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Any thing i should know before starting to change the oil? I will do this with a set of car ramps.
Where are you located? I buy my stuff at Wal-Mart way cheaper. I use Mobil1 European Formula. Its pretty straight forward I didn't do the secondary drain plug just the plastic one and the filter.
The Molygen formula does not appear on MB's latest recommended oil list (updated 5/7/2020), even though LiquiMoly says it meets 229.5. So I'd probably avoid that one personally. The Leichtlauf does appear. I'd probably opt for the kit with the upgraded filter (the $97 kit).
Recently has Service A done on my 2019 C63S coupe at MB Dealership. See attached invoice about half way done showing parts and parts numbers
for oil change.. Looks like it needs 2 oil plugs.
I also switched out the plastic drain plug for the metal one.
So basically you got 2 metal plugs ( i assume they are the same) how much is an oil change at the dealership? Im looking at around 140$ with the cara tec and 2 plugs.
Not really understanding why you would still bother with doing the oil change yourself? Your time is more valuable vs the time you spent researching what you need, ordering, doing it, disposing the old...just to much hassle for a very standard task in my mind and in particular driving a not so cheap car to start with. Doing your own after market mods yes, but oils change?
So basically you got 2 metal plugs ( i assume they are the same) how much is an oil change at the dealership? Im looking at around 140$ with the cara tec and 2 plugs.
It looks like the 2 screw plugs used on the oil change (invoice )have different MB part numbers
Not really understanding why you would still bother with doing the oil change yourself? Your time is more valuable vs the time you spent researching what you need, ordering, doing it, disposing the old...just to much hassle for a very standard task in my mind and in particular driving a not so cheap car to start with. Doing your own after market mods yes, but oils change?
There are two reasons for wanting to know this. First, and I expect to get beat up on this, I change oil/filter every 5,000 miles. Waste? My time, my coin. Second reason is that starting when I was 13 years old, I’ve been doing them myself. I’m 71 now. It’s hard to let go. Besides, I order filters and oil by cases. And I recycle the oil at most auto parts stores. A very inexpensive and self-rewarding few hours on a weekend at my pleasure. I bought the jack puck. I have the Teflon coated wheel socket and a beast of a cordless impact wrench. For the rest of the time, I have a prepaid maintenance plan and a 5/100 warranty on the 2020 C63S coupe. For the Macan, I bought the MBI through Geico since they have my car insurance.
There are two reasons for wanting to know this. First, and I expect to get beat up on this, I change oil/filter every 5,000 miles. Waste? My time, my coin. Second reason is that starting when I was 13 years old, I’ve been doing them myself. I’m 71 now. It’s hard to let go. Besides, I order filters and oil by cases. And I recycle the oil at most auto parts stores. A very inexpensive and self-rewarding few hours on a weekend at my pleasure. I bought the jack puck. I have the Teflon coated wheel socket and a beast of a cordless impact wrench. For the rest of the time, I have a prepaid maintenance plan and a 5/100 warranty on the 2020 C63S coupe. For the Macan, I bought the MBI through Geico since they have my car insurance.
well, if you enjoy it all good. I change my oil every 5k miles too...at the dealer. Have a nice breakfast and chat with my fav mechanic while waiting.
Bruce here's my experience:
At every 10,000 miles I take it to an INDY who uses LiquiMoly oil (he swears by it and his current/history of racing confirms what he says.) Mercedes quoted me $350 for service, his oil change charge is $245. At 5000 miles and 15,000 miles odometer I did an oil extraction with a 10qt. MityVac (no Harbor Freight.) I don't change the filter at these intervals. I'm 70 with a lot of experience servicing my history of cars, but my body no longer twists and turns like it used to. If I had a lift I wouldn't hesitate. It appears to me the car is awkward to jack up, it's so low, and then you need the correct jack adapter which may not clear the AMG lower sill body work. If you do get under the jacked up car you first have to remove the lower engine protective skid plate. Yes there are two drain plugs, a plastic one at the filter and a metal one on the metal oil pan/plate. I was very hesitant as this was the first maintenance servicing done by someone else for many years. For any skeptics as to why I prefer to do it myself I know its done correctly. Maintaining your car gives you a greater connection to it rather than just driving it and leaving the servicing to someone else while drinking Latte in the customer lounge. I find it disappointing as to how many topics are posted here from owners who don't do the mechanical work and then complain about the outcome of someone else's careless work. Post a servicing question and you probably won't get many replies. Look at the lack of replies I got on my post asking about servicing the cabin air filter. I posted a question much like yours on oil change procedures with very few replies. Post a question on custom wheels, a cosmetic carbon fiber intake system or body work and the blog can contain over a hundred replies.
