M119 oil filter change/mess

[peterhardie]

Anyone change their oil filter without making a huge mess?

As soon as I pull the cover, oil starts leaking out. Pull the filter, regardless of how long you wait, and there is more oil spilt.

Am I doing something wrong, or is this just a MB quirk in these models? Any helpful pointers to reduce the mess?

[Glen]

My M119 has a drop in oil filter cartridge so no mess there. I've been extracting the oil via suction through the dip stick so again, no mess.

[Kestas]

I believe you have to just loosen the cover to let most of the oil drain down. Only then can you remove the cover.

Just a shot in the dark, but have you tried first draining most of the oil from the crankcase before removing the oil filter?

If all else fails, diaper the area with lots of paper towels before starting the work.

[CarolinaMBZ]

Had some tranny work done and tech noted oil in the belly pan and accused me (wrongly) of not tightening cover down. Have not found a way to remove cover without a mess. Apparently, our anti-drainbacks are working (too) well. I suck oil out and this has had no effect and I believe I have posted in the past on this issue with no response. As there is almost no clearance next to or under cannister, I also see no way to put absorbing material nearby either. Given "change it hot," any time spent near the canisster is grueling anyway given proximity of exhaust manifold.

I hope we can get some insight from someone.

P.S. For those forum members unfamiliar with set-up, the oil canister is cocked at an angle parrallel to the V of the V-8 such that it spills easily over low side and there is no room (V-8 in a W124) to access except with long (346mm) socket extension and stretch-burn-proof arms.

[400E]

You might want to search on this. Someone else had a thread asking how much oil is left in the metal reservoir in an M119 engine. I remember responding to it. On mine, there is maybe a half-ounce of oil left in the bottom so not too messy. Sounds like your reservoir is pretty full? That was the other poster's problem, too. I don't recall what the remedy was.

[HarryM]

Strange. On my car oil change is one of the cleanest jobs to do. As soon as I loosen the long bolt, I can hear air being sucked past the bolt and the filter housing drains completely. I do this after draining the oil pan, if it makes a difference.

If I'm not mistaken, it is supposed to work this way.

[placo1]

I just changed my oil using a Topsider and like Glen had no difficulties at all. I did notice that if I let the car sit for about 5 minutes after all the oil was sucked out I could pump even more oil out. It may be the check valve or just residual oil that is slowly draining down.

When I pulled my oil filter out I did it slowly and let any oil sitting in the filter canister drip out. I then used the topsider to remove the oil sitting in the housing and installed a new filter.

A trick to making oil changes easier is wearing rubber latex gloves. It insulates your fingers and makes changing it hot much easier.

[Kestas]

Afshin, I hope it was residual oil draining down and not the drainback valve. The whole idea of the drainback valve is that it should hold oil until the next startup - hopefully overnight or longer.

[Gary Ganaway]

I , too, have never had a problem with filter housing. I loosen the cover bolt a few turns, start up the topsider, and after about 3 minutes take the cover off and at most i have 2-3 ounces of oil in the filter housing.