On Mercedesshop.com they had some DIY articles regarding oil changes. One was for a 95 E420 and the other a 98 E430. In both step by step articles they instructed that you siphon the old oil out from the dipstick tube. I don't know about you but I believe almost all vehicles have a drain plug in the oil pan. My question is, does this siphoning technique done on certain model MBs or is the guy who wrote this making things harder for himself?

http://www.mercedesshop.com/Wikka/OilFilter1

 

too me draining seems easier, but i guess if you dont want to go under the car then siphoning is the way to go.

 

Some people find siphoning easier than using a drain plug. Some people don't have lifts to access the drain plug. Just as long as you change it hot and often, everything should be good.
-Joe

 

I'd bet if you did a search on this topic here and at benzworld you'd find hundreds of posts, if not thousands, and there is really no definitive answer. Some people actually get very vehement about the issue, which makes no sense to me.

If you look at the pictorial post I recently did on an oil change in the 210 forum you'll note that the placement of the drain plug means if you raise the front of the car, oil will pool in the back of the drain pan and you won't get it all out. The V6 320 has to be raised from the left, not the front, to prevent this. Obviously you'd have to consider your pan and plug in this context.

Another thread somewhere (I think it was an ML320, same V6 as mine) said he drained, then siphoned, and extracted another 8 oz or so with the siphon. That really gives me pause.

I believe all dealerships siphon.

Those who siphon swear by it, much easier, faster, cleaner, etc.

Even taking all of that into account...I'm like you, I believe in letting it drain out. Call me old-fashioned or hard-headed, it's just how I am.

If you decide to drain it put a new washer on, the copper ones are squish-type and are intended for single-use.

Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg

 

this is what I do. a few times a year , I open the drain plug and let it drain overnight. I get the engine nice and hot before I do this, and I jack up the car so the oil is flowing to the drain plug.

The rest of the times, I siphon it out because it is quick easy and much cleaner than getting under the car and getting dirty.

It is a toss up. either way shoudl work fine. I prefer the overnight drain a few times a year and siphoning the rest of the time.

AshMan

 

I can actually gain access to my drain plug without lifting the car. I do what you guys do, lift up the side where the oil pools. I know I'll have to lift the the car to do oil changes once I lower my suspesion. I guess I can enjoy it while it lasts.

 

i run synthetic which captures most of sediment/particles. i would bet it doesnt matter a sheet load which is used. i know for a fact tranny fluid is siphoned because trannys dont tend to have drainplugs. i know siphoning takes longer and you have less risk to morons not tightening or over tightening the drain plug.

me personally i NEVER change my oil so it doesnt matter to me how they do it. just change it and remove and replace the filter and i am good to go.

 

doesnt really matter which way you do it as long as you do it regularly.

draining would be a preferable way to remove any gunk left on the bottom of the sump (oil pan in yankee speak) and the way alon does it is how i do it in my old BMW; get it hot, jack up whichever corner of the car is going to ensure max evacuation, drain and refill. of course that car is treated with Mobil 1 synthetic oil, as i have onver $6000 in the drivetrain.

and yes, transmissions do have drain plugs too. IIRC on the benzes its a 13mm hex socket. same plug on the diff too i think.
and just so you know, our cars have an excess of oil, one of the things that makes them run so long and be so reliable. most cars have only four or five quarts, benzes have way more. this ensures that the oil gets to cool, stops frothing etc etc etc. neat idea. porsches also have excess capacity of oil.

 

There are pros and cons to using either technique - suction or drain plug. Search the forums using keyword "topsider" and you'll get all the info on it.

I personally use the drain plug. I'm trying to keep things simple in my crowded garage.

 

I siphon just because I don't like taking off the engine "Diaper" everytime to get access to the drain plug. For other guys who siphon, what type of pump do you use? I have an electric pump that hooks up to the battery and sucks it out through a tube into the bucket. I don't know that it's all that cleaner than the pan method. Maybee I'm doing it wrong.
Extra oil is definately a plus for these cars. I still don't know why more engines aren't made with dry sumps? That way you can hold as much oil as you want and it will always be cooler. My old BSA motorcycle has a dry sump in the frame that holds 5 quarts of oil for a 650cc motor!