One note about the oil extraction, I got nearly all the oil extracted. Maybe less than a pint was left. A word of caution when pushing the plastic extractor tube down the oil dipstick tube be patient its a close fit. I wanted to be certain it was completely bottomed out and pushed it down too hard. The plastic tube creased at the bottom end in the motor and it took an awful lot of effort to pull it back up the dipstick tube.
E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
Different viscosity than what?
In cold, the oil starts out at 1000x thicker than operating temp, then thins down to a range at op temp of +100c. That range can be from 10cSt, like regular 30 weight, to 12cSt like Euro 30 weight, 14cSt 0w-40 thru 15cSt, a solid 5w-40. Oil temp determines the final visc, since +90c to +120c are common temps. A 5w-30 can run thicker at a lower op temp, a 40 weight can thin down if it's too hot....it's all within a range that works. Lower wear is often the case with thinner oil.
What "spec" MB, and all Euros rely upon is the high-temp / high sheer rating "HT/HS" visc at +150c. The spec is looking for >3.5cP, which Euro 30s like PZ Euro L meet. Remember too, Euro specs build in a buffer, a "safety margin" for driving flat out on the AutoBahn for hours at a time. We simply do not heat the oil up that wan in North American driving. That's why ISLAC/API (Japanese / American) oils are thinner 30s with HT/HS of 2.9cP, that's all the visc that's needed.
I'll chime back in later. Just look at this older visc / temp graph, MANY oils can be selected by the operator to optimize for their climate and driving. Now a days, CAFE rules for the MPG test demand that the same oil used in the test is the one recommended by the mfg, so we get a "one size fits all" 0w-40. In short, Euro 5w-30/0w-30/0w-40 and 5w-40 all meet MB specs ANYWAY. All ofthis is based on 15k intervals, which is silly. A good HD truck oil can go that far, but regular passenger oil is good out past 5000 miles just the same. It's a good way to clean out an old engine, frequent changes of 10w-40 / 15w-40 / 10w-30 HD. Back later.
Anyway...specs are no guarantee of performance.
and...5w-40 is far too thick in cold, imo, for turbos....3-4x thicker than 30 weight
Last edited by Audi Junkie; May 13, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
Bruce here's my experience:
At every 10,000 miles I take it to an INDY who uses LiquiMoly oil (he swears by it and his current/history of racing confirms what he says.) Mercedes quoted me $350 for service, his oil change charge is $245. At 5000 miles and 15,000 miles odometer I did an oil extraction with a 10qt. MityVac (no Harbor Freight.) I don't change the filter at these intervals. I'm 70 with a lot of experience servicing my history of cars, but my body no longer twists and turns like it used to. If I had a lift I wouldn't hesitate. It appears to me the car is awkward to jack up, it's so low, and then you need the correct jack adapter which may not clear the AMG lower sill body work. If you do get under the jacked up car you first have to remove the lower engine protective skid plate. Yes there are two drain plugs, a plastic one at the filter and a metal one on the metal oil pan/plate. I was very hesitant as this was the first maintenance servicing done by someone else for many years. For any skeptics as to why I prefer to do it myself I know its done correctly. Maintaining your car gives you a greater connection to it rather than just driving it and leaving the servicing to someone else while drinking Latte in the customer lounge. I find it disappointing as to how many topics are posted here from owners who don't do the mechanical work and then complain about the outcome of someone else's careless work. Post a servicing question and you probably won't get many replies. Look at the lack of replies I got on my post asking about servicing the cabin air filter. I posted a question much like yours on oil change procedures with very few replies. Post a question on custom wheels, a cosmetic carbon fiber intake system or body work and the blog can contain over a hundred replies.
One note about the oil extraction, I got nearly all the oil extracted. Maybe less than a pint was left. A word of caution when pushing the plastic extractor tube down the oil dipstick tube be patient its a close fit. I wanted to be certain it was completely bottomed out and pushed it down too hard. The plastic tube creased at the bottom end in the motor and it took an awful lot of effort to pull it back up the dipstick tube.
