So I took over ownership of am 04 E320 wagon in good shape, but owned by a non-car guy with all the work paid for under various service deals. I found the trans dipstick cover on the windshield cowl where it got crushed by a hood hinge, there was sealant spilled on the engine cover and dried, broken tubes and tabs everywhere..The car was NOT cared for. And driving it home from Texas nearly 2,000 miles it showed low on oil..

It has a great carfax record with lots of good work but none of it careful..needs a LOT of houskeeping and clean-up!

He said he'd been running Mobil 1 synthetic 0-30 and for 95K miles, I believe 5-30 is a better choice..

So do I pull the splash pan and the drain plug? No way..I discover not even the dealers do that, they pump out like I do. You can get vacuum pumps but I use an electric 12 volt fuel pump with 3/8 vinyl tubing..connect to the battery lug and to nearby ground and the pump takes about 20 minutes to empty a warm engine sump. But just to learn something I kept using the car menu to check the oil level and it NEVER indicated low oil at any time, even empty!! Yikes.

So I had to measure the extracted oil and guess at adding back the correct amount of the new 5-30. I believe MB now recommends 5-30 oil in full synthetic. The O-30 fails to maintain lifter clearance on start up and it clatters a lot.. and its leak prone, with 5-30 it truly sounds better. IMO..

And yet the worry is, can I trust the computerized level system which failed to give me a low indication?? Yikes!!!.. So anyway on first drive the engine sounded great, but then the low oil message came on a mile down the road and it took another quart to top up..So all is well! System does actually work and I was very close to the correct amount.

Anyone can do this in an hour and for $40 there is your oil change! (if you own an electric fuel pump..and get some vinyl tubing..You just need care the tubing doesnt splatter you with oil when you remove from the dipstick tube..Otherwise its as rough a job as collecting the morning paper from the mailbox.) I also have done the transmission this way..

Change the filter if you want to..any time. Its a separate and totally independently do-able task..

If there’s a dipstick tube there should be a trustworthy dipstick. Check the level if the warning system alerts you.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

puzzler, Griot's Garage sells a fluid/liquid extractor that creates a vacuum to remove oil through the dipstick tube. It is a manual device and very effective. I have used one for 20 years for oil changes for our MB vehicles. I suspect a MB dealer would sell a "dipstick tool" that you can use to visually confirm the oil level in the W211 engine, similar to the "dipstick tool" you need when changing transmission fluid.

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Fred Hoelzle

There is an engine oil dipstick available for this application.

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Jim

You might want to check the sensor that reads the oil level. Don't know if any of the self tests performed when the ignition is turned on check the sensor/s but usually with electric/electronic sensors, shorting the wires may cause the light to come on.
It may help in the future to know the sensor is working... (I'm not big on modern electronics)
Good luck!