LEGOIII

pics needed or more details,i have read several different places(right rear) (left rear) for the location of the oil tube,not dip stick,i have not been able to locate this on my car for siphoning oil, for diy change

SAguirre

The actual dipstick tube (that does not have a dipstick, but rather just a cap) is where you siphon it all out.

Steve

LEGOIII

Where Exactly Is This Cap Located

CALBenzo

That is the filler tube. I believe you use the dipstick tube which is in the back.

BudC

There is a tube with a red cap on it sticking up between the curbside (USA) cylinder bank and the firewall. The cap easily pulls off and you can then stick your oil extractor down that tube.

LEGOIII

Thanks For The Info Guys,but I Have Looked Four Times For This Red Cap And I Do Not See It Anywhere, I Am Pretty Mechanically Inclined, This Is My First Mb, And This Deal Is Making Me Feel Really Silly,is The Red Cap In Plain Sight Or Is It Located Underneath Some Other Object,MAYBE MY CAP IS MISSING,if I Can't Find It This Time I Will Rest My Case

DWP

Here's a link to a previous thread on the same subject:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...3&page=1&pp=10

It mentions the red cap. When I saw the earlier thread I went looking for the red cap on my '03 and found it without too much difficulty. I seem to recall somebody saying that their tube cap wasn't red, but I can't find it in the previous thread.

BudC

OK, forget the red cap. Just feel behind the curbside (left hand drive cars) cylinder head for a tube. The tube is almost in line with the gap between the engine cover and the air filter cover on the curb side.

Shine a flashlight behind the engine and you should see it. There is only a few inches between the rear of the engine and the double fire wall. The tube is there.

The red cap is shaped so that you can grasp it to pull it off. If it's on there, you couldn't possibly miss it. If you are missing the cap/plug for the tube, that would be bad news. Get to a dealer and have it replaced.

SAguirre

Now I will have to check again, but I am almost 100% sure that my oil dipstick tube is towards the front of the engine on the passenger side. Could this be a variation in the cars? I will look and see if I can post a picture.

Steve

I KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!! I JUST FIGURED IT OUT! It is pretty stupid, but I should have known. 4 Matic engines have a totally different oil pan and that also makes the dipstick be in a different place.

LEGOIII

I Must Be A Complete Idiot Or Something Is Funny With My 2003 E 320,two Days Later No Oil Siphon Tube Nowhere In Plain View, It Seems, No One Knows For Sure Where It Is,r Rear, Left Rear, Right Frt,i'll Go To The Dealer And Pay For Oil Change And Let You Know In A Couple Days

Former Beamer And Lexus Owner

DWP

After actually looking under the hood, I remembered who had a tube cap that wasn't red. It was me. Jeez, I'm getting stupid in my old age.

LEGOIII

Thx For The Pic,

I Did See That On My Car, If That Is For Oil, Where Is The Transmission Fill

DWP

Good question. Maybe it is the transmission filler. The manual doesn't say where the transmission filler is; it just tells us to not worry our pretty little heads about things like transmission fluid. Anyone?

JimPurdy

I believe that the black cap is for the transmission fill tube. The transmission cap has a pin that locks it in place that will be broken if the cap is removed. This breakable pin is the indication to the technician that someone might have done something to the transmission fluid.

Jim

BudC

Well, that's exactly like the oil extraction tube on my 2004 E320 except that I have a red cap. I've actually put a flexible hose down that tube to measure the oil.

All anyone has to do is grip the darn cap and pull up. It will come right off.

Jeez folks!

SAguirre

My dipstick is one of the ones with a red cap and it is very accessible at the front of the engine. I think mine is like this simply because it is a 4-Matic.

I just thought I would show you a picture since I am the only one who said that my dipstick was in a totally different place than everyone else. Also, I would make sure that that cap and dipstick in the back of the engine is not the for ATF. It could be that the new transmission is now sealed like a lot on newer BMW cars are. Better safe than sorry.

I had an acquaintance that had a Mazda 2600 pickup truck. He decided to drain the oil, so he unscrewed the drain plug that he saw drained the oil and then filled the engine with 4.5 new quarts. Later his 5-speed transmission seized up and his engine blew some oil seals. It turned out that because of the skid plate covering the oil pan drain plug, he drained the gearbox and then overfilled his engine oil. That was a very expensive mistake. Apparently not too uncommon for that truck though. His mechanic had seen it before.

Here are my picks:

JimPurdy

Ok, I am home and finally got a chance to look at my 03 Non-4Matic E320 engine. The oil tube is between the firewall and the air cleaner and has a black cap on it that just snaps off and on. It looks just like Steve's but is black. The transmission tube is lower and under the air cleaner and has a little red plastic rectangle on it. There are words on the transmission cap that say "MB Workshop Only".

konigstiger

Steve, curious what’s going on with all the warning stickers throughout? My 03 has a fraction of these. I also see what looks to be handwriting on your silver strip (between the Mercedes emblem & lettering). Your engine compartment is “almost” as clean as mine

SAguirre

The stickers are the warnings for the K&N air filters on each side. I decided to put them on since I had to buy two filters and I want to make sure that a service idiot will not change them for a paper filter.

The handwriting on the engine says "120 mm" I have no idea as to why it is there. It was there since it came from the boat. I was told that some 4-Matics have that written on them when they come from Austria. Sounds like a bunch of bull to me. But I would like to know what it means. I will be erasing it later. When I think to do it I forget a dry-erase marker (that is the trick to removing permanent marker).

I was surprised how clean my engine was. I have not cleaned it since I bought the car and it has 7,500 miles on it. I do however, get high pressure water and hose the radiator grill when I wash the car. This removes that salt and de-icers that are all over the roads in winter here.

You are very observant!

Steve

knguyen

How did you replace air filter?

Thanks

lkchris

Well, I for one would appreciate a warning that a car has or has had a K&N.

I'll know to stay away from that car because it's been running with no air filtration and probably has a hot wire air intake sensor contaminated with filter oil.

Yes, a WARNING indeed!

vettdvr

Ok I just found the thread and this pic. It does look like my wife's E500 and when I pulled the cap (ref pic of tube behind right side rear valve cover) it looks like an oil tube.

Here they come,, the dumb questions that is:

1) There is no drain plug?
2) Given 1 you must pump oil out through the oil tube that has NO dip stick
3) The fill is by the book and not a dip stick on quantity and hopefully the dash level checker will indicate OK.

So to change the oil I have to pump it out through a 5/16 " est dia tube and change the filter using the special ordered wrench to remove the cap on the oil filter. Then I fill by "normal" methods until the total qts cans are empty given I bought the correct amount.

So do I have it right. And you would be correct to assume I haven't been under my wifes Benz. My corvette is simple,, pull the drain plug and filter as per most cars, reinstall correct parts and fill to full on dip stick.

Now I will grant you if the MB works as advertised I can change the oil with no lift and stay clean "?".

So am I correct or am i way . Thanks Jim

BudC

I can remember models of the Corvette where you had to pull a wheel to complete an oil change.

It's only been recent models of Mercedes that have no dip stick. It's returned on current models but now I think BMW have taken theirs out.

Even before the W211, many Mercedes owners have used an oil extractor to change oil. I use one called a Topsider. It works fine. Also, you'll notice that you don't have to get under a Mercedes to change an oil filter which is a whole lot better than the vast majority of cars.

A word of caution, make sure that you do not overfill engine oil. Verify that you have it all out and then put in only 8 US quarts.

bustanut666

that's the part that I lost.. The black cap in back part of engine cover.. What is that part called and does anyone have a part number?

Plutoe

What is you VIN????? or give us and idea on WTF you drive!!