Your not going to believe this.

Today, I called THREE different dealer service departments asking where the oil filter was and NONE of them knew. ALL of them answered the same way..."we are going to find out when we need to change them". Sheesh....

Anywho.....

I did not want to start taking off all the engine covers and filter in my Don Quixote quest for an oil filter so I left it for another day.

Do you guys know where the heck they hidden it? Also, I found out that I no longer have a dipstick for my engine oil.

And another thing........

The service departments no longer get underneath the car to change the oil. They VACUUM it out with a larger version of the Topsiders we have discussed in another thread.

You learn something new every day!

Yes, I was shocked when the salesperson told me that M-B was getting rid of all the dipsticks, but he told me not to take it personally, that I was still welcome to buy a Benz.

Remove trim panel of cylinder head cover and trim panel of charge air distribution pipe; remove fastening clamp of fuel line; you can remove the filter cap using the tool part number 103 589 02 09 00. The torque value for the filter cap is 25Nm.

The oil level is checked 5 minutes after switching the engine off (you run it to check for leaks). You can use dipstick part number 120 589 07 21 00.

(If you do decide to drain the oil through the drain plug, the special wrench 117 589 02 07 00 might be of use.)

-s-

Are you using the vacuum system to get the oil out or are you going underneath?

I have reservations about leaving too much old oil behind with the vacuum system. Mind you, I bought a large, heavy duty unit and already tried it on several my lifttrucks. It appears to do a good job but then again, their engine does not cost $20,000.

I use the vacuum system, like the dealers. I use either a large Mityvac (compressor operated one) or a TopSider. In both cases I do it with the oil hot to speed the process and make it easier to get the oil out.

If you're worried about leaving too much oil behind, change the oil twice. It's only another 15 minutes and less than $20, and you get peace of mind. Me, I don't care, because I know that no matter what, there's always old oil left behind, and as soon as you run the engine, the oil is dirty again. (I used to always do the double oil change with muscle cars and fossil oil.)

-s-

Scorchie,

I want to thank you for your contributions to this site! For someone who happens to have a good compressor, would you recommend the Topsider or the MityVac? How much are these and where to source?

I forgot to mention those magic words....

Thank you for the information Scorchie.

If you have a good compressor, I highly recommend the MityVac product... it's really called a "PneumatiVac" ... the company is called MityVac and they have a product called a MityVac, which is probably not as useful as a TopSider because of its low capacity. The PneumatiVac is used with a compressor, holds a little more (didn't quite hold all the oil from an M119 engine though), and can also be used for bleeding brakes, right out of the box!

It's $120 from Northern Tool. I prefer The Tool Warehouse (www.thetoolwarehouse.net), I purchase things there regularly (they carry S-K/Facom for instance), and is under $75.

Just as a note, I'll add that MityVac also sells a fluid transfer pump... this device is a hand operated pump and it is about $20. I bought the exact same tool from Harbor Freight, for about $4. Similar situation with the Top Sider, the MVP Top Sider is about $40 (on sale) from West Marine (best source IMO). Harbor Freight sells the same exact thing, same manufacturer in China, for $20-30, but it's not in a box.

So one reason I like the PneumatiVac is because it seems better quality, specialty-made, and is easy to use. If you're gonna work on more than just one car and change oil regularly, it's a good investment.

Hope that's helpful!

-s-

I went through Northern Tools site and I found this. This is the vacuum pump that I bought for about $120 US at Princess Auto in Canada.

Thanks Scorchie. Great info and I will get one of the MigtyVacs. I have purchased from the ToolWarehouse before with good results.