How do experienced MB mechanics not know how to measure oil level?

[shertex]

Get car back from shop...oil is clearly overfilled by a good 1.5-2.0 quarts. Drain a solid two quarts, run engine, let sit overnight on level surface (it's synthetic), measure the next morning and it's 0.8 up dipstick. PERFECT.

Take car back for various other concerns (missing bolts, leaking coolant, etc.), mention the oil level issue, and they claim oil level is low, near minimum mark.

DUH! Of course it is when you measure it shortly after shutting engine off. So I have explain about synthetic oil adhering to parts, needing to wait overnight to get an accurate reading, etc....

He works on MB's ALL....THE.....TIME. How does he not know this??

Thus ends this evening's rant.

[Doktor Bert]

Too much emphasis on theory and not enough on application, thusly, you 'train' people who miss the details...

[tyl604]

That is not something that I have ever heard. I use regular oil and have always checked it without regard to whether it has been started or not. Just wipe the blade clean and stick it in the dipstick tube. Are you sure that it works different with synthetic?

[Doktor Bert]

Originally Posted by shertex

DUH! Of course it is when you measure it shortly after shutting engine off. So I have explain about synthetic oil adhering to parts, needing to wait overnight to get an accurate reading, etc....

It has nothing to do with synthetic or petroleum base. All fluids expand when heated...

[tyl604]

That's an interesting concept. I may try it. I have a hard time believing it will make that much difference. I have been fooling around with cars for 50 years and have never once heard anyone say this is the proper way to check oil level. As Reagan once said "Trust but verify." If I can remember, I will report the findings.

[The Gears]

I have the same results when I check hot I show oil at the low mark.
In the morning after the oil has all night to drain back I show oil at the top mark.
I use synthetic as well. I think the drain back time is longer with synthetic

[Shortsguy1]

Your owner's manual gives the "correct" way to measure the oil:
for instance for w123
"Check the engine oil level with the engine at operating temperature and shut off. The vehicle should be on level ground..."
or for w124
"The best time to check the engine oil is when the oil is warm, such as during a fuel stop. With the vehicle on level ground, stop the engine and wait a few minutes for the oil to drain back to the oil pan"

[Skid Row Joe]

Originally Posted by shertex

Get car back from shop...oil is clearly overfilled by a good 1.5-2.0 quarts. Drain a solid two quarts, run engine, let sit overnight on level surface (it's synthetic), measure the next morning and it's 0.8 up dipstick. PERFECT.

Take car back for various other concerns (missing bolts, leaking coolant, etc.), mention the oil level issue, and they claim oil level is low, near minimum mark.

DUH! Of course it is when you measure it shortly after shutting engine off. So I have explain about synthetic oil adhering to parts, needing to wait overnight to get an accurate reading, etc....

He works on MB's ALL....THE.....TIME. How does he not know this??

Thus ends this evening's rant.

I don't know that you pressed hard enough for answers, nor communicated 360* with this shop....... So, they did not believe you when you stated that they overfilled your crankcase, based on the dipstick indication they checked when you took it back? Did you explain that you had drained off two quarts? Were you overcharged for these two quarts of overfill? If so, that would be worth mentioning in getting a credit for the oil your car did not need, but may have been charged for. A shop with a strict inventory control would find the discrepancies either way in time. Since you needed to take the car back for various other concerns, I would suggest you consider finding a more reputable and capable shop to have your car worked on, if this shoddy care continues. One must expect to find shortcomings with hiring work done from time to time. It's how you deal with it and how they receive it, that may set a new course or pathway in the future with this shop. Personally, were I to have a desire to continue with that shop, I would make it a learning experience for them, to avoid this mistake in the future.

