I changed the motor oil in my 2012 C300 last Saturday. Drained about 7.5 liters of old oil and filled back about 6.5 liters. Ran the engine for few minutes, checked the dipstick and it showed max level. On Monday I checked the oil level again and dipstick showed below the minimum level. I toped up about 1 liter and dipstick showed a bit over the maximum. On Tuesday after driving I checked the oil level and it was above the maximum right up to the top of the plastic portion of the dipstick. I decided to suck out the excess oil and to bring it to the proper maximum level. To my surprise the oil that came out from the dipstick pipe was very dark (same black color like the old worked out oil). Is this normal for fresh oil to change its color within 4-5 days after the oil change ?

 

 

You can't worry about stuff like that. It's not an issue assuming you are using a compliant oil (MBz spec).

 

One cannot make a meaningful judgement as to the condition of motor oil simply based on its color.

 

 

I use seafoam in the crank case before every oil change( drive 20miles without heavy acceleration) and I let the car idle for 10 minutes before I drain the oil. As soon as I shut it down, and go and unbolt the drain plug, yes its dangerous because the oil is hot but its not boiling so with gloves and care you'll be fine, this way you get the most oil and dirty deposits out because its all warm and loose.I also let it drain for at least 20-30 mins, that is the proper way of getting all the oil out, the dealer will put the drain bolt back as soon as the majority of it is out but I want it all out. With this method my oil stay's much much cleaner for a long time, I've been doing this since around 120k and im at 180k miles now and the engine runs like butter. That is done every 5000 miles with 0w40 mobile 1.

When i first got the car i too had this issue of oil getting dirty fast, since i've been doing my method with the seafoam, my oil stays much cleaner for longer.


As for the different oil levels, these cars have a weird dipstick design. When the engine is cold in the morning and I go to check ( assuming all the oil has drained to the bottom for the most accurate reading), i something have to dip the stick twice and even 3 times to get an accurate reading, the first time pulling it out its all dry.

Best way to check the oil on these cars is after a drive, let it sit for 20-30mins and when its still warm, not hot, you will get the most accurate reading.

 

I wonder if Sea Foam is safe for W204 engines ?
Usually I use MightyVac to drain the oil from the top. I wonder if this method still will take all the gunk after the Sea Foam treatment ?

I totally agree, the dipstick reading is very confusing on this car. Once it is totally dry, the next time during the same day it shows overflow, and then later right in the middle, and later on again overflow.

 

This.

 

You're doing something wrong here.

Make sure the car is on level ground. Pull the dipstick, wipe, pull the dipstick again, read, then wipe, and reinsert. That's it. NEVER measure on the first pull.

 

Yep, as long as that oil has been used over the long haul, no concerns at all.

To measure oil: engine hot, check level following a 5 minute shutdown, car parked on level ground.

 

I do check the oil on the level ground. and I do reinsert the dipstick at least 3 times during a single oil check

 

I just spoke to my workout buddy who happens to be Service manager at MB regarding the Sea Foam, and he says NO any additives to the engine.
As for the oil color change in 5 days after the oil change, he said that "oil color changed once used is quite normal, it means that the oil is cleaning & lubing the internal nicely".

 

That's what it take with these cars, 3 dips for an accurate reading, anyone that says otherwise isn't doing it correctly.

 

He is a service manager not an engineer, I spoke with mercedes specialists and they said it will do no harm if you dont abuse it and put the correct amounts.It works quite well, 180k miles and I've been doing this every oil change since around 110-120k and my engine still looks brand new inside. I compared it with my friends c300 with half the mileage and my engine was cleaner with less gold/brown deposits in the oil cap and oil filter housing.

No offence but the tech at the mercedes dealership normally don't care for long term and they jsut read what the book tells them to do which is service the car like if it was brand new till the warranty ends but engine wear and create debri, the service and maintenance records dont take that into account, they just right the procedures for cars under warranty, after that you're on your own.

Also mercedes do use additives, its a re branded Chevron product. I guess not all dealership do but that is for the fuel system and cleaning up carbon deposits in the combustion chambers.

 

I just did a bit of a research online regarding the Sea Foam , and appears that this product was invented for the 2-stroke engines. For the modern engines it is recommended to use Gumout.
Has anyone tried to clean the engines with Gumout ?

 

It works fine on 4 stroke engines aswell, Scotty Kilmer was just sponsored by Gumout. Please do the research and not listen to this cheap DIY'ers mechanic that hates mercedes and is mainly there to save people money.

Seafoam clearly states its made for 2 or 4 stroke engines

https://seafoamsales.com/how-to-use-...ction-systems/


There's plenty of products out there that do the same, its all competition, I stick to seafoam because I see results with it not only on my own personal vehicles.


