Any fanatics religiously change oil @ 2.5K intervals or less?
 

....am I the only sick one here...I just reviewed my service book on the E320 coupe (94.5k) and the car has had dino oil changes at 2500 mi or less intervals since I've owned it at 59K!

...click and clack opines that even dino oil these days should be good to 7500mi so- oil changes prior to this mileage ...are a waste

I figure I only use the car for short hops so severe service duty intervals are called for per MB....

Anybody else doing the 2500 or less changes? and how many miles are you clocking on that MB motor?

-fad

PS- I know Larry, change it hot and often....and it goes unsaid that 3k seems to be the accepted old rule of thumb....

I'm another sick one. My two non-Mercedes vehicles had 2K dyno oil changes the first 100K miles. Now they get 3K oil changes. My Mercedes gets two synthetic oil changes/year (seasonal) but only gets driven 5K miles/year.

I also rotate my tires every other oil change. It gives me a chance to inspect the brakes.

3k for oil changes here for the 300D and Honda using dino. Going with Mobil 1 on the E320 next oil change and will extend the interval out. It is only driven on weekends.

-fad,

Go ahead and let them call you a fanatic. Frequent oil changes don't hurt anything.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but clean oil won't hurt my engine!"

Keep up the good work,

CLEAN OIL
 

Yep... im changing the oil in both of the mercs at 2500 to 3000 with mobil 1 ya I know its expensive .... but so is a motor:D

I used to do 3000miles but once switched to Mobil 1 I go to 5000 miles. It's a struggle to keep myself from dragging the Topsider off the shelf as the odometer tells me it's been 4000 miles and the oil looks pretty dark.

I try to remind myself about the Consumer Reports article about 3-4 years ago on oil change intervals. They took NYC cabs (talk about "severe service!") and had some of them do 3000 mile change intervals and some do 7500. They tore the engines down after (I think) 50,000 miles and found NO DIFFERENCE in varnish, sludge, cylinder/valve train wear, bearings, etc.

If you examine the oil after 3k it usually is diluted with gasoline, thats what will cause the engine wear. I don't like to go past 3k. I changed the oil every 2k on my 85 Mustang GT and it has 180k , not too bad for an American car, and my 200k+ Benz is changed every 3k.

Where do most of you folks go to get the oil changed? I understand it's a sealed system and the oil has to be sucked out. Not everyone carries this special equipment and dealers are expensive.

A friend of mine changed the oil in his 86 Volvo 740 wagon every 1500 miles from the day he got it until he sold it 11 yrs later. I looked under the valve cover at 60K and all parts looked like they probably did at the factory-no varnish whatsoever. I change the oil in my JD 285 lawn tractor (18 hp liq cooled Kawasaki ) every 25 hrs and it too has zero varnish. Granted this may be excessive but I've seen the results obtained at the other end of the frequency spectrum. I do all of my car's changes at 3000 miles.

The CR story really made me think carefully when it came out but I ultimately reached the same conclusion as Larry B, clean oil will never hurt you. It's the cheapest insurance against wear/gunk buildup that there is. I buy whatever oil's on sale and use good filters.

I am with Mark - the Mobil 1 gets changed at 3k miles on the C230. The Fossil oil in the 300E is changed between 2500-3000 miles.

Changing the oil too often won't hurt the engine , just your wallet. I change my 300 SD's oil and filter every 10,000 miles using Mobil I or Castrol Syntec and it is as clean as can be under the valve cover. I still don't have to add oil between changes at 195,000 miles. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PEH~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

...and the environment.

. . . . both my cars get fresh, non - synthetic oil and a filter ever 3000 Kilometers . I am heppy to say my engine repair bills on these engines to date is : NIL. It's changed hot and topsided and I positively glow when I drive off the garage pit. My money, it's well woth it !

vshah,

Someone is really pulling your leg. Every Mercedes made to date has a drain plug in the bottom and an oil filler in the top, just like virtually every car that's been built since the Model T.

Yes, the dealer uses the vacuum system to draw the oil through the dipstick hole, but you or the Quick Lube can still pull the plug and drain the oil just like any other car. Good luck,

David C. Klasse,

Worn out engines hurt the environment too. Drained oil is recyclable. Oil and other tailpipe emissions that make it into the air are not.

Have a great day,

i'm 2k miles in and i've already changed oil twice:rolleyes:! but it's only because of the hg job. the topsider makes it just too easy so i expect to do it within 3k...