 

is it your main goal in life to be a pain in the ***? i was wondering becuase i never said mbz don't have tranny plugs.

notice it doesnt say a name of a brand, a model, a vehicle type hell it doesnt even say if it has 4 wheels. it says "tend." believe it or not mr. know it all not all vehicles have drain plugs for their trannys. come change the fluids on my motorcycle or quad. if you would like a list of vehicles that do not have tranny drain plugs i can provide one however i will bill you for the lesson and my time compiling it.

 

Whoa! Easy there brother. Its okey, its just a forum. Just let this one go, I know there are people here that think they're mechanics because they've changed spark plugs. It's the internet, every now and then words get taken too seriously or get misunderstood.

 

sorry norcal. however this guys has a whopping 42 posts and 50% seem to be jabs at myself. i tend to get a bit offended when someone is a self proclaimed know it all and every time i post that same person must comment without facts or anything more then simple pecking at keystrokes to back it up.

 

I know where you stand. Often times people forget we're on a MB forum and think this is some Honda forum; they get carried away w/ thread thrashing and they're "mine's is better than yours" ego takes over. This is one of the many reasons I purchased an MB, I was tired of dealing with the childish attitudes some (not all) Honda enthusiasts brought to the table.

 

exactly my thoughts but i never owned a honda and have owned this beast for 9 years.

personally i love the people i meet at our big get togethers. in fact i am going to help plan one. mbz people are a different breed for sure. some of the great people i have met at the 3 diff meets i have been to are ashman, rambbs, chris, sean, ggirl, saprissa, tbone to name a few and way to many more to list. they are all great people and i wish i had more time to know them.

btw you gonna come down to our big event in sept/oct?

 

Haha, I wish. I live and go to school here in Sacramento. I doubt I'd have the funds or a nice enough 124 to be worthy of your meets. Ironically I bought my 260E in Chino Hills and brought it back up to Northern Cali. I'm slowly fixing small annoyances and doing all the tune ups to get this car up to standard. Maybe one day I'll venture down there when I feel the 124 is complete enough to show.

 

dude!!!! chris is no where close to being done with his. he constantly is upgrading it. also i took my pos to the encinitas meet the same day i went down for paint. nothing was lamer then me with foglights missing and a front air dam.

we had 2 dudes from NM show up. so sac is not that far. you should save up your gas money and attend in sept/oct. excuses are like *******s. everyone has one and they all stink.

 

last i checked this was a thread about cars, not about motorcycles and quads. i really dont give a hoot about your bike or quad, but when you say this in a car thread, then you're spouting nonsense.

i can post the meaning of the word tend here if you want me to be pedantic about its meaning. i can also break down the two sentences; discredit the entire first sentence of your post because synthetic oil doesnt "capture" sediment better than dino oil. it has less contaminants in it and therefore will deposit less sediment in the filter than dino oil, but it does not "capture" sediment better as you imply. it certainly has cleaning agents in it, that help constititute its make up, and those do help to "capture" sediment, to use your phraseology, but any good oil, any detergent oil, synthetic or dino, will have those same cleaning agents.
i can then go on to show how the first part in the second sentence implies expertise in the statement that follows it, a statement that "tends" to be off the truth.

and to paraphrase you "i tend to get a bit offended when someone is a self proclaimed know it all..." but instead they are all mouth and no trousers.

 

you have a huge propensity to jerk me around then anything else. do you watch what threads i post on just to **** with me?

seriously only a teenager would be this obsessed with someone on the net. talk to me after you have posted your pics of what you have done. talk to me after you have contributed to the community as a whole instead of these petty distractions that seem to get your rocks off. why not update your sig to include the mbz that you drive because if u notice this is a mbz forum not a bmw 2002 forum.

seriously do whatcha like swing how u like. you can rip me new one to your hearts content. i could really give a crap. in fact how about you and i agree to never post on the same topic? sound good? i mean after all most of your 42 posts are posted about me or somehow detracting from what i am saying. if you have a hard on for me that bad ask for my phone # and set up a date.

 

LOL. Correct.