I discovered that the MB dealer I recently bought my used 06 E320 CDI from, had overfilled my oil crankcase by up to 2-quarts of oil. I decided not to mention it to them, because they are nearly 300 miles from the part of Texas I reside, and I did not discover this until well into my trip delivering this car back to my homebase. Could I make a stink about it? Yeah, but for what? I'm relatively certain I would never use this shop for repair work in the future, because of distance from my home, and no harm was done that I can discern to my newly acquired used MB. FWIW, my model of MB CDI does not have a dipstick for the engine oil. It instead relies on computer indicators to determine how much oil is contained in the crankcase while running, or on start up. Thanks to forum member, TimFreeh, who recently purchased a 05 E320 CDI from Tyler Hoover, forum member here, I learned this critical computer notification feature before reading my Owner's Manual, after noticing the oil overfill discrepancy, well out from the dealership on the open Interstate highway. I, being unfamiliar with the CDI, asked the MB shop foreman where the dipstick was before purchasing the car. He answered that it was under the bolted down hard plastic engine cowling. Whether there is a dipstick under there or not, as I haven't removed the cowling yet, I do not know. I am doubtful at this time, but I must confess that I have not delved into the Owner's Manual very much since buying the car a month ago.

[MBeige]

If you checked the level and it is at a good level with the engine COLD, then it will read LOW when the engine is warmed up.

I check mine the same way your mechanic (and the owner's manual) does - warmed up after shut off on level ground.

[Stretch]

Just in case this makes a difference - I agree with Shortsguy1 and MBeige

[cooljjay]

I always find a new thread to confuse me....

When I check my oil, it is cold....I try to keep it at the top notch due to blow by and oil leaks....

But I am suppose to check it when warm? and the oil leave should be at the first notch?

I have the same issue when checking my trans fluid, I always have to re read the procedure...I am always use to reading the stick when idling in neutral warm and anything below the first notch means add...

[JB3]

I always check the oil warm, as I always check it when fueling up and the engine was just running. Too much of a bother remembering to check oil with the engine cold.

[zakatekaluka]

Here's my two cent ante for the pot... Warm. Always check it warm. If you don't believe the others on this post, read the manual for yourself.

[shertex]

Let's try it this way....if I drain the oil and replace the filter and then add EXACTLY the amount of oil specified for an oil change (in my case, 7.5 quarts), drive the car half an hour, park on a level surface, then measure the oil level after five minutes....IT WILL READ LOW. It will be between the two marks, but it will be a lower reading than you might expect. But, if I let it sit overnight (or for six hours or whatever), it will be close to or at the max mark.

Perhaps my mistake is assuming that there's something wrong with a cold oil level way above the max line. If that's the case, I'm happy to stand corrected.

Keep in mind that, for most purposes, the engine will be warm when people check the oil (service station, whatever). It's simply not practical for most people to wait a long time.

While it is true that the MB specification is to measure the oil when hot, you'll also notice that the ideal is for the oil level to be about halfway between the markings. See http://www.w124performance.com/service/Index/Resources/00.57EngineOilLevelSI.pdf I'm sure what happens is that a mechanic sees the oil halfway, mistakes "max" for "full," and adds oil.

In any event, it's certainly the case that, when you shut off the engine, the oil gradually drains into the pan. So there are a variety of levels when the engine oil is "warm."

EDIT: They claimed that they put in 8 quarts of oil (which is a little bit too much), but it looks like they used 9 (I provided the oil). I drained a full two quarts. When I get it back, I will get the level halfway between the marks WHEN WARM and then see what it looks like the next morning.

[zakatekaluka]

I see what you're saying, and I agree that if they put in 9 qts, that's too much. I think my book specs say 7.7 qts. It's always amazing during an oil change to watch it suck in qt after qt. Just did an oil change in and old Beetle...2.5 qts. LOL Somehow it just didn't feel right...

Course, the engine of that little thing could fit in my pocket...

In a properly filled engine, the oil level will be above the max line when cold, though you're right...it shouldn't be "way above". That said, these beasts really do suck up a lot during running. I think you'll be surprised at the difference on the dipstick between hot and cold.