Do-It-Yourself Oil Change '98 E320, M112 Engine
 

My last oil change at 75K miles was this car's first oil change that I watched the mechanic change the oil. Many years ago I used to change my cars' oil but have long since had service shops do it.

After watching the mechanic change my '98 E320's oil, I really started thinking that I could do this myself. It really is very simple, much simpler than I could have imagined.

Anyone else changing their own oil on the M112 engine? Any things to look out for?

Thanks.
Dave

did you kow that some people pull the oil out of the dip-stick tube for their oil changes?

draining from under the engine is also easy, make sure you replace the drain plug gasket.

do a search on this site for the proper oil viscosity

find out the torque specs for oil filter cap and drain plug, so you have an idea on how tight things should be

I have a different model than yours, so see if you have the ability to unscrew your oil filter cap.

which is better assembled your Lexus or your Mercedes?

Thanks Ethan.

I have heard there was a way to drain oil from the dipstick, but I haven't looked into it yet. I don't think my mechanic replaced a gasket on the drain plug, and I don't know if there's one there either.

I don't want to hijack my own thread by getting into the endless MB Quality issue discussion. But to answer your question, I'll say that the Lexus has shown excellent quality and reliability. It has about 70K miles and has never needed anything but routine maintenance (tires, brakes, oil).

The E320 has good quality and reliability. For a Mercedes, I feel lucky. Outside of routine maintenance, the only things that I feel failed prematurely are the ball joints (dealer replaced while under warranty), tie rod bushings and mass air flow sensor. I also replaced the harmonic balancer as preventative maintenance. Unfortunately, my mechanic recently showed me that some aspect of the power steering pump/line and transmission coolant line are both slightly leaking. I'm not going to worry about either leaks for now.

Dave

Dave, it really is that simple and when my dealer charges $170 for a Mobil 1 change, you can bet i'm doing it myself. This forum has the best DIY for this. just go to the top of this page and click on DIY go to oil change no 2 or follow this link http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/OilFilter2 . Takes about 20 minutes and i've saved $120. Good luck Jeff

I change my oil too. I bought a Topsider and that makes it real easy. Another thing to watch is that the O-rings seal properly. Once they didn't seal on me and it made quite a mess.

Now for the real reason I'm replying. Being an E320 owner, how do you like the SLK320? How does it compare to the SLK230? The M112 seems like it would be a good fit for that car, but what do you think?

grapes11,

Thanks for the tip on DIY on the forum. It's been a little time since I accessed mercedesshop.com and I forgot about this section.

benzthere,

Regarding the SLK320, I've been extremely happy with it. Keep in mind that it only has about 7500 miles on it and I never drive it in the winter. I haven't had a single problem with it.

With the M112's low end torque the SLK320 is fairly quick. I saw a review a few years ago that showed the 2001 SLK320 being just a tad under the 1/4 mile performance of a Porche Boxter. The car handles great, although I baby it most of the time so I really can't say what it does under real performance driving. The only thing I don't like about the handling is the heavy steering resulting from the recirculating ball steering. However, it is suprisingly responsive.

Inside the car is confortable. I'm 6'4" tall and it fits me well. It's the only 2 seater roadster I could fit in.

I don't know how the car compares to the SLK 230. I drove the 230 once and didn't like it. Immediately afterwards I drove the 320 and really liked it and ordered a new one. I especially didn't like the sound of the 4 cylinder 230. The 320 has a nice cool exhaust note noticable with the top down.

Hope that helps. If you have any other questions on the SLK320 send me an email. Thanks for the info on the oil change too.

Dave

RX300 Oil Change
 

Hello

Does anyone know how many quarts of oil goes in a 1999 Lexus RX300 engine with an oil filter change? Thanks!... Indi

Of course you can change it yourself and you don't need to bother buying anything special to draw it from the dipstick hole, just drain it from the bottom.

You will need a drain pan, an 8MM socket and 1/4" ratchet and short extension to pull the hush panel, a drain pan and a way to remove the filter from the top. You can go to the dealer and get a special socket for the oil filter for less than $10.

Remove the hush panel from the bottom. There are six screws. Just put on your old clothes and roll over on your side and reach under for the bolts and drop down the panel. Put your drain pan underneath and pull the plug. Remove the filter from the top, front, passenger side of the engine. Pull the filter off the stem and put on your new one, then put the stem and filter back in place. After the oil has drained thoroughly, replace the drain plug making sure that the copper washer is in place. Fill with fresh oil and you're done.

Good luck,

Oil filter tool
 

Here's a good link to show the oil filter tool you'll need. It fits both 320 engines (M104 and M112), and I imagine a lot of other MB engines as well. oil filter tool