Trying to see if it's worth it.

andaya

 

I would like to keep my ML-350 as long as I had my Isuzu Trooper. The cylinder head gave out after 11 years and 211,000 miles. I don't trust the FSS. I think that the only reason MBUSA recommends almost up to 10,000 between oil changes is they don't want to absorb the cost of more frequent changes during the "Basic Maintenance Included" warranty period.

I took my Trooper to the Texaco Quick Lube in Willow Grove Pennsylvania or the Grease Monkey in Cherry Hill New Jersey for the whole life of the truck. Shortly after buying the Trooper, a Eric, a friend of a friend showed me how to do a real tuneup. Remove and replace the distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs, ignition wires, air filter, PCV filter and gas filter. He said if I did that service once a year and went to the quick lube for 4,000 mile oil changes and yealy differential and transmission oil changes the car would run a long time. Eric was right.

A co-worker at the time who had an associates degree in automotive technology from Montgomery County Community College and worked at Main Line Lexus said that the additives in the oil that keep the engine lubricated break down after 5,000 miles. He said to stick to 4,000 mile intervals and I would have a happy Trooper.

I plan on taking my ML-350 to the Grease Monkey or letting West Chester MB pick up the car for an oil change with my own stash of discount Mobil 1 every 5,000 miles and pretty much stick to my own yearly service schedule of air filter, gas filter and spark plugs if I can ever figure out how to change them. I haven't even looked under the hood except to see that the air filter is easy to get at.

 

Hilarious!

Thanks.

 

FSS is a proven system and has been around since 98. Several vehicles (98's) are running fine with 140k + miles on them using the FSS system with mobil 1. Ask UncAl.

 

MB had 10K oil changes before they started including them for free. However, there is nothing wrong with changing mobil 1 and filter at 5K. Oils with higher TBN like AmsOil might be a problem but the jury is still out on over alkylinity. If you want to save a few bucks, change the filter and add makeup oil at 5K and hte whole thing at 10K. I tested the oil at 5K and found it to be perfect except for some marginally higher silica content. Cahged the filter and tested again at 10K. It had about the same silica content and a slightly lower TBN but all other oil properties were fine. This is probably because synthetics don't need a bunch of additives that might break down over time.

 

andaya... you got a benz... i dont think its worth saving what 50 bucks? to risk anything going wrong... just stay with benz oil changes.

 

That's really hilarious. I don't understand the skeptism about the FSS. It's been going on for a long time and it works. I have had my crank case oil analyzed from my E-Class after 13K+ miles, based on FSS schedule. The results were outstanding for the used oil.

Well, I think Eric was partially right - the distributor cap/rotor and the ignition wires (I assume you mean spark plug wires!!!) are items you change with time. Unless you drove over, say 80K/year, there's no need to change these items. They would affect performance rather than engine life - Eric cost you money here man . The air filter is usually at 30K. if done earlier it's OK but waste of meney. Will affect engine life if not done regularly - Eric is even here. The PCV valve and fuel filter, no need to cganhe every year unless you drive a lot and in dusty/snowy/extreme weather conditions. Eric, here.

Well, I hope he passed his tests becasue that thing about oil breakdown is not exactly true :o . Dino oil may be, but not synthetics. Here's a quote from Mobil's site

Oil change intervals can be as short as 3,000 miles or as long as 15,000 miles on some new cars. Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™'s high-performance reserves can give you the confidence to go the full mileage or time frame recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Mobil 1 with SuperSyn™ is especially suitable for the latest vehicles with extended drain intervals or vehicles with oil monitoring systems that vary oil drain intervals.

They'd not be saying that if the oil's capacity was limited to 5K, would they??? Besides, MB's and BMW's are running out there all day with oil older than 5K and they're having no problems. I do agree that 4K is a good limit for older cars, especially with synthetic. I use Mobil 1 on my 89 300ZX Turbo with 160K on the odo, with 4K changes.

Quote:

I plan on taking my ML-350 to the Grease Monkey or letting West Chester MB pick up the car for an oil change with my own stash of discount Mobil 1 every 5,000 miles and pretty much stick to my own yearly service schedule of air filter, gas filter and spark plugs if I can ever figure out how to change them. I haven't even looked under the hood except to see that the air filter is easy to get at. .

That's the choice you make, I'm happy for you. But the 5K changes are a waste of money. The plugs are platinum tipped and will do 100K - don't waste money!!! You'd be completely out of your mind to change the fuel filter every 5K miles . Why not just do a tire rotation instead????

BTW, Andaya, if you'd go that far, why not just get a Topsider and do the oil changes yourself. Is it the cost you just don't trust the FSS. If it's the former, then DIY. If it's the latter, then just take the vehicle in for more oil changes at your local MB. they'll scold you but after the work they'll reset the FSS.

 

YUP! 145k and counting!

 

Jiffy Lube : "We lube it you lose it."