How do you change the oil on a 2003 Mercedes Benz C320?

Answer 1

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A shop manual or repair manual is a wise investment for any car. It will tell you not only how to check and change your fluids but also how often they need to be changed.

To change the oil you will need:

9 qts of Mobil 1 European Car Formula (I believe 0-40W)

A Filter, most autozones will be able to look it up and grab ya one.

Tools - hopefully you already have these, if not, your first oil change bill will likely require the investment of these tools, use your brain to know which ones are vital and which ones are simply beneficial:

I use a "one size fits all" rubber oil filter wrench from autozone. Looks like a maroon handled wrench with a rubber belt looped through it. I tried using other types of filter wrenches, and they suck. You'll scratch your filter cover all up and they are much harder to use.

You'll needa full range socket set with metric sockets. A good, tough ratchet will be a must, so invest in a good set if you don't already have one. Husky makes a great socket set, but they run you over $100.00 for a good set from Home Depot or Lowe's. Use what you like best, but we'll be exerting a lot of pressure to unscrew and torque up the oil pan screw, so bear tha in mind going in. A cheap ratchet may fail you.

Most places have laws that require you to capture and dispose of oil a certain way, so you might wanna Google your local laws on such a subject. I generally buy one of those self-containing oil capture pods from autozone. They looks like little midget oil drums with a tea-pot spot, and the top looks kinda like a big, shallow funnel. You can then take them to your local oil disposal facility for proper disposal, based on your local laws. They'll tell you where to go and what to do with it. You might take my tactic and simply store the old oil drums for a while, and wait til you have like 10 before you go to the dump that way you can get more oil changes per trip to the dump.

Unless you like pain, or you let your car cool completely before you change the oil (if your like me, you wanna change your oil on the fly and go on about your day, not wait around for your car to cool down) you might wanna invest in some gloves that would prevent hot oil from burning your skin. Stick to leather, avoid plastic> Use your brain...

The stock jack that comes with this car is not only terrifying to work under based on the sheer mechanics of its operation, I'm a bigger sized guy (6'3" 240 lbs) And i cannot fit under the car when jacked up where you need it to be with the standard jack. That being said, you might want to invest in a set of ramps or a hydraulic style pump jack. These are all also available at autozone for around 40.00 to 150.00 depending on what you wanna get.

I use a "Creeper" which is a little bed-type thing on wheels that you can lay on and roll around on your back under a car. These are available at autozone for around 75.00. They aren't a must, but they sure make a smooth garage surface REALLY easy to work on. IF you plan to change your oil in a dirt environment, save your money here. This won't help you much.

The Actual Act of Changing the Oil:

OK, SO let's get to the fundamentals of changing the oil. There are 3 major steps, drain the oil, change the filter, pour in the new oil.

Step 1: Jack the car up. Roll Under it. About line and center with the center console, but in the undercarriage of course, you will see a light silver pan-like thing with a about 13mm screw on the inside wall (kinda tucked up in the center of the car just behind and under the engine. There arent many vertically mounted screws down here, so that should narrow it down greatly.) This screw, when let out, will release all the oil, and with a lil bit of force, so think of this and place your oil catcher pan on the ground just forward of the hole, and slide it back as needed as your oil drains out and pressure releases. Once you drain the oil, you can replace the screw and torque it a bit to make sure it's nice and tight. This screw can vibrate out if you leave it loose, leaving your engine bone dry on oil and blowing it up almost immediately after it vibrates out. It is vital to your car that this screw is tight!

Step 2: Change the filter. You can let the car down off the jack now if you wanna. You're done with the undercarriage. You'll now be working under the hood. You will see, when facing your Benz, that there is a black filter cap, about 3 or 4 inches tall and equal length in diameter, with flat edges that make it look a bit like a bolt. It's on the right hand side of your engine, right out front. It's very hard to miss. Use your wrench and unscrew the cap. Pull the oil cap piston out of the hole and take notice of the filter and the 4 or 5 rubber rings around the plastic piston. Each it's own specific size. Your filter should've came with new rubber gaskets, so change em out. It only takes a second. Slide the filter down off of the piston, throw it away, change the gaskets, slide the new filter up the pistol and snap it into place over the new gaskets, Slide the piston back into the hold and screw the oil filter cap back into place.

Now, pour in your nine (9) Qts of Mobil 1 Synthetic European Car Formula Oil (I Always use this, and it's what is recommended by Mercedes-Benz. You may use your judgment to choose which oil to use in your car. It's your engine.) Put the oil cap back on, dust yourself off, and go start your car. I let mine run for a few minutes to cycle the new oil, but that's not required, im just an overachiever.

You're done! You can now add the credit of changing your own oil in your Mercedes-Benz to your manhood. Go to your woman and brag about your oily hands to receive your reward. Just remember who put ya on game ;-) MB FOR LIFE!!