mark896

Just bought a 2010 GLK 350 4Matic for the wife, and am reading some conflicting things on this forum regarding the oil capacity. Some say 8.5 is working, others say 7.5. I did read that the 2010 owner's manual says 8.5 where the 2011 says 7.4.

Does anybody know if the oil pan sizes the same for both years? Right now I plan on purchasing some rhino ramps and doing the oil change myself. I guess I will add the oil in little by little and see where it winds up on the dipstick.

Mark

iridiumGLK350

just did mine not to long ago and it was 7.5 qrts for a 2wd. Didn't need ramps also as i was able to fit underneath with relative ease.

mark896

Really? No ramps or jacks or anything? Geez, maybe I'm just big. I'm 5'10" 205 and it does NOT look like I could get underneath there and much less maneuver. How easy was getting the bottom panel off? Was the drain plug easy to find?

iridiumGLK350

Not difficult to do. panel had a lot of screws thats all. drain plug is on driverside for my glk, not hard to find.

mark896

Did you replace the copper washer and if so, do you remember what size it is? Also, what are the 3 gaskets for when replacing the filter? Will I be able to tell once I pull it off? Thanks

MBNA109

Mark - it's 7.4 in the manual for the 4Matic.

Check this link out for confirmation from other board members.

Btw - why Rhino ramps? Get yourself a Mityvac & suck it out. Saves storage room, gets everything out fast & clean; easy transport to recycle.

iridiumGLK350

the copper washer i got at the dealer, it was $1.78. the 3 gaskets are on the oil filter shaft, very easy to locate. Suggest you have a pick tool to remove the gaskets. Didnt have one, so i ended up bending the tip of a paper clip to remove them.

mark896

Roger that, thanks much. Any idea of the size of the copper washer? The nearest dealer is an hour and a half away from me.

MBRedux

This issue has been hashed over and over on MBWorld... The final answer is that the early OM's are incorrect for 4-Matics.... the correct capacity is 7.5 qts. US because the driveshaft for the 4 wheel drive goes through the oil pan thus reducing the pans capacity...



On the other hand, oil changes on all Benz's are typically done by using suction oil extractors through the filler tube. There is no need to insert a line down the tube because the tube is already designed to hit the bottom of the sump. Simply insert the "O" ring fitting into the filler tube and turn on your machine... HarborFreight Tools tools has the entire system (with all the correct brass fittings for all German cars) for under $150...



Now I'm a traditionalist like you who understands that small metal particles that accumulate on the pan floor doesn't always get picked up and filtered... that the ONLY way to extract that stuff is by opening up the drain nut by hand, (after warm up) and letting it all flow out...

MBNA109

My only comment to that is if you have flaking pieces floating around the bottom of your pan, then you've bigger problems.

& short of dropping the pan & cleaning the supposed gunk out by hand, nothing ensure that the supposed stuff is actually pouring out right through the drain hole.

that said, in my experience my oil tests have come back just as good as any1 doing one method or the other of extracting oil. & I have yet had any sludge or engine breakdown with cars I've owned in the past regularly going over 200K miles each.

MBRedux

We're not speaking about "big flakes". We're speaking about ultra fine metal filings... so tiny and small that when they accumulate on the magnetic tipped drain nut, it looks like metallic grease.

Every time my shop pulls a pan on a Merc or Audi, we see this stuff covering the entire bottom of the pan. Oil extractors cannot get all this stuff because it sucks only in one spot. That said, traditional oil changing only gets a little more, that's why it's best to drain or extract the used oil after a complete warm/up test drive where the metal filings are picked up and suspended in the oil before its changed.

MBNA109

Totally agree with this.

venchka

The Word According Dad when he taught me how to change the oil in our 1961 VW 50 years ago. "Get the oil good and hot before you drain it out." Everything old is new again.

MKenM

For those of us who have been on the GLK forum for some time remember the heated (that's being very kind) discussions about pumps versus draining oil the the traditional way. Maybe I'm old school but I know that MBRedux and I agree, it's the right way to drain the oil. And after filling my 2010 with 8.5 Qts I now see that 7.5 Qts on a 2010 would be correct.

MBNA109

Yeah, it's right to do things the old way for years...caused it works.
It's worked for all the ole timers & new timers for decades.
Just as the new school is just as right & shows no difference to the tried & true process of yesteryear.
& that's based on all the oil analysis out there from BMW > Merc > VW > Mazda > whatever.

As far as I've seen over the last 10 years, when this newer method of pump oil extraction has been more frequently used...no engine has failed or detonated because of oil extraction via a pump.

If it's good enough for the oil wizards on BITOG & fellow Merc owners, it's good for me.
Viva la difference!

Nuieve

Ressurecting old thread... Was too lazy to go to MB dealer 1000000 miles away so changed oil at local Jiffys... Mine is 2010 4Matic. Brought my own 8 qts like internet told me... Told them go by stick and that it should be 7.4.... not what the manual says (8.5). They listened to me. Filled it up 7.5... too low, filled up the other 0.5... Said it was still 0.5 qt short. I drove off with 0.5 short. They made a note on the receipt that their customer was a moron who insisted on underfilling oil. Basically this oil change is invalid in the eyes of the law, I bet.

In case any warranty issues I bet me "what the internet said" will not stand against "what the manual said".

Will have to buy some more to fill it up to 8,5.

Thanks internet.

Alex Bel

I did it twice with Mityvac on my 2014 GLK250. Both times filled with 7.4qts.

Pacific208

Got the mityvac here too but not the compressor actuated one so lots of pumping to do (or not, this one's got a full warranty so I'll probably only do this once at 500 miles or sooner and let the dealer do the rest). I hear you guys about metal filings or dust floating around so question is are the drain plugs magnetic? If not then one old trick is to attach a small rare earth magnet to it but I'd then be worried about that coming off lol