Glyn M Ruck

+1

acr2001

I'm sorry if that came across wrong. My statement was not about the community as a whole, just those who posted the invalid info in this thread, and refuse to learn but would rather continue to argue that they are correct when they are factually wrong. I did not mean to offend others who actually do have a clue what is going on, yourself included. I only meant that these clowns are 'damaging' the W204 forum with some of their posts, not that I had a problem with the others on the forum who are helpful regardless of which forum it is.

For example, you have the last post about not being able to suction the oil out of the 4matic. If someone with the right info didn't say anything to correct this others looking at this thread in the future would get the wrong idea and actually believe that they have to jack up their car, remove the skid plate, and go through the trouble of removing the drain plug. I don't know of any dealer that does this for any (modern?) MB that they service.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes - I think the bickering needs to stop, but seriously - people need to start considering the advice they give or be quiet & learn - this is the only way these forums become valuable as they grow. If a member or guest searches the forum, they should be able to trust the information given. I'm not saying that we all don't make mistakes but some of the comments on this thread are positively misleading. The day will come that someone screws up his or her very expensive investment by listening to bad advice. People all have strengths and weaknesses. The technical help the non technical. Someone that's smart with Photoshop helps a member select wheels. Somebody else comes up with data they have read. Yet another gives a creative way to repair a persistent squeak or rattle & so we help one another. Telling someone you can't extract oil from a 4Matic with a siphon device is not smart. We have a W204 in the family (the lady has the new one - me the old) and while I know the W203 chassis backwards & the common parts with the 204 - there is a lot that is new and I would like to see this forum go from strength to strength. I don't believe that a bit of robust interaction does any harm either as long as it's not personal.

kevink2

Thanks for the pic. I agree the pan is not divided by the axle tube at the bottom. But the axle tube is to the rear of the engine, and it appeared to be near where the suction tube would be trying to find the bottom of the pan.

Again, I had warmed up the A4 the same way, 1/2 hour before, and had no problem pulling all the oil out of it. On the 4matic, I tried both a close fit tube, and the slighly smaller one I had used in the A4. In both cases the inserted tube found a hard, consistent bottom. It was noisely sucking up air at that point, just like when the A4 was empty.

One odd thing about this engine's dip-stick, since new:

When you first remove the dipstick to check oil level, even after sitting overnite, there will be no oil on the plastic metered end!. Once you pull it out and recheck it, it shows the true level.

This was alarming at 1st, but I figured that this meant the outer tube extended down below the bottom of the dip stick (every other engine I worked on or saw at a bone yard had a longer dip stick). The 'dry' dip stick was, imho, caused by pcv vacuum pulling slight amount of air down along the dip stick, past the upper seal, and displacing the oil at the bottom of the outer tube with air.

If this does not happen on rwd W204 v6's, then the stick extends below the outer tube (no axle to manuver around).

Either I'm wrong , or MB has another opening they siphon from on the W204 4Matic.

nyca

Well, where is the other siphon opening then? It would have to be accessible through a cap or something, concealing another tube that entered the pan at some other location.

Carsy

Originally Posted by Glyn M Ruck
- Should you be dumb enough to remove the drain plug please replace the plug with a new one. Plugs use microencapsulation technology for proper seal & cannot be reused

Glyn,I would be grateful if you could explain the above term in relation to sump plugs.Looks in Google to be a food technology term.
I must be one of the dumb old *******s who continue to roll under the sump & pull out the plug whilst inspecting for any problems on the underneath side of the engine .The C 220 CDI sump plug seems to be a straight forward old tech steel threaded plug. I have had it out twice now & no leaks. John.

RLE

You need to use a filter that is approved by MB these days. They call them fleece filters and you can buy the filters the dealer sells from parts houses that specialise in MB parts and save about 1/3.

For example, www.buymbparts.com where I bought six. There are others.

Glyn M Ruck

Yes sure John - I'm sure that we have all from time to time received a magazine advertising a new men or woman's fragrance with a piece of foil that you raise to smell the fragrance. That is microencapsulation at work. Benz do this with all their drain plugs with a sealant. I guess you could give a used plug a light application of Loctite or similar but that is not recommended. They tell you to discard the used 5 buck plug. Leaks from engine & transmission plugs are more common than you might think.

