When mine is done sucking it will usually make lots of noises. I let it sit for a bit after that, move the hose around and pump it again.

I would think even dino oil should not sludge if its being change regularly and you don't have other problems, right?

Could folks clarify if, when using whatever device they own, do they stick a tube down the oil dipstick tube, or do they connect at the top of the dipstick tube? I was under the impression that the official MB device simply connects to the top of the dip stick tube, whereas some of the recent posts here describe a set up where there is a tube temporarily installed which goes down to the sump. Any clarification in this area is appreciated.

The device I linked a few posts ago has a tube that is inserted into the dip stick and is fed to the bottom of the pan.

My suction pump has a long tube.

-J

I never thought I'd live to see the day when I would use a TopSider to siphon motor oil from my MB, but it happened.

Some years ago I bought the Griots Garage TopSider referenced on page 1 of this thread. I siphon and refill the brake fluid reservoir and power steering fluid reservoirs on all of my cars during a motor oil change. Turkey basters live through maybe 2 of those oil changes and the similar device you can buy at auto parts stores does not last much longer.

One day I decided to siphon oil on my MBs M103 engine. Afterwards I pulled the pan and removed drain plug. About 1.5 oz. of oil came out. For all the grief it saved me, I'll stick with the TopSider. If you wish, do a traditional from-below change every 3rd change or so if you are concerned about doing a visual inspection from underneath.

My 23 year old MB isn't going to die because 1.5 oz. of oil is left behind. Because of the ease of changing oil the Griot's TopSider has provided, I actually find myself changing oil more often. The filter being on top of this engine is an added plus.

For those of you with old beater type cars/trucks, the TopSider is also good in some cases for siphoning transmission fluid. Griots comes with 3 different size hoses(hose circumference).

There are some Griot's look-alikes out there for about half of what Griot's charges and they are junk.

The Griot's Garage multi-fluid (latest description) extractor utilizes a tube that you feed into the dipstick tube until it contacts the bottom of the oil pan. The extractor comes with 3 different diameter tubes (reinforced with a wire so they don't kink) and a brake caliper bleeding tube. When all the oil is removed the vacuum breaks and you hear a sucking sound. When I purchased mine 15 years ago Griot's Garage called it an oil/liquid extractor.

The dipstick tube
 

in all Benz I am aware of extends to the lowest point in the crankcase. It is designed to be used for oil extraction WITHOUT pushing a plastic tube into it. All dealerships use that method.

Try it, then crawl under and remove your drain plug. You should have no oil left to drain, assuming you are parked on the level. Your extraction will also go much faster.

In my case, I use a MityVac system. It comes with a plug to seal the top of the dipstick tube.

I have found that if I don't pay attention to when my tube hits the pan, I can push it in so far that the tube curls up into the crankcase and will suck air. This tells me that my dipstick tube is not very close to the pan and would leave a lot of old oil behind. I feel sure that a Mercedes shop would be happy to leave that amount of oil behind, but I am not. The only downside to running a tube to the pan is about 10 minutes longer drain time. I can't do the obvious experiment of pulling the drain plug after sucking from the top of the dip stick tube, because my drain plug is worn round by pump pliers, and reefed in so tight I am afraid of having the pan threads come out with the plug. The car had nearly 200K miles on it when I bought it. Only you can answer the question on your car by some experimenting.

Yeah I think that a tube that goes down the dipstick tube and hits pan bottom would be best. That is what I use on my cars...