Who services their own car? (W212 E350 CDI here)

[TeddyRuxpin]

I wouldn't expect someone who has a car (especially as nice as an E400) that is under 6-7 years old and services it themselves tbh!

My car is at 10k since the last service and I have a few thousand miles to drive this month, so I'll be changing the oil and filter ASAP

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

Did an oil change yesterday with a 9L suction pump. Pretty good, although beware the oil seeping out of the tubes once you're done, making a mess on your drive way....

I certainly didn't miss jacking the car up and getting under it, but I have an OM642 engine and when I was clearing up the oil out of the big pump and pouring into bottles, I noticed that I only pulled out about 7L of oil - exactly the same as when I did it via the sump/stands a few months ago. It should be 8L... so I guess this engine just doesn't like giving you that last 1L? Reading that dipstick is so difficult to read, I seem to almost always overfill... a waste of good oil, but at least with the suction pump it's easy to pull some out.

I've driven quite a lot this year, so changed the oil at about 11200miles, instead of in October/November or @15K miles as per MB recommendation.

I also changed the turbo seal, cleaned up the engine bay and some filters, and did lots of little TLC things that a mechanic/shop would never do.

I have loads of stuff I want/need to do on the car, but struggling to find the time. Next up for me is trying to clean the MAF, clean the EGR valve (again), add a Brabus D6 III box (or sell it and get a remap), and swap some suspension components. Oh and wash it! It's filthy.

I probably do need to take it to a shop to get the rear sticking caliper looked at though, brakes aren't my forte. Having said that, it seems to have miraculously stop squeaking so perhaps it was a stuck stone or something, will keep an eye on it!

Cheers,

Ed

 

[mercmancdi]

I usually service my own as far as oil , and all filters , although I know I service too often every 6-7000 mls that’s why I always look for a decent oil at a fair price , I don’t feel comfortable buying long life oil and driving 15 - 20000 mls on it. Probably ok but don’t feel happy with it. Only problem with self service is getting book stamped up. Not happy either with the massive amount of mls they now state the fuel filter is good for . For the sake of a few £ why not change with each oil change. I have bought mercedes with air filters that were not due by the book to be changed and they were totally stinking in fact some time ago I put photos of some real bad ones on.
it’s a great feeling when your finished servicing and washing yours hands and even if the car goes no better you imagine it does.

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

It's that time again (did my last 10k in 6 months!) and just as a heads up, this year I didn't purchase the 20L carton of MB oil as prices seemed to have jumped up.

I actually found a deal for 10L of oil + the OEM oil filter for £59.99.

The 20L is now £95 or £110 on eBay, and if you factor in two oil filters, then the price of two services is the same or cheaper if you buy the 10L.

Here's the link: Genuine Mercedes-Benz diesel V6 OM642 engine oil, oil filter, sump plug washer | eBay

I'll probably be lazy and do the 'through the dipstick' method again, as I'm a bit busy at the moment.

I need to save all the cash I can anyway, as unfortunately I need to take it to a big boy garage to get:

- Wheels balanced (I think some of the weights fell off one of the wheels)
- Gearbox service
- Brake Fluid Flush

Once I've recovered from that, I then have to figure out if I'm going to tackle all the front control arms myself (something I've been putting off for a while), or if I'll have to stump up £400-500 for a garage to do them.... oh and then the tracking of course (~£100 for 4 wheel?). Luckily I’ve already bought the arms, so it almost feels like I got them for free…

That's if nothing else goes wrong, which famously, they never seem to in 10+ year old German saloons.

Just put my summer wheels back on and it finally looks like a nice, sporty, semi modern car again (instead of a grandad's car with the 17" winter wheel/tyres!). Just don’t look at the odometer when you get in!

 

[merc07]

It's that time again (did my last 10k in 6 months!) and just as a heads up, this year I didn't purchase the 20L carton of MB oil as prices seemed to have jumped up.

I actually found a deal for 10L of oil + the OEM oil filter for £59.99.

The 20L is now £95 or £110 on eBay, and if you factor in two oil filters, then the price of two services is the same or cheaper if you buy the 10L.

Here's the link: Genuine Mercedes-Benz diesel V6 OM642 engine oil, oil filter, sump plug washer | eBay

I'll probably be lazy and do the 'through the dipstick' method again, as I'm a bit busy at the moment.

I need to save all the cash I can anyway, as unfortunately I need to take it to a big boy garage to get:

- Wheels balanced (I think some of the weights fell off one of the wheels)
- Gearbox service
- Brake Fluid Flush

Once I've recovered from that, I then have to figure out if I'm going to tackle all the front control arms myself (something I've been putting off for a while), or if I'll have to stump up £400-500 for a garage to do them.... oh and then the tracking of course (~£100 for 4 wheel?). Luckily I’ve already bought the arms, so it almost feels like I got them for free…

That's if nothing else goes wrong, which famously, they never seem to in 10+ year old German saloons.

Just put my summer wheels back on and it finally looks like a nice, sporty, semi modern car again (instead of a grandad's car with the 17" winter wheel/tyres!). Just don’t look at the odometer when you get in!

What's the mileage on it now ?

 

[unclebuck]

I haven't really touched mine....

 

[W1ghty]

I haven't really touched mine....

Liar liar ……

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

What's the mileage on it now ?

Just about to hit 170k… lives on a farm most of its life… nice weather today, hey.

(Can’t wait to replace the brake pads and get some that don’t make so much dust and kill the shine of the wheels)

 

[delb0y]

It's that time again (did my last 10k in 6 months!) and just as a heads up, this year I didn't purchase the 20L carton of MB oil as prices seemed to have jumped up.

I actually found a deal for 10L of oil + the OEM oil filter for £59.99.

The 20L is now £95 or £110 on eBay, and if you factor in two oil filters, then the price of two services is the same or cheaper if you buy the 10L.

Here's the link: Genuine Mercedes-Benz diesel V6 OM642 engine oil, oil filter, sump plug washer | eBay

I'll probably be lazy and do the 'through the dipstick' method again, as I'm a bit busy at the moment.

I need to save all the cash I can anyway, as unfortunately I need to take it to a big boy garage to get:

- Wheels balanced (I think some of the weights fell off one of the wheels)
- Gearbox service
- Brake Fluid Flush

Once I've recovered from that, I then have to figure out if I'm going to tackle all the front control arms myself (something I've been putting off for a while), or if I'll have to stump up £400-500 for a garage to do them.... oh and then the tracking of course (~£100 for 4 wheel?). Luckily I’ve already bought the arms, so it almost feels like I got them for free…

That's if nothing else goes wrong, which famously, they never seem to in 10+ year old German saloons.

Just put my summer wheels back on and it finally looks like a nice, sporty, semi modern car again (instead of a grandad's car with the 17" winter wheel/tyres!). Just don’t look at the odometer when you get in!

£60 for the oil and all filters is a steal, i usually buy the mannol 2 x 5 litres for around £35, filters from car parts4less, usually Mann, always use a 12v pump, this year I had abit of a issue with the air boxes seems whoever it it last managed to break the rubber end,
I'm looking into replacing the oil separator unit and turbo seals soon.

 

[delb0y]

£60 for the oil and all filters is a steal, i usually buy the mannol 2 x 5 litres for around £35, filters from car parts4less, usually Mann, always use a 12v pump, this year I had abit of a issue with the air boxes seems whoever it it last managed to break the rubber end,
I'm looking into replacing the oil separator unit and turbo seals soon.

I forgot to ask, where did you find the deal for the oil and filters?

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

I posted it in this thread, a few posts up! The one with the two pics