Engine Oil Change Method
 

I was thinking of getting a Mityvac fluid evacuator to do my engine oil change so I don't have to creep under car and make a mess. My only concern is that such a method does not really get all the debris generated by engine parts friction as compared to taking plug off and drain oil as traditionally done.

Any ideas or thoughts?

I'm a drain from below fan, just for the reason you mentioned.

Personally I drain from the bottom still and the only reason behind this is that I am to cheap to buy the Mityvac. Remember that MB designed our cars to have the oil changed this way and as long as you check the level before you do the oil change you should have a good idea how much oil is in the car and then when you pump it out you should know if you got it all or not. In the next few weeks I will be buying a 7201 I hope or at least the pump to do the trans fluid as you have to pump the fluid up into the transmission on the 722.9 :( wish my new car had the 722.6 to make life easy.

My w203 that has almost 215,000 miles has probably had about half done from the top and half from the bottom if that puts your mind at rest...

I just did mine from below and other than the pain of removing the 8 or so screws holding the panels in place it was not difficult. I also like to look around for rust, check flex discs, leaks etc. You can't do that from above!

John :rolleyes:

Great feedback! When car's front wheels are jacked up, some oil is not going out due to angle car is on, how do you drain ALL oil then?

I just read on this Forum that for an E320, it uses 8.5 quarts, for an E500, it's 8 Quarts. Any confirmations as how much oil to use?

Buy the Mityvac and do the job under the hood in 20 minutes. I never jacked again for oil change after the Mityvac

7.5qts in my 06 E320. The drain plug is located on the back passenger side of the oil pan so I would think most of the oil drains.

John

Use the Mityvac with a car parked, facing up on a sloping drive, helps safely remove 8.5 qts oil. I only use this method for interim (5000 miles) oil changes; all regular oil changes and maintenance at MB dealership.

I changed with approved oil and filter at 14,000 miles using the mity vac and sold the car at 125,000 with ZERO engine issues.

I got the job done today using the traditional draining method. Now I have a question regarding the filter I used, a Mahle OX3457D, 0001802609ML. I read filter must be a fleece filter. There is no where on this filter where it says "Fleece."

*Could someone confirm if filter I used is a fleece filter or not.
*Also filter came with an extra black rubber seal, the size of a nickle, not sure if that should have been used or not, also no washer for oil pan plug?
*Also do I need to reset instrument panel after this oil change?

Bought my E500 with 29K miles on it. Every single oil change was done topside during my ownership, either by the dealer (when it was included) or by myself with my Mityvac. Oil changed every 5K miles with M1 0/40 Euro Formula, and filter was always replaced with a Mann. Car now has 152K miles, runs as new. Oil analysis done by Blackstone, shows no abnormal wear issues.

I use a Pela from the top side. The small amount of oil left in the engine is not a problem.

Sounds like the Mityvac is being used by a lot of people. Given what I've gone thru yesterday;( I am now very interested in getting a Mityvac. One question is where do you plug the suction hose? Is it manual or air suction?

Thanks for feedback!

The suction hose goes into the dip stick tube.

The Mityvac has a pump where you pull a vacuum on the unit.

If you use a non'fleece paper filter you must change oil at a conventional oil frequency or about 7500 miles vs the 14000 for the fleece filter. You also must use the correct oil.

Another Mytivac fan, as pointed out elsewhere if there is engine debris in the oil pan you have much bigger issues to worry about. Plus its the method in dealerships in my area.