8000 Miles Overdue for an Oil Change: Plan of Attack?

[Astro14]

I wouldn’t assume sludge or damage, without inspecting it, because we don’t know how it was driven. MB 229.5 can keep an engine clean for a long, long, time if it is all highway.

Unless the owner is willing to pay for the extra work of flush, etc. I think I would pick a good 229.5 like Mobil 1 and change it.

I share the HPL concern, as the oil itself cleans better than the HPL engine cleaner. If the owner doesn’t bring it back for an early filter change and inspection, it might makes things worse.

 

[4WD]

M1 is a very stout oil, as we know. I seriously doubt the engine is even dirty on this interval.
Especially if the oil level is where it’s supposed to be, it has lots of oil in it, just change it out and don’t worry.

That vintage is likely 30-40% PAO + 40-50% GTL …

 

[Torrid]

I'm in agreement with everyone here. No need for a cleaner. I had an old Jag that had been neglected by the previous owner. 10k oil changes on conventional from what I was told. I went to Mobil 1 0w40 and the oil turned black quick for the first three changes. It stayed much cleaner longer after that. Obviously I'm only assuming this was the oil cleaning up deposits/sludge/etc and nothing invasive was done to verify, but it would make sense if that was why. As good as oils are I can't see any reason to add any cleaners to them, especially since it could interact poorly with the oil's additives and not have the desired effect.

 

[BHopkins]

Have you taken a peek through the oil fill cap opening, to get a little bit of a look, of what it looks like inside?

I would do the normal oil/filter change that you are planning. Then I would change it again at 200k miles, so you can get it on schedule for the MB recommended 10k mile oil change interval.

I've been doing 10k mile oci on my E350 since I got it, all with M1 Euro 0W-40 and Purflux filter. I've shined a light through the oil fill opening, and what I can see looks spotless.

Oops! I missed that the owner has no interest in coming back before another 10k miles, or longer. Guess it isn't going to happen to get him on a schedule.

Do you have a borescope? I'd be curios to know what it looks like inside.

 

[Bill7]

You must have missed that it's not his car and the owner routinely goes close to this long for intervals. He can't force the owner to return for early/extra oil changes.

Yeah, I realized that later on. Luckily CarFax shows all maintenance done by dealerships and auto repair chains.
If I see a car on Craigslist that I want to go to see, and I run the CarFax and the owner(s) did extended oil change intervals, it's an immediate disqualifier for me. I don't want buy a car with engine full of sludge and varnish. The car in this post would definately fail my test, and rightfully so.

 

[CDX825]

Change the oil and filter and send it down the road.

 

[zrxkawboy]

If you change the oil and filter (using oil that meets spec), you can't be blamed if his engine grenades a month from now. If you start using flushes, though, it might be a different story. CYA

 

[loneryder]

Makes me want to buy a 2016 E350. If a neglected one has lasted 195k on 10k+ oil changes, I’m thinking I could get 400k easy out of one with a little care

That 276 3.5 engine is a very good engine.

 

[Lubener]

You are making a big science project out of a simple task. Just change it, follow OEM intervals in the future and move on without the engine laxitives.

 

[hrv]

Vehicle: 2016 MB E350, M276 GDI, ~195K miles.
Oil used: Mobil 1 0W40, Mann Oil Filter
Length of Interval: 11 months and ~18,000 miles. OEM service interval is 10K

Prior to this, all oil services have been performed with a 229.5 approved oil at 10-14K mile intervals.

My plan is to:

Replace Engine oil and filter with Mobil 1 0W40 and new filter.
Add two 500ML bottles of Liqui Moly Pro-Line Engine Flush. Idle engine for 20 minutes.
Perform another oil and filter change, this time with HPL Euro 5W40. Hopefully he comes back in 10K, but he probably won't.

Any better ideas?

Just change the oil and filter and move on...thats all you need to do...

 

[TiGeo]

Add LM engine flush with oil in engine. Drain. Fill.

 

[WeyounDS9]

I think I will skip the LM snake oil and just do two oil changes.

Looks like in Europe -- the interval is 25,000KM/1-yr, which is 15,625 miles. I guess he isn't as overdue as I thought.

View attachment 158652

https://mbworld.org/forums/attachments/c-class-w204/425202d1590541599-xzerois-literature-thread-assyst-plus-maintenance-model-series-w204.pdf

(Manual is for a 204 chassis but that platform also has the 276 engine.)

