in General

How to Change the Engine Oil in Your Mercedes-Benz Car

Regular oil changes are the most important procedure you can perform to maintain and prolong the life of your Mercedes-Benz engine, and replacing the engine oil in your Mercedes-Benz yourself is one of the more challenging tasks that you can do yourself at home, with the right guidance.

Mercedes recommendations for time between oil changes are getting further apart as newer models are manufactured, but, as with all fluids when it comes to motoring, your oil should be changed once it’s dark and dirty. It’s usually recommended that changing the oil every 5,000 miles is good enough to keep your engine running well.

Tools you will need:

  • Car Jack
  • 2 jack stands
  • Oil filter kit
  • Oil filter housing socket
  • 13mm socket wrench
  • New drain plug
  • Oil pan or bucket
  • 7 litres of oil
  • Paper towels

Before trying this at home, its a good idea to take your car for a short drive. Oil thins as it warms, which eases the flow of the draining, allowing more dirt particles to be flushed as the oil empties.

mechanic

Start by jacking the car up a little, trying to keep the angle as low to the ground as possible, but still allow for freedom of movement under your car. Now look for the oil drainage bolt located on the oil pan, remove the oil filler cap on top of the valve cover and allow the oil to slowly drain completely from the engine. This may take a few minutes to empty properly, wait until it slows down to an irregular drip. Once done, replace the bolt.

Next you’ll want to find and replace your oil filter. You can usually find the filter housing inside the engine compartment at the rear, between the firewall and intake manifold. The socket is secured by bolts which pass through the sides, using the socket wrench loosen the bolts and remove the cover, you’ll see the filter element located underneath. Pull it up and out of the housing, being careful not to spill the oil inside. Check inside the groove and remove the old o-ring, you may need to use a little force for this. Take the new o-ring that was supplied with your replacement oil filter and stretch it over the filter housing cover and back into the groove on the side. You may find using a little oil will help lubricate this and make the job easier. Then press the new oil filter element in place inside the housing and replace the housing cover.

Next you will want to replace the oil that you’ve just drained from your Mercedes-Benz engine. Motor oils have improved so much over the years that there isn’t much difference between them as there was in the past, expensive synthetics are no longer necessary. Fill your Mercedes engine with the new oil from the oil filler hole on the top of the engine. Use the dipstick to measure and don’t be tempted to overfill, this can cause more damage than driving your Mercedes with too little oil.

If you’d rather leave it up to the professionals, the team here at DDR Surrey can offer full, trustworthy Mercedes servicing at competitive prices here in Epsom. Simply get in touch to find out more.