been trying to familiarize myself with the pumping method. I know it's pretty straightforward: put the extractor tube in the dipstick tube and pump. I need to make sure that I've got the right location. All the DIYs and my manual say my oil dipstick tube is in the rear of the engine by the firewall. The only thing I've got back there is a tube with a cap that says "MB workshop only". I do have a red dipstick in the front of the engine. I'm assuming that this one is the oil dipstick and the other one is for the transmission, or am I wrong? I don't want to suck out the wrong fluid.

The first picture is of the rear dipstick tube with cap. In the second one you can see the red dipstick in the lower left hand corner of (sorry for the fuzziness).

Also, if the one in the front is indeed for oil, why does my manual still say its in the rear?

 

The one with the red plastic locking tab on the rear is for the transmission.

Run the engine to operating temperature before extracting the oil.

Be sure to loosen the oil filter to let the oil run down into the sump. Replace only with a fleece (polyester) filter. Don't use a paper filter. Install filter up to the black line on the white pleats. It should be even with the base of the threaded portion of the cap. Use the o rings on the holder.

 

Thanks for the quick reply and overview. I've got a Mann filter and Mobil 0w-40 so I'm just waiting on the extractor which should be here tomorrow. Any ideas on why my dipstick isn't in the location the manual says it should be in?

 

Life is a little different with 4matic. I don't know about your car, but others have a drive shaft that passes through the oil sump. The shaft does not pass inside the sump but there is a partition that divides it. The suction tube cannot remove all the oil, and a complete change requires crawling about on the ground to remove the drain plug. It is only a few ounces, so you will be fine with a top side oil change.

My idea is perhaps the tube was moved forward to allow more of the total volume of oil to be removed ahead of the axel pass through path.

I might be tempted to pull up the rest of the engine cover and looking for a rear tube. That said I would also carefully check that the tube indicated in the picture is not for power steering. I would go outside and look at my car, but it is 41 F, and I am a 70 degree guy!

 

The front one is the oil dipstick and there is no other one. You also can remove all the oil through the dipstick tube.

 

Moviela, that makes sense if there's some kind of divide in the pan to allow for a more complete drain of the oil.

I'm from the south which is why I never minded doing an old school oil change before but up here in Minnesota winters, I decided not to crawl around on a freezing garage floor and get an oil extractor.