Hi!

My first post! My question is this. I have an '04 C320, on which I would like to perform interim oil changes. But I have no lift or pit, so I'd like to use one of those vacuum pumps to remove the old oil. However, these devices all come with instructions which say to insert the vacuum tube into the dipstick tube. My car, of course, has no dipstick or tube. So can I insert the vacuum tube into the oil filter pipe tube, or some other place and still extract a sufficient amount of old oil?

Thanks,
Richard

They have done away with the dipstick?????? This really rubs me the wrong way. Someone please tell me why this is a good idea.

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

the dipstick guide tube is there, it is on the passenger side at the rear of the engine, there is a plastic plug in the end, it is close to the transmission dipstick guide tube.
if you have Wis look at document number AR01.45-P-7555PV this document shows the dipstick guide tube.
email me if you have any questions Ray
mercedessd@cox.net

Dolebludger,

I have no lift or pit to do my own oil changes, I just jack the car up on jack stands and pull the drain plug. It gives me a chance to look under the car for potential problems.

If you want to suck the oil out I believe the only option you have is to suck it out of the oil filter pipe tube.

Mpolli,

I can't tell you why this is a good thing mainly because I don't believe it is a good thing, however I believe that the newer Mercedes use an electronic dipstick where you can monitor the level from the dash display.

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Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

Well, if it is as accurate as the gas guage in my C230 then good luck!! I guess it is probably accurate enough for people who don't care exactly how much oil they have. I guess they had to remove the dipstick to offset the cost of going back to 2 wiper arms.

Mike

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

For what it is worth, I don't believe that having to rely solely on the dashboard display one can scroll up for oil level is a good idea either. I know that this same (or very similar) 3.2 liter V6 came on the late 90's E class sedans, and DID have an oil dipsitik. I wonder if a dipstick could simply be purchased somewhere for my car.

But if the dipstick guide tube is present on my car, I should be able to use a vacuum oil extractor through it, right?

For the record, my car has that Flexible Service System, wherein I get free oil changes every 10K miles for the warranty period. Problem is, I don't think an oil change at those intervals is often enough, and would like to do an "in between" change at 5K miles, and perhaps also replace the oil filter every 2.5K miles. Indeed, I check the underside of the car more often than that. I just personally don't like to do oil draining from under the car, as I always end up splattering it all over, due to my own lack of skill, I think.

Thanks
Richard

I agree with your 5K oil change intervals. I've been doing 5K oil change intervals once I started using Mobil 1 synthetic oil.

In my opinion 2.5K oil filter changes is overkill. The oil filter element (for the 3.2L engine) is sufficient in size to handle 5K filter change intervals. You might want to inspect your oil filter element when you change your oil to see if it needs to be changed more often.

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Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

I thought the 2 wiper arms was cost reduction too - the single oscillating arm was a work of art, and it almost always worked.

richard, let us know what you find with the dipstic, and yes you can do an oil extract through the dipstick. that is the way we do it and the way the dealer does it also, just to see how much oil was left after extracting i pulled the plug and nothing was there. the amchine i was using has a end that fits directly in the guide tube and seals with a couple of o-rings.
Ray
mercedessd@cox.net

Well, I have found what I think is the capped-off dipstick tube near the rear of the engine passenger side. BUT, I can't locate the transmission dipstick as a check on this location. I'll have a "tech" friend look at it for me before I drain anything. But it looks to me as if MB merely failed to install the dipstick and put a plug on instead.

Thanks,
Richard

The FSS engines do not have a dipstick, it has nothing to do with cost, except that MB wants you going back to the dealer for service.

MB sells a stick with no markings on it that fits all of the different FSS engines. If you want to use it full time in your engine, you'd need to cut it to length and add marking to the oil level you want.

There's a reason for the 10k interval: it's all that's needed. Most people change oil WAY too much. It's like they're stuck in the fifties or listen to too much advertising from the people who make money changing oil for you.

Mobil 1 has gone over 100,000 road miles with no wear on the engine. This from a PHD chemist in their research deartment who worked on the development of Mobil 1. The first car they tried it in was their CEO's limo. He didn't like to fly & was driven cross country constantly. It took about 18 months for him to do the 100,000 miles. Don't know how many time I've heard that story from the guy who did it. It's one of his favorites. He walks the walk, too. Has the Mobil 1 in his cars changed every other year. One fairly new Accord and one 15 YO BMW.

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Norm in NJ
Next oil change at 230,000miles

Manual Engine Oil Check for C-320 is possible. While I love electronic gadgets (Mercedes engine sensor), there’s nothing better than the old lay-your-eye on the mark. Before I share the Mercedes secret, I digress for a moment. Mercedes is the really forthcoming in this information. I say this because it took buying a $160 repair CD manual and going to 5 different service shops to get the truth. Although the manual provided instruction on manually checking engine oil, the first 4 service shops basically called the manual a lie. Then the one service manager told the truth and sold me measuring tool (W-140-589-15-21-00) for my C-320, 2004 model. Now the solution: there’s an engine dipstick guide tube that is located on the passenger side at the rear of the engine, next to the transmission dipstick guide tube. You must remove the air filter to gain access and the cap has a locking pin that you must break to remove. Once removed, than use the measuring tool to manually check the oil level. You may also use a vacuum pumping tool to remove the oil, instead of removing from the engine bottom. The tool can also be used to check the transmission oil level as well.

You don't need a lift or pit. Simply get a shallow drain pan and slide it underneath the car, and reach under to pull the plug. Find out the correct volume of oil and pour it in. The electronic oil level system works fine and it is EXTREMELY rare for one of these engines to need topping off between oil changes.

The vacuum oil change gizmos are just unnecessary expense.

It feels like the oil plug at the back (near transmission stic) has a hole at the end of it .Is this hole going all the way down ? or is the cap pressure tight and the hole is not real ? I assume it is a tight system for the engine to maintain oil pressure . If you brake the seal , Does it need any thing to put it back together in addition to the plastic tie that you broke ? Thank you .

The sump (ie oil pan) is not pressurized. The oil pump creates the pressure in the engine and is relieved when the oil returns to the sump. The plastic locks on the top of the dipstick tubes are to prevent tampering. They are broken off when necessary and replaced.

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Good luck.






1998 E320 Wagon