SL/R230: OIL DIPSTICK
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Joined: Jan 2018
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From: Nashville Tn
2011 mercedes sl550, 1995 corvette
OIL DIPSTICK
I’ve checked oil level in a lot of cars and never had s hard time reading oil level, but the orange dipstick on the sl550 is almost impossible to get s good measurement if oil level when new oil is in. Anybody have any tips that might help?
Last edited by ray0214; Jun 6, 2019 at 08:44 PM.
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2005 R230 SL-500 / 2017 E300
My SL500 has no oil dipstick but it does have a transmission fluid filler tube. The dipstick for it is considered a mechanic's tool and does not come with the car. Where is the dipstick that you are talking about? The one near the firewall is for transmission.
Mike.
Mike.
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From: Nashville Tn
2011 mercedes sl550, 1995 corvette
In my sl550, I have no tranny dipstick or fill tube. I do have an oil dipstick from which I use an oil extractor to suck oil out.. and it is oil. Problem is, the dipstick, it’s orange and very hard to see level
Last edited by ray0214; Jun 6, 2019 at 08:44 PM.
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2005 R230 SL-500 / 2017 E300
When I have a hard time reading a dip stick I found something that helps.
I insert the stick until it is almost all of the way in but not hitting any oil yet. Then dip again just a little deeper. Keep doing this until you see the first sign of oil on the tip of the stick. It should be easy to see being that the rest of the stick is dry. Once you find the spot where the stick just first hits oil it's not hard to figure out the correct level by inserting a little deeper each time and looking at it until you are all the way in. It works for me.
Mike.
I insert the stick until it is almost all of the way in but not hitting any oil yet. Then dip again just a little deeper. Keep doing this until you see the first sign of oil on the tip of the stick. It should be easy to see being that the rest of the stick is dry. Once you find the spot where the stick just first hits oil it's not hard to figure out the correct level by inserting a little deeper each time and looking at it until you are all the way in. It works for me.
Mike.
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Unlike the M113 in the SL500, the M273 engine in the SL550 comes with a traditional dpstick. I've had no issues reading the level I pull it out, wipe it off, reinsert it, pull it out and check it. Of course the dirtier the oil, the easier it is to seen on the red/orange plastic scale, but I can see it. Note that the scale of the dipstick is two quarts, so halfway between the marks means it's a quart low.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 152
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From: Nashville Tn
2011 mercedes sl550, 1995 corvette
Guess the old eyesight getting bad, but with new oil in I can’t tell the difference between actual oil level and residual oil along stick. I know I’m in the operating range but can’t tell exactly where😳🤓 anyway thanks for responding to a minuscule item. I really enjoy this forum.. read new posts every night
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2005 R230 SL-500 / 2017 E300
If you remove the dip stick first thing in the morning there won't be any oil along the stick that it picked up from the tube. Just figure that it will read a little lower after running due to a little oil being distributed and adhering to the engine parts.
Mike.
Mike.
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Joined: Sep 2013
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From: Walpole, MA USA
2004 SL500
My SL500 has a digital display of oil level in liters.
Key in ignition, position 1. Press reset 3 times, when battery appears in the multi function display, arrow up until you see the blank oil level. Start the car, the display will measure oil level. Wait until it reads steady state.
What I'm not sure of yet is... what's the proper level in liters?
Key in ignition, position 1. Press reset 3 times, when battery appears in the multi function display, arrow up until you see the blank oil level. Start the car, the display will measure oil level. Wait until it reads steady state.
What I'm not sure of yet is... what's the proper level in liters?
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2005 R230 SL-500 / 2017 E300
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From: Pacific Northwest
2011 SL550
Hi Ray, I too have the 2011 and the dipstick is hard to read. I just changed the oil/filter and ours calls for 9 qts oil and that was what my extractor pulled out (if you don't have an extractor, get one. Changed oil in my sl550, wife's Range Rover and a smart car fortwo in leas than an hour, including air filters and wipers. Later on I check the oil in the garage, lighting is key. Almost impossible to see new oil on the orange plastic.
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2005 R230 SL-500 / 2017 E300
Thread Starter
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From: Nashville Tn
2011 mercedes sl550, 1995 corvette
Absolutely, it has a capacity of 8 qts. I stop and empty a couple qts into another container then finish evacuating maybe takes 10 minutes and pulls 9 qts out. Mity vac #7201 fir about $102 on amazon.
Last edited by ray0214; Jun 12, 2019 at 04:28 PM.
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From: Pacific Northwest
2011 SL550
My mighty vac has a ten qt capacity. It takes less than five minutes. Are you trying to use a mighty vac brake bleeder? 4 ounces would be an awful small vac. I bough the 10 qt model as most v8's are 8-9 qt capacity. It helps to loosen the oil filter a few turns when you start evac, makes it go faster.
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Joined: Dec 2017
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From: Pacific Northwest
2011 SL550
Three vehicles, oil/filter, air filter, wiper blades in around an hour. Once a year near my birthday so I don't forget 😉 Don't get on me about changing the oil only once a year. I've had three vehicles over 500K miles with original engines and transmissions. I had a service manager read me the riot act when I told him my regimen when on truck was fairly new. I told him tha I'm busy and don't have time for all of his maintenance nonsense and the next day I brought by my 542K mile Jeep GC.😉
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Joined: Sep 2018
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From: Tremonton, Utah
2014 E350 Sport 4Matic Sedan
My Mity Vac sure takes a long time. I use it because I don't like to lift my SL550 if I don't have to. But I would never say that faster oil changes is a forte of the Mity Vac.
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Joined: Jan 2018
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From: Nashville Tn
2011 mercedes sl550, 1995 corvette
Maybe different models are different, but I pump the mityvac about 6 or 8 times and sit back and watch it do it’s thing. It won’t quite hold the 9 qts, so I stop and pour out a qt then resume. Like I said .. maybe 10 minutes, then clean out pump with purple power oil cleaner by just sucking some into vac sloshing g it around and it’s clean. The trick is to get the tube properly positioned. Hit bottom of pan and lift slightly. As pump begins to sputter move the tube to the bottom of pan, maybe pump a few more times. With filter on top of engine, I can’t imagine an oil and filter change being any faster. You would be surprised to know how many dealers use the vac method and charge 5 times as much as you pay for oil from Walmart and a Mann filter from advance auto... total cost less than $60
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My Mityvac is pretty slow, but it's been used A LOT. My guess is that it's pumped over 500 quarts of oil and needs new seals (which really just means I need a new Mityvac). It does work much better when the oil is hot.
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Joined: Dec 2017
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From: Pacific Northwest
2011 SL550
Ive had my mighty vac for about six years now and I've never cleaned it after using. Less than five minutes to completely drain the 550 or the rover. Perhaps your o-rings are bad in the flow switch. Had to change mine on an older 8qt mighty vac because it was taking 15-20 mins.
Member
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 198
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From: Pacific Northwest
2011 SL550
My older vac was well used (cars, trucks, backhoe, mowers, etc) and it was getting really slow. I used to clean it out but read somewhere that the o-rings can be damaged by the cleaner so I stopped. When I swapped out the seals the old vac was fast again. I gave it to my neighbor and he still brags about it. My newer one is several years old and I've never cleaned it and it will take 9qts out in less than five minutes.
