On a 95 E300D, if I just change the oil and not the filter, does any oil stay in the filter housing and not drain into the sump? Same fluid amount as if I did change the filter too?

I suggest you have a shop change your oil.

This is inadvisable, unless you're doing some kind of engine flush or something and draining very very young oil.

Just from an internal cleanliness perspective, I'd change the filter to a new one and run the old oil longer before I'd put clean oil through a dirty filter. As the filters plug up and collect trash, they become less effective. These diesels carry a heavy soot load in the oil, which further puts a strain on the filters to keep up.

I ALWAYS change oil and filter simultaneously no matter what engine I'm working on. But *if* I were going to do one and not the other, the filter change is perhaps even more important than the fluid change.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

The order of goodness for noobs like you and me is as follows

1. Have Dealer do full service
2. Shop Change oil/Filter and do a once over
3. You change oil/filter using diy's from this site and others

Anything less than this isn't really maintanance.

If you just change the oil you work your pump too hard cuz its got to pull new oil through a clogged filter

If you just change the filter you have less viscosity to work with and you shorten engine life.

PS. I know only what I have read from this site, and I skip over reading most of the time.

__________________

77' 300D, "Cartman" SOLD @ 150K (didn't know what I had)
83' 300SD, "The Superdon" 325k+ @ 28mpg
95 E320 wagon, "Millennium Falcon" 231k+ @ 24 Mpg
95 E300D, "Sherley" 308k @ 33.69 Mpg, currently anticipating a head
99 Suzuki Intruder "Trudy" @ 45 mpg

Shop oil changes are for the birds. I don't like having to worry that I paid for synthetic and the guy is putting in generic dino. And I don't want a grade school kid changing my oil at Jiffy Lube. I once caught them trying to remove the fuel filter as they mistook it for the oil filter.

As to not sound to ignorant, I just changed the oil and FILTER this past Saturday to a 15W40 grade. I have had a change of heart on that grade and I am going to put in some TOTAL oil (5W40) that meets MB specs for this car.

With only a few miles on the filter, does it need to be replaced?

Not really helpful, but FWIW when you open the filter cannister it is empty of oil. However I don't know if it drains only when you remove the center tube.

It does not seem logical that it drains when the car is shut down, because it would take some time to fill up every time the car started up, and at least on my car the oil pressure comes up almost instantly.

But you should change the filter, because it is super easy, reachable from the top. One of the easiest cars ever for this.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D, 310K

Does that car have an oil cooler? If so, it probably holds half a quart to a quart. Either way, that's a greater volume than the filter canister would hold, and there's no way to evacuate it. No good way, that is.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

15w40 is good oil. I'd run it 5k and then dump it for whatever you want to put in.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

ahh. no problem then.
I'd take the cover off, to let the oil drain out of the filter. yes, if you leave the filter lid on. 1.5 quarts can stay in the filter/cooler.
it's always best to go ahead and change both, but in your case with just a few miles on the oil, and going up to syn. I suppose it'd be ok.
How many miles were on the oil before the 15W40 went in?
old oil can bypass the filter entirely if the old filter was dirty, so, if you change it too, you get the benefits of getting the gunk that was left by the old oil, and fresh synthetic to flush the final dreggs of the original dirty oil out too...
I STILL recommend changing both filter and oil. (it's what? 12.00 for another filter?)
get all the bennies of changing to SYN!

Yes.

However, I would recommend a filter change, if I were only changing ONE of the two.......

Chriss W-- "It does not seem logical that it drains when the car is shut down, because it would take some time to fill up every time the car started up, and at least on my car the oil pressure comes up almost instantly."

I do not know about the OP's car..
but for those with a 617 the oil change procedure is to loosen the top center bolt on the oil filter and pull it up so the ( hopefully clean and not stopped up ) tiny center hole is exposed.. to let the oil drain into the pan for changing out...so for our cars it is held in the filter container and not allowed to drain out unless addressed specifically..

__________________
1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/10414-help-i-need-check-stretch.html

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

Why on Earth would you want to change a good 15w/40, for a 5w/40...??

Is the ambient temp in your town down to Minus 20 deg Centigrade..????

--Thats the Only time you'll need a 5w/xx rated oil!

Ive noticed in the past, 'Wide' multigrade-oils like this are not as good as a more 'normal' grade, on Our old design engines...(OM.602 OM.603 OM.615-7)

My old 190D 2.5 HATED 'wide' Multigrades and also semi and fully synthetic multigrades. Hydraulics clattered horribly, and oil pressure lower than 'Normal' when idling fully Hot...

--Using a Good MINERAL Diesel oil of 15w/40, and it was just great!--Better Oil Pressure when FULLY hot too!!

IMHO, Best to stick to a Good Quality 15w/40 Mineral Diesel oil, and Change it and filter at 5-6K miles.....

--Leave the expensive Semi and fully synth for the Muppets!

__________________
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...0TDnoplate.jpg

Alastair AKA H.C.II South Wales, U.K. based member

W123, 1985 300TD Wagon, 256K,
-Most recent M.B. purchase, Cost-a-plenty, Gulps BioDiesel extravagantly, and I love it like an old dog.

W114, 1975 280E Custard Yellow,
-Great above decks needs chassis welding--Really will do it this year....

The filter isn't very expensive and is very easy to change. For that reason, I don't change the oil without the filter.