I’ve been using Mobil 1 on all my cars for decades. A BMW e46 M3 (actually three of them), a 650HP GT500, a ‘13 C63 AMG coupe, etc. Never lost an engine. Ever. I’ll stick with Mobil 1.
As far as being involved with my vehicles.... damned right I am. Especially with also owning a Porsche Macan Turbo with an industry trend for timing chain and valve cover oil leaks. One day you’re fine, the next day you find oil on the garage floor. No one works on my cars without me watching. If I can’t see, when I get home, I will go as far as crawling under the hood or jacking it up, crawling underneath and check their work. At the speeds we drive I want to know every aspect of my vehicle. But that’s me.
E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
FYI Mobil 1 has changed their formula many times, so there's not really anything to cling onto.
In fact, plain Mobil 1 5w-30 is notorious for high wear rates. Any forum that hosts lab UOAs can confirm this.
Also, for a while after Katrina Mobil 1 was sold with NO API certs, and was suspected to be far out of spec.
I could post both pro and cons of Mobil 1, but just to mention there are indeed cons, like high rates of consumption.
Rushing to judgement on a broad front basically limits the level of knowledge and experience someone has.
The current Castrol Edge 0w-40 with titanium additives and ALL Euro specs, people love that product based on performance in UOAs.
Have you done any UOAs, or is it all guess work and sponsorship?
I think people who have used different oils are more informed than someone who used "Mobil 1 all their life". An example of one is not going to get you there, scientifically.
Bruce here's my experience:
At every 10,000 miles I take it to an INDY who uses LiquiMoly oil (he swears by it and his current/history of racing confirms what he says.) Mercedes quoted me $350 for service, his oil change charge is $245. At 5000 miles and 15,000 miles odometer I did an oil extraction with a 10qt. MityVac (no Harbor Freight.) I don't change the filter at these intervals. I'm 70 with a lot of experience servicing my history of cars, but my body no longer twists and turns like it used to. If I had a lift I wouldn't hesitate. It appears to me the car is awkward to jack up, it's so low, and then you need the correct jack adapter which may not clear the AMG lower sill body work. If you do get under the jacked up car you first have to remove the lower engine protective skid plate. Yes there are two drain plugs, a plastic one at the filter and a metal one on the metal oil pan/plate. I was very hesitant as this was the first maintenance servicing done by someone else for many years. For any skeptics as to why I prefer to do it myself I know its done correctly. Maintaining your car gives you a greater connection to it rather than just driving it and leaving the servicing to someone else while drinking Latte in the customer lounge. I find it disappointing as to how many topics are posted here from owners who don't do the mechanical work and then complain about the outcome of someone else's careless work. Post a servicing question and you probably won't get many replies. Look at the lack of replies I got on my post asking about servicing the cabin air filter. I posted a question much like yours on oil change procedures with very few replies. Post a question on custom wheels, a cosmetic carbon fiber intake system or body work and the blog can contain over a hundred replies.
One note about the oil extraction, I got nearly all the oil extracted. Maybe less than a pint was left. A word of caution when pushing the plastic extractor tube down the oil dipstick tube be patient its a close fit. I wanted to be certain it was completely bottomed out and pushed it down too hard. The plastic tube creased at the bottom end in the motor and it took an awful lot of effort to pull it back up the dipstick tube.
Its all good if you want to do your own oil change...but lets recognize there are only a few "service" items you now can do on these cars w/o requiring special tools, firmware, or very advanced engine and mechanic knowledge to service these cars. Its not like the old world where you simply rebuild or cleaned your carburetor or replaced a distributor caps etc. Also, if you do more advanced repairs you are out of luck when it comes to warranty or support when things go wrong - you are on your own. And absolutely nothing wrong that you see many more posts on aftermarket mods of any kind (from simple to complete rebuilds) than basic oil and filter service. Times change as cars change - good old gear head forums are rare these days (I still try to do most of my work on my 4 stroke, injected outboards but even that is stretching it). If you enjoy it - go for it. I simply wonder if all that time is worth just for oil and filter changes...btw, I do like that latte ;-)
Good post explaining the procedure. According to the info here there is no need to remove the metal drain plug and the two items to replace other than the filter are the filter gasket and the plastic drain plug.
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