I'm NO WHERE close to being done with my car right now. Give me about 10 grand and all the parts I want and then I'll be done.

No excuses Norcal. True enthusiast drive anywhere for a meet. Like me! haha I'm always down for a meet. Regardless if my car looks like crap.

 

Man! This guy has a hard on for you. I think he likes you. Haha! His SN is only suiting. But anyways, it's really hard for me to make it south because I work and go to school at the same time. Every now and then I go down there to tune up my brother and sister's cars. Hopefully when I do that, it will be during one of your meets. The best I can do for now is post pics of the things I've done to share w/ all you so cal folks.

 

BTW Chris, what sizes are your front and rear speakers?

 

lol. Hey buddy, I go to school and work at the same time too! In fact, I use to go to two schools and work. NO EXCUSES! Just kidding.

It's all good though. Just try to make it to at least one of our OC meets. Especially the big one around Sept/October. There is a guy from Sacramento who always comes down to the OC. You should talk to him and caravan.

I have stock speakers in front and I forgot what size my brother put in the back. LOL I'll find out tomorrow for you. I might have a set of Boston Acoustic speakers for sale if anyone wants them.

 

no, i just reply to correct bull***** that's posted and a lot of it seems to come from you recently. i don't descriminate between who is posting, if i see bull*****, i call. simple.

i'm in my early thirties. stopped being a teenager a long time ago.
i do contribute to the community; i correct the misinformation you post. who is performing the better service: you with your misinformation or me with the facts?
is there a requirement that my signature reflect the car i drive? and is there another one that requires people who own BMWs to NOT post here?

very well to sate your curiosity; i drive a saab 900. non turbo, four door sedan.
i own a 1990 300E that is currently being used by my cousin. she is a foreign student from austria and i lent it to her while she is doing her internship. that is the car i normally drive.
i also own a BMW 2002 as referenced to in my signature. its currently off the road as the cost to install unecessary smog parts to make it pass the visual portion of the smog test would be akin to almost buying a whole other car. it passes the actual emissions part of the test, the sniffer test.
i also have a bicycle if you care.

[quote]seriously do whatcha like swing how u like. you can rip me new one to your hearts content. i could really give a crap. in fact how about you and i agree to never post on the same topic? sound good? i mean after all most of your 42 posts are posted about me or somehow detracting from what i am saying.[quote]

if you agree to stop posting bull*****, then my posts in the same threads will not counter everything you say.
wow, maybe 6 posts out of 42 is most? in what universe? here on earth, when we count in our conventional base 10, that doesn't come close to most. even in base 9, 8, 7 and so on. perhaps you have delusions of granduer? or a persecution complex? something else?
get a clue. lots of my posts are not relevant to anything you have said.

no thanks bro. i'm not gay. but thanks for the offer.

seriously; who is being a teenager now? to answer, i can take care of myself. i am unmoved by your passive aggressive threat.

you alluded to me being a know it all in another thread. well, i am, and i make no bones about it. and you strike me as one too. but the essential difference between you and i is that i dont react aversely to being corrected. point to ponder.

 

sorry you have me mistaken with someone else. ask anyone here that knows me. if i was a know it all like yourself i would definately have a rep like yours. i am not so i dont. i offer helpful advice that i have 1st hand knowledge of or i get it from my buddy who has been a master mbz tech for 13 years. several local guys know him and frequent his shop.

additionally if i knew everything i would not take anyones advice like you obviously dont. i would never of gotten the true amg part #'s like i did from a member on this forum (i believe you posted on that thread as well). i never would of modded my lights, suspension, stereo system, side markers, brakes and a host of other mods. i unlike you dont have hard on for always being correct. its obvious to me and several others that have sent me pms "saying wtf is with that guy" that you have issues. maybe that's all you do is troll forums looking for people to pounce on. i personally have better things to do then rip people new ones i would rather help them. ask ramil and a few of the other guys about the diy's for the custom bumper covers i did. please note i must be a cool enough person to be asked by another cool individual along with chris to plan the next huge mbz event here in socal.

so it comes down to either you the one person in the universe that knows everything is correct about me or everyone that has met me is correct. which is it?