what is the best way to drain the oil?
 

I do not have access to a lift, but I do have a full shop floor, and floor jacks.
I pull the filter, replace it and the large o-ring, the two small orings on the bolt don't come with the filter... I will change them another time.
then jack the car up front as high as it will go. the oil pan looks like most of the oil is in the sump, but I bet a quart or so gets in the back of the pan when jacked up this way.
Should I jack up the rear as well?
maybe, use ramps up front and jack up the rear?
How do you guys raise your vehicles to get the most oil out of the pan?
I only got about 6 quarts in after draining my sump, so I figure atleast 1 quart is still in there. not to mention the oil in the cooler and lines. but I know of no way to drain that.
hints suggestions? ARRGH.:confused:
John

I don't raise my 300CD up at all to drain the oil. There's a "low spot" in my driveway that gives me enough clearance to unscrew the plug and drain the oil out.

If you want the extreme solution you can buy an "oil vacuum" that will remove the oil through the filler. I'd only recommend this if you feel as though you absolutely positively must spend the $80 or whatever it is for the vacuum.

Does some oil remain in the motor regardless of how you drain it? Sure it does, but as long as you change it hot and change it often, no reason to get paranoid over it.

Bit anal about changing your oil. LOL. I just roll mine on ramps and change it. If your really worried about the extra quart in the channels etc you can always put in a few quarts turn engine over a few times and drain that.

I don't lift my car at all to drain the oil. I just get it up to full temperature park it on level ground and reach under to take out the plug. Then I replace the filter while it's draining. By the time I'm done with the filter, it's done draining so I replace the plug and refill (7 quarts in the 617 turbo) and start it to refill the filter. I then wait a while (5 or 10 minutes) and check the level. It usually takes between 7 and 7.5 quarts to fill it to the midpoint on the dipstick. The 616 takes a total of about 6.5 quarts.

BTW, I replaced the little filter O-rings last time on the 617. The old ones were petrified, they just snapped off like hard plastic.

I drain mine when cold. I'm not into the burning hot oil sensation.

I crack the top on the oil filter housing, pull the drain plug and let it drain overnight.

I also put a coffee can underneath the lower oil filter hose fitting at the cooler. I crack the fitting and let that drain overnight. It gets about 20 oz. of oil from the cooler.

Next morning, I change the filter, button it up, and fill it. Usually takes 7 quarts to bring it slightly above the low mark..........just where I want it.

Wow, brian, 20 0z is over 1/2 quart
 

and you only get 7 quarts in? hmm. I must be doing something wrong. but I am sure it is getting better care from me than the last owner.
John

I don't lift it either. I just reach under and unbolt the plug.
I remove the lower oil cooler fitting and drain the cooler too.

Danny

what is the best way to drain the oil?
 

I am skinny so I fit underneath the car real easy without having to jack it off the ground. :)

curb side
 

i am skinny but not that skinny, i pull the car onto the curb so that the right side (front and back tires on the curb) is up 5 inches or so and the left side is on the street, i wiggle in and change it from there. i use 9 quarts in the 603.960:)

I can just get my drain pan in there with it sitting level on the ground. I've been leery of trying to crack the lines at the oil cooler to get that little bit out for fear of stripping the threads but I took the cooler off of the '85 without a problem so next time I think I'll give it a shot. I get the car up to operating temp, break the seal on the filter housing, open the drain plug, and let it drain for an hour or so.

i always jack it up on the drivers side and drain the oil. I change it hot so i can get as much oil out as i can. I also remove the oil filler cap and oil filter housing cap so the oil drains quicker, after it starts to drip i lower the car and more oil comes out. Let it drop out until i get drips that are about 10 seconds apart.

Always worked for me.

I usualy don't have to jack the car up. With the SDL the plug is right there just reach under and losen it. The SD is a bit more of a pita, I have to jack it up a few inch's to get at it.

Once I get off my but and put the sound panals under the SDL I'll just suck it out. You get 8 quarts with a topsider, no reason to get dirty!:D

i noticed
 

yea, i noticed with my 87 300D that when i had the plastic sound proofing layer off (for a while), i could kinda squat and reach under and get the plug out and the oil pan would fit under. i didnt have to lay on the ground. if it wasn't for that sound barrier plastic thing (which i think i one of the neetest parts of the car) i could do an oil change in like 15 minutes, easy! as for now i kinda lay uner there and admire the engine :dizzy2: and it can take me up to 40 minutes to do the oil change.

I drain it whenever the mileage indicates and do it hot.

I do not consider it of any consequence on my Merc diesels whether there be a 1/2 quart or so left upside the oilpan as I use synthetics.

On my antiques,however,especially the 30-98 I drain it hot,immediately fill with cheap 30wt "flushing oil",run it for 10 miles or so,drain the flushing oil and refill with quality single weight Castrol or Pennzoil for another 1,500 miles.
My experience operating a machine shop catering to historic vehicles has dictated this.

are there any mb oil coolers that you heard of that has a drain plug?

