Whats the word on this site????

[benmaggoswd1]

Does any one have any experience with this mercedes-do-it-yourself site http://mb.braingears.com/??? Looks informative. My reason for asking is that I want to attempt my own oil change. Probably the drain through the oil pan method. Is it necessary to tighten the bolts/nuts down to a required torque. Local private MB guy wants $50 bucks. Also I understand that my '86 300 SDL weighs 4500 Lbs. I need to find some ramps that will take some of that load. I hear that Mobile 1 Synthetic is the best for my diesel. Any other sugegstions would be much appreciated.

[jrgslg]

Go to the dyi section,it will give you all the information you need,always remember the SEARCH function is your friend,good luck.

[riethoven]

$50 for a MB oil change is not so bad. The filter will be around $8 and 8 liters of Shell Rotella is about $17 which totals $25 in parts. If the shop charges $100 per hour then this gives them 15 minutes for the oil change.

Don't let this analysis lead you to believe that I am taking my cars to anyone for an oil change. I am strictly DIY when it comes to me cars. No one cares about them like I do.

[TMAllison]

You need a diesel forumulated oil that has the CF4/CG4 ratings.

Mobil 1 has changed all their labels recently. I think that the "Truck and TurboDiesel" version has those ratings but check the label.

$50 is not so bad if is for syn oil (8qts @$5-6ea for oil + a $10 filter is your cost) and the mess is on his dirveway, not yours. Of course many of us enjoy changing our own oil regrdless of cost/convienience.

[lkchris]

Originally Posted by benmaggoswd1

Is it necessary to tighten the bolts/nuts down to a required torque.

If you have to ask that question, you shouldn't attempt DIY.

[bgkast]

Originally Posted by lkchris

If you have to ask that question, you shouldn't attempt DIY.

Do you break out the torque wrench to tighten the oil drain plug?

[winmutt]

Torque until drips stop..............

[Jeremy5848]

Originally Posted by bgkast

Do you break out the torque wrench to tighten the oil drain plug?

Yes, I do. I paid good money for that torque wrench, I use it every chance I get. Until I get a warning light/buzzer on the oil pressure line, I'm not gonna risk losing an engine to lack of oil, because I failed to tighten something sufficiently. That said, I'm sure I could "eyeball" the drain plug and have no problems -- goodness knows I've done it enough in the past on other vehicles. But why not do it right? Costs no more!

BTW, an SDL weighs about 3800 pounds, I think.

[JamesDean]

Originally Posted by riethoven

$50 for a MB oil change is not so bad. The filter will be around $8 and 8 liters of Shell Rotella is about $17 which totals $25 in parts. If the shop charges $100 per hour then this gives them 15 minutes for the oil change.

Don't let this analysis lead you to believe that I am taking my cars to anyone for an oil change. I am strictly DIY when it comes to me cars. No one cares about them like I do.

i had the initial oil change on my 190E (when i first bought it) so that they could put the car in the air and look underneath...i had them change the oil, check all the fluids and inspect the underbody....cost me $36. the owner of the shop had to go out and buy the oil i asked for..

[pleiades]

diesel oil is now up to at least CI I think, I have a quart of Chevron Delo 400 and it is CI-4 rated on the back

Originally Posted by bgkast

Do you break out the torque wrench to tighten the oil drain plug?

I do. I've got a nice little 3/8 drive torque wrench just for oil plugs.

[greasybenz]

$50 to do the oil change sounds great to me!

I hate changing the oil on the passat TDI so i buy the correctly rated oil and german filter for it. Have the spee dee lube do it for $35.
Lets do the math, 5qrts of Pentosynth 5w40-$17, Mahle oil filter $3, + what spee dee charges for the oil change is $55. $5 more then what you would pay that guy to do it. Id say have him do it if you dont want to spend the cash on heavy duty ramps or a jack.

Also your SDL is tall enough that you dont have to lift it. The 300SD you dont have to lift to change the oil, the bolt on the 603 engine in your SDL is right in front, just buy a drain pan and remove the bolt to drain. Couldnt be any easier, My W124 diesel is a litte harder and i do have to lift the car up from one side to drain the oil.

Otherwise have that MB shop do it.

[Lostyankee]

I'm getting a bit expanded these days & smarter/lazy so now I drive the 300SD on a curb to change oil. Sure beats fighting ramps.
There are several issues for changing your own oil.
1. You know what the old oil looked like
2. You probaly have more experience wrenching than the 18 yr old testerone driven punk head at the speedy lube.
3. You can take a oil sample & test it just like the fleet folk do, to see how much metal & other nasties are in the oil ... when to sell/rebuild the engine.
4. You will (now?) know to never fill an MB to the full mark. See manual. Between the marks is fine.
5. you will know if the pan bolt is stripping. Very few lube joints will tell you this.
6. If your recycle site is friendly like mine, have them put a few rail road ties near the oil dump for you to drive on & change your oil there! Sure beats hauling oil in a MB trunk!
8. You will know to look at the 'o' ring in the bottom of the oil filter, right?
9. You will know to replace the power sterring filter? Most old MBs have never had this replaced. Every 100k miles or so.
10. Most important, you will look at the engine. This sounds stupid till you find a loose vacuum hose, loose belt, leaky injector return, dead cat (I know & yes it was the female's I was dating ... limp.) The trick to old cars is to find the problem before it finds you. That's called maint. or in this newspeak world PM.
11. Once a year take the MB to a service station, lift it up and do a walk around. Give them $15 and just poke around for a few minutes. Many shops will still let you do this unless you live in a snivillized city.
Now repeat: I will degrease & pressure wash all MB diesels before crawling into dark side.

[Rudolphrocks]

Originally Posted by Lostyankee

The trick to old cars is to find the problem before it finds you. That's called maint. or in this newspeak world PM.
.

Hehe, does newspeak lead to ingsoc? war is peace, ignorance is strength, and big brother is watching.....

[networkboy]

So now you've brought up a good question for me to ask.

I've never felt comfortable pressure washing my cars ... the whole water on an engine normally covered thing. I wipe down all points before and after a service and/or repair as well as any dirty areas and I vac out the debris I find. While not showroom clean my engines have always looked tidy. Is pressure washing as important (and safe for the engine) as everyone who does it makes it sound?
-nB