I did an oil change on my 420sel the other day and afterwards I noticed that the oil on the dipstick is extremely runny, brown, and smells like gasoline. just out of curiosity I pulled the drain plug and drained out about an ounce of the new oil just to check it. what I got was amber colored, thick and odorless like when I added it. this is strange.

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Germans--mechanical masterminds, electrical retards.

what did the oil you took out look like? how often do you swipe the dipstick?

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Peter
1985 300TD 4-speed 212K
1992 400E 343K
2001 E320 72K

Yeah, I agree; you can get a build-up of blow-by goo and crud in the dipstick tube, especially in the winter, that rubs off on the dipstick as it slides out.
Get a really long cotton swab and clean that baby out (just kidding, but you
get the idea).

DG

the old oil was dirty but thick and didn't smell either, and I swipe the dipstick often
blow by would explain it, but that's weird because the engine has been babied. has just over 130k on it, and on a recent compression test it got over 160psi on all cylinders.
anyway whatever, I'm not going to freak out about it.

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Germans--mechanical masterminds, electrical retards.