CCOOK

I did an oil change the other day and it was very easy but time-consuming; some decent ramps make it a lot easier:



You can see here that after about 15-30 minutes of unscrewing plastic covers you can actually see the oil and transmission pans:



On this vehicle I thought I would try some Archoil AR9100 nanoborate oil additive along with the usual Mobil1 0w40 - this same additive I use in my diesel F350 to reduce friction and keep the engine internals relatively clean.

I can say that the results were very impressive and noticeable soon after the oil change - namely, the vibration at idle has been cut by at least 75-90%. I think that the additive may have removed a bunch of carbon buildup inside the engine caused by the direct injection system. I'm not saying this product will work for everyone but it may be worth trying before taking a vehicle to a dealership for vibration issues, and possibly spending lots of time and money.

This additive treats oil at 1.2oz per quart, and here is how you dose this additive in oil to ensure that you do not overfill:

32Q = 32x + y
y = 1.2x

Q = fill capacity (i.e. 8.5 quarts for M278)
x = number of quarts oil without additive
y = ounces of additive needed

So for an M278 we get:

32(8.5) = 32x + 1.2x = 33.2x
272 = 33.2x
x = 8.19 quarts 0w40
y = 1.2(8.19) = 9.83 oz AR9100

So I round and get 8 quarts, 6 ounces of Mobil1 0w40 plus 10 ounces of AR9100 for a total of 8.5 quarts - I checked my oil yesterday and the level was right in the center of the min-max range.

-CCOOK

rbf41000

What sort of vibration were you getting and at what mileage did you first notice it?

CCOOK

I got some vibration at idle - no codes, no RPM fluctuations, runs great and drives great - the vibrations may even have been normal - I just noticed theyre nearly gone with additive on board; car has just under 20k miles right now.

rbf41000

Thanks.
I asked as I have just started to experience a slight high idle, no vibrations but the idle is a couple of hundred rpm high 75% of the time, the other 25% of the time it is at just over 600 rpm, not really a problem but I noticed it as the car will creep a little faster than normal when you take your foot off the brake with no throttle.
I am thinking this may be fuel as I seem to remember it started just after a fill up from a tank that was empty enough to turn the low level light on.
FYI 20k miles on an 14.

CCOOK

Run 2 tanks of gas in a row, each with a 20-oz bottle of Techron Concentrate Plus - I would take the car out and run at high engine speed for at least 1-2 hours to get the fuel rail pressure up high enough to let the PEAs do their job on any deposits you may have in your fuel system; this additive is actually recommended in the manual.

rbf41000

I put some fuel additive in yesterday but as of now have not had time to drive more than a few miles.
I'm pretty sure it is just bad gas and will clear in time.

Streamliner

This post brought back an old memory.

When I was a young guy, I changed the oil in my 1950's & 1960's American cars all the time. Then, I got my first "foreign" car, a 1965 Jaguar XKE Roadster. Bought it used, so first thing, change the oil. So, there I am, in my parents driveway, with my trusty 5 quart drip pan under the drain plug. I open it up, and as I always did, I dropped the plug into the pan, as I didn't want it to drip on my folks nice, clean driveway. Well, guess what? The six cylinder engine in the Jag held WAY more oil than the American V8's I was experienced with and as I watched in horror, the drip pan filled to the brim and started overflowing. I think the Jag held something like 10 quarts and I was scrubbing that driveway for hours afterwards.

I've done many oil changes since then, done complete engine rebuilds, etc., but by the time I got my first MB, I decided it was time to let the dealer do everything.

The Jag? It was gorgeous and drove like a dream, but sitting overnight in the garage, something would always break. Way too expensive for a college kid to maintain, so I sent it down the road and went back to Corvettes.