You'l find opinions on both sides, its up to you to do the research and make you're own opinion.

 

Maybe I missed something upthread but yes MB uses fuel additives, but MB doesn't use oil additives

 

correct, the MB service manager stated that they do not use additives for oil.

 

No they don't, I was just pointing out that they do use some types of additives. On a lower mileage car ( under warranty) there's no need for oil additives. You guys seam to confuse engine flush/cleanners and additives. Additives are like those lucas engine treatments, basicly a very thick oil based additive that is ment to thicken the oil and create better oil pressure and compensate for the larger tolerances on worn, older engines, that is not a cleaner nd unless your engine is worn, you don't need those oil additives.


Putting sea foam in the oil before and oil change is not an additive, it serves as a cleaner to flush the oil and debris out. If you don't feel comfortable using seafoam, start small, our cars hold almost 9L of oil so running it for 10-20mins with an ounce of sea foam wont blow up your engine or cause damage.. It a cleaner and that's what it will do, clean. Some people drive with the sea foam in the oil for 400-500 miles before the oil change but that in my opinions is pushing it because it will dilute the oil and could even clog up passages if your engine has a lot of deposits.


Again, I add the sea foam to a hot engine, drive 15-20 miles, let it idle for 10-15mins and drain the oil, 290 000km on the original engine and it runs like butter and very clean inside, like I said, I've serviced mercedes with half the mileage and they were black inside the oil cap, just begging for some sea foam. My oil is still goldish color at 5000 miles when I change it but I change it out either way for preventative measures. When I first got it, the dip stick would be black after 2000 miles.

i also use it on all the cars in my family and they all see 200k+ without engine issues ever since I've been using sea foam.

 

To be honest I don't trust oil cleaners such as seafoam because it is essentially a petroleum based solvent. There are 2 main types of solvents; polar and non-polar. Water is a polar solvent, while petroleum based solvents such as gasoline and seafoam are non-polar solvents. Since like dissolves like, seafoam will dissolve non-polar solutes such as oil. This is why you can't wash oil/grease off with water, but just a drop of gasoline will strip that oil/grease down easily.

By putting seafoam, a non-polar solvent, into your engine oil, you're effectively changing the viscosity of the oil. It is true that it could dissolve some thick sludge that otherwise cannot be cleaned without engine teardown, but more than likely, your significantly reducing the lubrication capabilities of the oil. It may also impact the oil's film strength, which prevents metal to metal contact and is what saves your bearings. I'm sure driving a few miles won't damage the bearings and will certainly be able to remove some residue, but I wouldn't trust a bottle of solvent in my engine oil that literally breaks down the oil.

I would recommend using Liqui-moly's ceratec oil additive after oil changes. I don't want to advertise, but I found that it does make the oil thinner across the temperature range without compromising the breakdown point. This leads to less fluid friction and in turn increases engine performance and efficiency.

 

Yes,that's why I cringe when people drive 400-500miles with sea foam in the oil.. It clearly dissolves deposits and your oil viscosity to a certain degree as well. That's why I say not to put a lot.Theres 8.5L in the engine and idling a few minuites with 1-2oz of sea foam in the crank case wont dissolve the viscosity enough to do damage. All though I would have to do research on seafoam buying a non-polar solvent, the bottle does say you can put the sea foam before or after an oil change because it doesn't reduce viscosity ( according to Sea foam).

 

I guess putting in seafoam and then letting it idle or slightly rev it up would be fine. Since that way, no load is put on the engine, and the seafoam will still circulate throughout the system, removing oil gunk. I'm just concerned for the amount of seafoam that doesn't get removed from the oil change--when you perform oil change, you only remove around 7-8 L of oil while the other litre is still in the pipes and bearings. I would say using seafoam before engine oil FLUSH is the way to go, as the seafoam will remove all the gunk, and the flush will remove the dissolved gunk plus seafoam.

 

Yes, the liter that gets left behind had me worried too but I usually pore a quart of new oil( Half in the oil cap, the other half threw the filter housing) after its been draining for 20mins and try to flush what ever didn't leak out the drain hole. I also change my oil every 6500-7000km just for good measure, the recommended 10 000km/16 000km interval recommended by mercedes is just ridiculous for me. Some people may say it is wasteful but at 10$ a quart and changing it too early but 50 oil changes would sum up to 500$ wasted on flushing oil, beats paying 5000$ for a new engine.

I hope on getting another 100k out of my engine and with 290k its still runs strong without any oil burning between oil changes.

 

I do not know what's considered to be normal but from what I've seen, the oil color does NOT change at all until 3000-5000 miles for my petrol engine. Diesels get it dirty in 10 minutes, though.