A bit of disinformation floating the forums is that Benz undercut the threads on their plugs which leads to damage of the sump threads & thus leaks. This is not so.

Glyn M Ruck

This is what the Mann + Hummel, blown polyester "fleece" filter looks like. It is available in genuine Merc silver box, Mann green & yellow box or repackaged by Bosch & K&N - If the filter does not look like this & is not made in Germany - don't use it.



As repackaged by Bosch:



As repackaged by K&N:



Apart from not filtering properly for 13,000 miles - this is what can happen using cheap paper filters.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...at+this+filter

C300Sport

Mann...that sucks....pardon the pun... I wonder how long that filter had been in there.
I am sure I will be specifying the Mann for my first change.

moondust

Hi guys

I'm joining in this thread a bit late - but I enjoyed reading all the previous posts..

I always use the drain plug method when oil changing on my CLK, basically because I think it's a good idea once a year to get under my baby - and get those covers off - and have a good look around. That's what 'taking an interest' in your car is all about, even if you get a bit grubby now and then...

Glyn - I took a look at Llandudno beach and others last year on a holiday to SA. Great beaches there. Still having those power cuts?

Diesel Benz

Of course having a look at the car from the underside is always good. I don't mind if owners combine that with an oil change by draining.

Did they have power cuts, nothing when I had a chance to visit Cape Town. Was lucky to see the cloud above the Table Mountain. I guess it does not mean I would likely win a lottery. Never been to Africa before or after but was lucky to be able to spend half a day (out of a week of hard work) driving around the peninsula. A lovely place really.

Glyn M Ruck

Power cuts are a thing of the past thank heaven. Although they were not as bad as they were when I lived in Marin County - Bay Area that helped bring down Governor Davis in Cali.

Glyn M Ruck

Yeah - we had power cuts. A large bolt "appeared" in a turbine at our Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town & they had to shut down one unit for 5 months while abnormal spares were sourced from France - manufactured in fact - not the sort of thing you find off the shelf. We've now demothballed some power stations in case it happens again. We also have a new build program running.

Carsy

Glyn,
Thank you for the information. It is appreciated.A good thing to keep in mind. I have used the same drain plug in cars for 15 or so years but they do use a copper washer as the seal which is replaced regularly instead of relying on the threads to seal. I did notice that on my MB plug there was originally a coating on the threads.
Five bucks is five bucks especially if you have a Scottish ancestry .So long as the thread is not damaged I will consider continuing to use the same plug with a little teflon tape .

Description
PTFE thread seal tape is an ideal seal material for pipe fitting, which has obtained the USE UL certificate and is widely applied in
industrial and civil-construction, machinery, chemistry, and space navigation, especially in drainage systems, and are characteristics of thread sealing, insulation, anti-corrosion, anti-aging, using in oxidizing agent for a long term.

Main technical indexes:
Heat resistance: +370 Celsius Degree
Cold resistance: -190 Celsius Degree
High pressure resistance: Up to 30 bars
Tensile strength: > 8N / mm2
Percentage elongation: >25%

Main dimension indexes:
Width: 12mm - 25mm
Length: 5mtr - 30mtr
Thickness: 0.075mm - 0.2mm
Density: 0.30 g/cm3 - 1.2 g/cm3

Glyn M Ruck

+1 - Deep pockets - short arms How much did you pay for your Benz in Aus & you are worried about 5 bucks or whatever

I thought we were ripped off for Benzes & Beemers in RSA until I lived in Aus - Wollstonecraft Bay - Sydney - I drove a Holden Berlina - good for pulling out tree stumps!

Carsy

Arhh Glyn, It is not really the cost but whether you believe in the hype & salesmanship. If a little teflon tape on the outside of a thread in good condition will do the job why spend 5 bucks.The plug is built like "The OX" (who was brought up when beef was cheap) & will never fall out.I rather put the money into earlier than scheduled lub services ect.

Glyn M Ruck

I hear you loud & clear!!