Some MB techs in Europe are reporting that the long intervals are not helpful and that even their MB speced 5w-40s run "too thin" due to fuel dilution.
There is a german MB/ AMG Master tech who has a youtube channel whose name escapes me at the moment.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Vehicle: 2016 MB E350, M276 GDI, ~195K miles.
Oil used: Mobil 1 0W40, Mann Oil Filter
Length of Interval: 11 months and ~18,000 miles. OEM service interval is 10K

Prior to this, all oil services have been performed with a 229.5 approved oil at 10-14K mile intervals.

My plan is to:

Replace Engine oil and filter with Mobil 1 0W40 and new filter.
Add two 500ML bottles of Liqui Moly Pro-Line Engine Flush. Idle engine for 20 minutes.
Perform another oil and filter change, this time with HPL Euro 5W40. Hopefully he comes back in 10K, but he probably won't.

Any better ideas?

I wouldn't do anything other than just change the oil.

18,000 miles in less than year means a lot of highway. g.

 

[Thermo1223]

Yeah, I realized that later on. Luckily CarFax shows all maintenance done by dealerships and auto repair chains.
If I see a car on Craigslist that I want to go to see, and I run the CarFax and the owner(s) did extended oil change intervals, it's an immediate disqualifier for me. I don't want buy a car with engine full of sludge and varnish. The car in this post would definately fail my test, and rightfully so.

Carfax is notorious for missing accidents as it requires shops to actually report what they do so I wouldn't even count on them for maintenance. I wouldn't trust Carfax anymore than the seller's mouth.

 

[The Critic]

You are dealing with someone who doesnt care as much about the car as you do, you cant fix him never mind the car.

But if the owner does not care , spec oil and send it.

Unless the owner is willing to pay for the extra work of flush, etc. I think I would pick a good 229.5 like Mobil 1 and change it.

Here's the interesting part - he actually cares about the car. He always buys all recommended work, every maintenance item that is due and any repair. He's just terrible about getting it in for service in a timely manner.

Have you taken a peek through the oil fill cap opening, to get a little bit of a look, of what it looks like inside?

I wouldn’t assume sludge or damage, without inspecting it, because we don’t know how it was driven. MB 229.5 can keep an engine clean for a long, long, time if it is all highway.

I share the HPL concern, as the oil itself cleans better than the HPL engine cleaner. If the owner doesn’t bring it back for an early filter change and inspection, it might makes things worse.

I'll get some boroscope pictures once it is here and also a UOA for my own personal curiosity. The owner is actually a really good friend of mine; since the filter is top-mounted, I can probably arrange swap the filter real quick outside of a normal service visit.

 

[spasm3]

Here's the interesting part - he actually cares about the car. He always buys all recommended work, every maintenance item that is due and any repair. He's just terrible about getting it in for service in a timely manner.




I'll get some boroscope pictures once it is here and also a UOA for my own personal curiosity. The owner is actually a really good friend of mine; since the filter is top-mounted, I can probably arrange swap the filter real quick outside of a normal service visit.

In that case, rather than spring for flushes, I might spend for a uoa, and change it with spec oil. Then you can discuss the uoa results with him, as to the need for timely oil changes. Or if he does a lot of highway and no short trips, his uoa might be fine at 18 k. Either way if he cares , the uoa might modify his oil span attention.

 

[RaymondP]

When draining be sure to capture and test the oil to determine condition after 18K. Please share the results. Very curious as I had a Merc E350 4MATIC sedan, ran M1 0W40 for every 8 - 10K oil changes. Was a great car, had a long life. Finally traded in due to age for another Merc. This time an SUV.

I would continue to change the oil to manu. spec. and drive as normal. Next oil change to be determined by oil test results but would expect to see deterioration after 18K.

 

[TiGeo]

The UOA money is better spent on the 2 cans of flush ($30) than a single worthless data point that will show nothing of value. I said it.

 

[Eddie]

Over thinking this issue. Do a normal oil change and filter and run a normal oil change. Promis not to forget again. Ed

 

[spasm3]

The UOA money is better spent on the 2 cans of flush ($30) than a single worthless data point that will show nothing of value. I said it.

It would show that the oil held up for his 18k oci or it didn't.

I agree it's not useful as far as the engine condition goes, unless you were looking for coolant.
But it would be useful to know that the oil held up or it didn't for what ever driving style made up the 18k. That uoa could be shown to the owner that he is ok with that oci, or the oil is not holding up and the oci needs to be shorter.