Hi Gang - I did my first oil change on my '06 E55 yesterday, pretty straight forward just a little time consuming.

I did buy a Genuine Benz oil filter from the dealer, it was $25. My buddy who manages the nearby Advance Autoparts said that he can get Beck Arnley ($19), Fram ($13.50) and Bosch ($13) oil filters for the E55, they all come with the correct O-rings as well. We both agreed the Fram is NOT a consideration but what about the Bosch at half the price, have any of you guys tried this filter?

Interestingly enough the Genuine Benz came with an extra O-ring, which was weird (so 5 in total) and the E55 only requires 4 including the large O-ring that fits on the housing body. I am not sure if this filter is also for another engine that requires 5 O-rings in the filter housing?!?

Also I looked everywhere to buy 0W40 in 5 gallon jugs and came up with nothing. Walmart and Advance Autoparts confirmed it was ONLY available in the single quart containers. I ended up buying 9qts from Walmart for $6.79 each or about $63 out the door. Can you get Mobil 1 0W40 in 5 gallon jugs?

I did my oil change by removing the two factory oil drain plugs (which are surprisingly long) and I bought two new magnetic oil plugs from Advance Autoparts for $2.20 each and then added Loctite PTFE sealer on the threads to ensure no oil creep over time.

So all said and done the oil change cost me about $95, what does the MB dealer charge as a comparrison?

Also when I bought my car last year in July '09, the MB dealer did an oil change at that time and since then my car has covered only 650-700 miles and when I drained the oil yesterday it looked BLACK! I found this peculiar? I was thinking it should not be that black.

Thanks, Yasin

 

I also have never found any 5 quarts or gallon jug of 0W40. Just buy them by the quarts or case. I've also found that the Mobil 1 synthetic oil turn black very easily (I used to check my oil at every tank of gas on my other vehicle that's how I know about the oil turn black, can't manually check the oil on the E55). If you're serious about your car, step up to some real synthetic oil like Eneos or Amsoil.

 

There are two filters that will fit the M113 E55K one is paper light brown in color (that is a no no) and the other is fleece and white in color and is the one to use, and yes it is more expensive.
Mobil 1 0w40 qts only.
Dealers charge at least $300
Oil going dark soon after change, my guess is you got a quickie change, by that I mean they (dealer) vacuumed out the oil, this method leaves over 2 quarts behind in the E55.

And props to you for knowing the E55 oil plugs are one time use and replacing them.

 

I used a K&N oil filter and had an extra ring too. The dealer was going to charge me $50 for just the labor -- I ended up doing it myself.

 

Sorry guys, but over here (including the MB stealer) they vacuum suck the oil from the fill cap rather than drain it from below. Do you use this method over here?

 

Yasin, send a sample in and get an analysis. It's only $22.50. If you know the exact brand/weight of oil you had in there before, you can get the TBN of that oil and compare it to the oil you just dumped.

You'll have peace of mind and know what's going on. Even though you didn't have a lot of miles, it has been in the sump for a while (since July '09)
When I bought my car it had been on the lot for almost a year since it was built and I changed the oil right away. Analysis showed fuel and water dilution with a slight TBN additive reduction (from not being driven except to move it once in a while on the lot; not good for it.) If I had kept running that oil just based on mileage, I could have had problems later on.

 

Sorry for what? The E55 and SLR have to be drained from below. They are the only modern MBs that require this. All other modern MBs are designed to have oil extracted, and yes most MB dealers here in the US have been using extraction for at least 10 years.
The reason is, The oil pan on the E55 has two chambers and two drain plugs, so not all the oil can be extracted by vacuum, on the SLR it is a dry sump motor and must be drained from below.

 

yes the MB oil filter kit comes with and extra O ring

 

When I had my oil change done at the dealer I paid $120.00 but my car was washed and vacuumed.

The 5th o ring is an extra.

You can only buy 0w40 Mobil1 in quarts.

 

Many thanks for the relies and chiming in gang!

220S - Good call on sending the oil in for analysis, if I was not so freakish about keeping my garage clean and dumping the old oil right away, I would have done that! Doh! I feel my car was similar to your lots of sitting at the dealership with quick start and stops to move it around.

Many thanks for all the replies and good feedaback.

We should start a 5th O-ring collection, like wine corks, beer bottle tops or penny jars! LOL

Yasin