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I am OCD with my vehicles and have now logged about 2.5k miles on my G, so I decided to change the oil.
(Just so people don’t think I am crazy OCD, I normally swap oil every 5k, but with the vehicle being new, I like to do the first oil change early.)
Anyway, I took off the skid plate and found this...
Oil level read full prior to the change.
After inspecting the area underneath, I quickly determined the leak was coming from the oil filter housing...
The leak wasn’t large enough to have oil drip onto the ground and I possibly would have never know about it if I waited until 10k and had the dealer do it.
You can check for this without removing the skid plate...just wrap your fingers around the back side of the skid plate (closest to the rear of the car), you will feel the oil right there if your vehicle is indeed leaking.
Yikes!!! Was the cap not properly torqued, was the o-ring missing or was there a defect in the cap? I don't like these plastic parts that interfece with metal parts, and I keep a spare filter cap on hand just in case. Nice to know there's someone else out there that does the oil/filter change every 5K. I wish the motor had a dipstick.
Yikes!!! Was the cap not properly torqued, was the o-ring missing or was there a defect in the cap? I don't like these plastic parts that interfece with metal parts, and I keep a spare filter cap on hand just in case. Nice to know there's someone else out there that does the oil/filter change every 5K. I wish the motor had a dipstick.
The o-ring looked fine, as did the cap. I believe that it was not properly torqued at the factory, if I had to guess. (More reason for others to check theirs)
After the oil change I ran it for a while with the skid plate off and everything was dry...but I will be checking again in a few hundred miles.
Agreed, the plastic setup is not a good idea, it is only a matter of time for these parts to fail. Also, the 10mm bleed screw on the filter housing is a bad setup, IMO, the O-ring for that didn’t come with my oil change kit and I am not sure if I have it properly torqued to spec, as it kind of clicks into place while tightening.
I need to get some spares on hand, that is for sure.
Agreed, no dipstick is terrible, just as bad is the fact that you have to drive around “for up to 30 minutes” before you find out if you need to add oil or put too much in.
The o-ring looked fine, as did the cap. I believe that it was not properly torqued at the factory, if I had to guess. (More reason for others to check theirs)
After the oil change I ran it for a while with the skid plate off and everything was dry...but I will be checking again in a few hundred miles.
Agreed, the plastic setup is not a good idea, it is only a matter of time for these parts to fail. Also, the 10mm bleed screw on the filter housing is a bad setup, IMO, the O-ring for that didn’t come with my oil change kit and I am not sure if I have it properly torqued to spec, as it kind of clicks into place while tightening.
I need to get some spares on hand, that is for sure.
Agreed, no dipstick is terrible, just as bad is the fact that you have to drive around “for up to 30 minutes” before you find out if you need to add oil or put too much in.
As you probably observed, there are torque specs embossed on the filter cap for it and the drain plug. The drain plug has rather subtle detents that click when the plug is turned. My guess is that these are supposed to prevent the plug from backing out by itself (even if properly torqued). The absence of a drain plug o-ring in the filter kit prevented me from realizing the drain plug existed the first time I changed the oil (at 1K). Not until I had the filter cap off and in better light when I was replacing its o-ring did I see the hex socket and torque spec for it. Agreed the oil sensor display is less than obvious in its indication, and having to drive 20-30 minutes to get a reading is annoying. Once, when I was parked with the engine idling for about 20 minutes, I checked the oil level indication and it displayed maximum as if overfilled. It returned to normal after a few minutes of driving. Others here have reported sensor failures and bad readings (both overfill and underfill) that required replacement by the MB dealer.
As you probably observed, there are torque specs embossed on the filter cap for it and the drain plug. The drain plug has rather subtle detents that click when the plug is turned. My guess is that these are supposed to prevent the plug from backing out by itself (even if properly torqued). The absence of a drain plug o-ring in the filter kit prevented me from realizing the drain plug existed the first time I changed the oil (at 1K). Not until I had the filter cap off and in better light when I was replacing its o-ring did I see the hex socket and torque spec for it. Agreed the oil sensor display is less than obvious in its indication, and having to drive 20-30 minutes to get a reading is annoying. Once, when I was parked with the engine idling for about 20 minutes, I checked the oil level indication and it displayed maximum as if overfilled. It returned to normal after a few minutes of driving. Others here have reported sensor failures and bad readings (both overfill and underfill) that required replacement by the MB dealer.
Your post couldn’t have come at a better time. I figured I would re-check my oil level, even though I did after I changed the oil and drove it around and it read perfectly.
Checked it today and here was the result. (Pic was taken with the car off, but it read the same when running.)
am gonna try to suck some oil out the top side rather than get covered in oil underneath it.
02-23-2021, 06:41 PM
