When I change my oil, I get 2 gallon jugs of Rotella. The car requires 7 quarts, I think. So I just eyeball it with the one jug of 4 quarts, plus "about 3 quarts" from the 2nd jug.

But the next time I change my oil, I now have about 1 quart left, plus a new jug of 4 quarts (for a total of 5 quarts), plus "about 2 quarts" from the 3rd.

And the problem of inaccuracies keeps going, then I run the risk of under or over filling.

Sure, I can check the oil with the dipstick, but after an oil change, the oil filter doesn't have any oil it in, so I would think the dipstick is irrelevant at that point.

Can I just dump 8 quarts in (2 complete jugs), and be done with it? What is the risk of over filling on oil?

Jeff 1991 300d, 127k

Oil level should be checked at operating temp within 5 minutes of shutdown using the dip stick.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif. & Boca Chica, Panama

09' E320 Bluetec 77k (USA)
09' Hyundai Santa Fe Diesel 48k (S.A.)

I put in about 6 quarts (enough so it's safe to start the engine), then start the engine and let it idle for a minute, then turn it off, wait a couple of minutes, then check the oil level. I then add oil until I get the level on the dipstick up to about halfway between the min and max marks. At that point it's safe to drive the car for an extended period of time. So I go run errands, come back, let the car sit for 5 minutes (as Terry notes) and see what the oil level is, adding more as necessary to get the level up close to the max mark.

One thing I've noticed is that (especially in my '87, with its bolted-on extra oil pan) these cars are very sensitive to being parked on a level surface. If you don't have such a thing, find a place that's as level as you can get and put the car in the same place to check the oil every time.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Pour 1 qt from a new gallon jug into a separate leftover quart bottle. Then you have 7 qt to dump in and 1 qt to carry as a spare.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".

All I can say is its really not that complicated if you watch how much you pour in....

I do the same thing, and I've never had a problem......I just add each 1qt leftover to my big junk in my trunk, until its full, then I have one less jug to buy when I do my 5th oil change in the series. Easy. And I'll still have a quart leftover after that 5th change, then the cycle begins again. This takes a very long time though, since I only do 2-3 changes a year....

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Mine holds 8.5 quarts, so it's only slightly similar. I just buy two gallons and one quart, dump in half the quart, and let the other half of that single ride around in the trunk until I have to add it anyway (usually around 4k miles).

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~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

But that trick only works for one oil change. The next time, you need another empty quart container. You have to store it someplace. And you're back to the same problem I described.

jeff

Keep the big jug with 1qt in it, and add the next leftover 1qt to it each time you do a change until it is full (or has 3 qts in it) then you can skip buying a jug. Easy!

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

If storing more than 1 quart bottle is a big deal, on the next oil change, dump in a gallon, dump the spare qt in the empty gallon jug, dump a qt from the full gallon jug into the empty quart bottle and then dump the second gallon jug into the car. (I could do this all day)
More to the point, underfilling a little bit isn't as problematic as overfilling. Just eyeball the gallon jug or better yet, put a measured quart into the empty gallon jug and see where the line is.

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1983 M-B 240D-Gone too.
1976 M-B 300D-Departed.

"Good" is the worst enemy of "Great".

Or, you can just trade for a vehicle that has an 8 quart or 4 quart oil sump!

I really don't see what the problem is - every gallon jug of Rotella I've bought the last few years has a sight strip and quart markings on one side of the jug.

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Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

I always dump in both jugs and never give it another thought.
Some people are real anal about trivial stuff.

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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check the level warm.

keep it under 8 qts.

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7 qts for the oil change and put the leftover oil into a quart bottle, to add more oil due to oil burning/leaking. Also I like to carry around another gallon or two just because.

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1980 240d
1999 SL500

mine says 8.1 quarts...something different with the 85 300SD?

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• 1993 Mercedes-Benz 400E *146,000 Miles*
• 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300SD Turbo Diesel Biodiesel *SOLD @ 346,000 Miles*
• 1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo Diesel Biodiesel *SOLD @ 284,000 Miles*

Mine takes 2 gals.,and none till 3,000 mile change.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran