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When I first got this car I was amazed that the dealership would change the oil for about $50 with a new filter AND provide a loaner car so I didn't have to wait. Sometimes I would drop the car off, transfer my golf clubs to the loaner (always a new Mercedes) and play a few hours until it was time to pick up the car. I also liked that the car was washed and lightly vacuumed.
This was a great deal as the filter is about $20 and 11 quarts of oil today can cost between $35 and $45. Plus you have to drain and recycle 11 quarts of oil. Frankly, I'd rather change the spark plugs!
The old days are done.
Oil change service at my area dealerships are no longer a deal. Recently they wanted to charge me about $120 for the parts, supplies and service. This is probably the true cost of the oil change.
I decided that after 17 years of ownership, it was finally time to change the oil in the V12 by myself.
I bought an online oil filter for less than $20 and it included the filter, big O-ring (for the filter cap) and a new seal for the oil pan drain bolt. The online filter wasn't the same as the MB one I pulled from the engine. It didn't have a perforated reinforcement sleeve and the oil pan bolt seal wasn't made of dead soft copper. It looked like brass at best, but was probably some sort of gold colored plated soft steel. I wish I had tried to stick a magnet to it before I threw it away.
Oil comes in cardboard boxes like the wine that my wife drinks. I went to Walmart and got 2 boxes of 10W-40 Havoline ($15 each). Each box held 6 quarts.
I have 2 oil drain containers, one holds 7 quarts and the other holds 15. I mostly only have used the big container for transmission work, but not today.
The drain part of the oil change is conventional, except you really should remove the lower engine cover to make sure nothing will disrupt the flow of 11 quarts of warm oil once the oil pan drain bolt is removed. The hardest part of the whole procedure is removing the oil filter cap which requires a special filter wrench. I didn't have that particular wrench in my tool collection so I went to Advance Auto Parts and picked up W54121 which is a 74mm x 14 flute wrench ($8).
Now all I had to do was remove the driver's side air box, spin off the oil filter cap, replace the filter and reverse the disassembly. Piece of cake!
Air box removed and filter wrench on oil filter cap.
This photo also shows my AC refrigerant line with its new insulation after the old foam insulation expired.
Here's a photo of my RENNtech modified driver's side air box.
Start to finish it took about an hour and a half because it was the first time I ever did this procedure. It could be done quicker, but I like to take my time and maybe do a little cleaning in the process.
I will say this about doing the oil change yourself.
I didn't damage anything in the process because it's my car and I know how to work on it. The dealership doesn't really know how to work on the car any more. EVERY time I got the car back something was missing or broken. The 2 nuts that hold the air box in place were always substituted with non stock items. Refitting the air box inlet back into the slot next to the radiator must have been a chore because the facia it abuts to was always blown out and missing 2 or 3 of its pushpin keepers. One of the benefits of the RENNtech air boxes is it's WAY easier poking the inlet into its slot than the original setup.
Sometimes the oil wasn't filled all the way up (quart low). And my absolute favorite service faux pas was not lifting the body with the ADS rocker so the car can clear the lift ramp. Twice in the past I was presented with the car and the front wheel well cover was displaced into the tire causing a very loud buzz saw sound as the car rolled. No I didn't drive the car into the dealership with the tire chewing into the front wheel well cover.
The MANN part number you provide does have the perforated reinforcement sleeve on the filter. Next time I service the oil, I'll use the MANN part number.
The MANN part number you provide does have the perforated reinforcement sleeve on the filter. Next time I service the oil, I'll use the MANN part number.
Thanks Andreas.
if you bought the hengst filter like me, it’s the actual oe filter. But if anyone can confirm that the mann filter has the sleeve, I’ll buy it next time
Sadly, I'll probably be able to tell you at my next oil change.
It's most likely meant to keep the filter from ballooning. The oil pressure and filtering happen on the inside of the cartridge.
Not that I really tax the engine before it's had a chance to warm up, but if you use a heavy weight oil and rev the engine before the oil has had a chance to come up to operating temperature; an unreinforced filter can balloon from the pressure and thick oil. Even tear it up I suppose.
07-27-2021, 09:56 AM