My '76 W115 300D oil cooler had a nice drain plug on it. I only wish MB would have left that feature in.

I caution anyone who thinks of removing the lower oil line from the cooler to drain oil, if it hasn't been loosened before its quite possible that the aluminum threads on the cooler will have bonded to the steel nut on the line consequently when wrenching on it to loosen it you will wind up with no threads left on the fitting!
When changing oil cooler hoses I cut the old hose with a knife, take the cooler out and slit the nuts with a dremel tool then the nuts come right off without taking the threads with them.
And when installing new hoses I smear some Alunox in the threads, it helps to prevent dissimilar metals from siezing. Alunox is used on aluminum electrical connectors in industrial wiring, an electrician might even give you a glob of it enough for several fittings.

Yes--I had a 220D, W 115, that had a drain plug on the oil cooler.

Joe B.

That's how I would do it, the plug is easily accessible and a short oil pan should slide right under.

I would not touch the oil cooler. Losening up 20 year old oil cooler fittings is just asking for trouble, now if you have a need for some new oil cooler parts go right ahead!:D


MB says somewhere in the 603's manual that the oil cooler does not need to be drained.

I agree, I've already trashed the upper threads on my cooler by over-tightening them. I have the original cooler and fairly new hoses. I was about 1000 miles from home when I noticed a very slight oil drip on the upper connection, and I couldn't leave it alone so I just had to tighten it "a little." Of course, I made it worse, and by the time I was done playing with it I had a major leak. I ended up sealing it with JB Weld and stopping the leak so I could get home. Now there is no way to remove the "good" hose from the cooler, so at some point I will have to replace the hose as well as the cooler.

Started my oil change on the SD today. Put my coffee can beneath the lower oil cooler line fitting and took a big crescent wrench and cracked it loose by one turn.

No problem.:D

Can't understand why you fellows have such a struggle with that fitting.;)

Tomorrow, I tighten it back up, put the drain plug back in, and fill it with Rotella Syn.

Took a sample for analysis as well. First sample since the head was replaced.

You have sounthern cars!:D You should have seen how fast the threads stripped on the SD's cooler. The top threads came right off with the fitting, no extra effort needed!:eek:


The oil on the SDL stays pretty much clear for 30-50 miles, so I must get quite a bit.:D

Used to do some version of most of the replies - then, I got a Topsider - have not done a MB oil change from underneath since then.

Far, far cleaner, and, don't have to removed the shield!

Oh yeah ... no laying down on the job!

Sure, but, I also took a torch to those fittings before I replaced the hoses. I'd have stripped the lower fitting for sure without a good dose of heat.

Bet you didn't use heat on the SD...........did 'ya??

Brian,

I drain the oil cooler on my W116 the same way: turn the hose nut loose until it drips oil and then let it drain overnight. The oil that gets on the threads keeps them from fusing onto the oil cooler threads.

No problems so far, 275,000+ miles.

P E H

Of course you do.........where do you think I got that idea???..............:D :D

617's.....I change mine hot and don't jack it up. Pull the pan plug, then go up top and take the filter out and remove the fill cap. Give it a while [1/2 hour or so] then put it back together and refill.

Never would I touch my oil cooler lines. They don't leak now but if I touched them they would leak for sure!:D

The PO [and the original owner!] of my 240 told me he always ran a flushing oil for 50 or 100 miles before putting the "good" oil in it. Never done that either but sounds like a good idea.

You're a brave man Brian! The cost of an oil cooler keeps me from trying to get that last drop out.

Cheers,

Bill

On the L I did and both fittings took the threads off.

On the SD, the top fitting got a shot of PB Blaster the night before, and the day I planned on doing it. Put a wrench on it and it losened right up, I thought wow maybe this will be easy. The threads came off with the fitting with little effort.

I have had zero luck with oil coolers.

I blow the lines out...
 

After I have removed the filter from its housing, I use my rubber tipped air nozzle to blow a small amount of air into the top line coming into the housing. Go slow as it will slatter about if too much pressure is used. I am sure that this method is not as good as actually draining the cooler, but I would not mess with those fittings unless I had too.

As far as oil changing goes, I had a mercedes mechanic friend of my recommend a liquid dynamics P/N 24224T extractor to me a number of years ago. While it was darn expensive, I have used it more that I ever expected.

heh, what have we learned in the last 4 years... oil coolers are hard to work on...
for some.

I'm finding all kinds of things that are harder too work on going from four to five cylinders. No oil cooler lines at all on the 240 (euro), doing a clutch slave with that extra cylinder back there is a real bear, not to mention the starter:eek: or pulling the IP:eek: I figure its just the price I must pay for all those extra horses:D

you should technically never need to touch the drain plug, unless you want to change the bolt's gasket. MB's method of draining the oil is from the top. it's in the manual...

doing the starter is a PITA on any merc engine stevo. try doing one on a w201. major pain.