Walked the dog, helped a neighbor with his MB

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Neighbor was out today changing the oil in his new-ish C-Class Merc. He didn't have ramps so he was one wheel on the curb crawling on the ground. I glanced at his choice of oil and noticed he had Mobil Super 5w-30.

I asked if I could offer some advice and told him about MB requiring the use of certain oils and I mentioned that I believe his car needed a 229.5 oil since it was the gas V6. I also mentioned that a good use of $50 was on some ramps. Since he already drained the oil my offer to use mine was for naught.

It was only a block from my house so I took the dog home and eyed up my stash. Grabbing 2 jugs of Valvoline MST bought recently from WM for $10.47/jug and my funnel, I went back. He still had the receipt for the Autozone purchase of 8 qts of Mobil Super so I offered to sell him the Valvoline for $20. I showed the back of the jug with all the MB, VW, BMW, and Porsche approvals and he agreed it was the right choice. I lost a couple bucks but know there's a healthier Mercedes on the road.

A couple weeks ago he told me he was doing it himself because the dealer wanted $100 for an oil change. He told me he paid $80 for the oil and M1 filter at AZ (
crazy2.gif
)so I explained that Amazon and Walmart are your better choices.

I told him to get two more things to make life easier...rubber gloves and the cheap pick set from Harbor Freight to get those o-rings off the filter housing.

I left feeling like a Boy Scout.
 
Yeah, plus the Mobil 1 rebate and it's now down to $20 at Walmart for a 5 quart jug.
 
Wow. I've never seen Valvoline MST oil that low. They don't show it coming in "jugs" just qts. It's on sale now at NAPA for 5.29 a qt which is the best price I've found. Are you sure it was MST oil which is for diesels?
 
Yeah, if it was 229.5 then it wasn't MST which is 229.51 which is meant for diesels although you can use it in a gas engine. The ideal oil for a gas engine is 229.5. MST isn't on the list of 229.5 oils.

I don't like MB's numbering scheme, people tend to assume that 229.51 supersedes 229.5. But it doesn't. Although 229.52 supersedes 229.51.

https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.5_en.html
 
Originally Posted by loneryder
Wow. I've never seen Valvoline MST oil that low. They don't show it coming in "jugs" just qts. It's on sale now at NAPA for 5.29 a qt which is the best price I've found. Are you sure it was MST oil which is for diesels?

It does not matter anymore. Sulfur levels are down, so MB229.51 is OK. Those engines in Europe are anyway recommended for MB229.51.
 
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+1 on being the Man Scout but your neighbor gets BIG POINTS for listening.

Inspirational Anecdote:
Lifetimes ago Burns and Allen (George Burns and Gracie Allen) were on the tube and an uncle pointed them out to me.
I knew who they were. He continued by informing me Gracie was the brains of the operation and that George was smart enough to go with it.
I applied that lesson to many things-even non-sexualized situations.
 
Originally Posted by LotI
Neighbor was out today changing the oil in his new-ish C-Class Merc. He didn't have ramps so he was one wheel on the curb crawling on the ground. I glanced at his choice of oil and noticed he had Mobil Super 5w-30.

I asked if I could offer some advice and told him about MB requiring the use of certain oils and I mentioned that I believe his car needed a 229.5 oil since it was the gas V6. I also mentioned that a good use of $50 was on some ramps. Since he already drained the oil my offer to use mine was for naught.

It was only a block from my house so I took the dog home and eyed up my stash. Grabbing 2 jugs of Valvoline MST bought recently from WM for $10.47/jug and my funnel, I went back. He still had the receipt for the Autozone purchase of 8 qts of Mobil Super so I offered to sell him the Valvoline for $20. I showed the back of the jug with all the MB, VW, BMW, and Porsche approvals and he agreed it was the right choice. I lost a couple bucks but know there's a healthier Mercedes on the road.

A couple weeks ago he told me he was doing it himself because the dealer wanted $100 for an oil change. He told me he paid $80 for the oil and M1 filter at AZ (
crazy2.gif
)so I explained that Amazon and Walmart are your better choices.

I told him to get two more things to make life easier...rubber gloves and the cheap pick set from Harbor Freight to get those o-rings off the filter housing.

I left feeling like a Boy Scout.

You most definitely are.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Very nice. Was it a newer C-class with the 4-cyl turbo like this one?

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...50-1-8l-tgdi-p034062-cam-adjuster-repair

Nope, V6 gasser
Originally Posted by loneryder
Wow. I've never seen Valvoline MST oil that low. They don't show it coming in "jugs" just qts. It's on sale now at NAPA for 5.29 a qt which is the best price I've found. Are you sure it was MST oil which is for diesels?

You missed the special from Walmart where many of us stocked up. It's C3 based but meets many gasser specs including 502 00 & A40 & SN
Sorry you missed it
Originally Posted by Chris142
Somewhere on a MB forum a guy is complaining about a nosey neighbor that bothered his oil change routine.

Love it, I did mention I'm a member of a forum where geeks like us talk about oil! I only mentioned Boy Scout since I did my good deed for the day.
 
Nice! Glad he responded well to your offer, many people would scoff and tell you to pound sand.
 
You did good. He's the moron that buys a Mercedes but doesn't wanna spend 100 on an oil change. If he used the wrong oil and had problems he woulda blamed MB
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Somewhere on a MB forum a guy is complaining about a nosey neighbor that bothered his oil change routine.

There are no MB forums where people talk about DIY stuff. That does not exists. When I was considering GL450, I joined several. By far most useless forums to figure out anything.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Chris142
Somewhere on a MB forum a guy is complaining about a nosey neighbor that bothered his oil change routine.

There are no MB forums where people talk about DIY stuff. That does not exists. When I was considering GL450, I joined several. By far most useless forums to figure out anything.


Depends on the forum and the model. Certain ones like the CL or CLS or other low production models don't get many posts. The most active forum is mbworld.org. Sometimes though you have to go to one of the other forums to find more activity. I look in the AMG forums sometimes too just because they tend to be more loaded and so sometimes you see more mention of options that the more base level cars don't have. Also the DIY stuff depends on the year, the early stuff that's still within 4 years of the factory warranty you won't find any mention of DIY stuff as they will all take it to the dealer as it should all be under warranty.
 
Originally Posted by Garak
It depends what generation of MB. If it's something new, you might be in trouble. If you go back a few model years, there is plenty online.

True, but still, compared to BMW, Audi etc. it is really not helpful.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Chris142
Somewhere on a MB forum a guy is complaining about a nosey neighbor that bothered his oil change routine.

There are no MB forums where people talk about DIY stuff. That does not exists. When I was considering GL450, I joined several. By far most useless forums to figure out anything.


Depends on the forum and the model. Certain ones like the CL or CLS or other low production models don't get many posts. The most active forum is mbworld.org. Sometimes though you have to go to one of the other forums to find more activity. I look in the AMG forums sometimes too just because they tend to be more loaded and so sometimes you see more mention of options that the more base level cars don't have. Also the DIY stuff depends on the year, the early stuff that's still within 4 years of the factory warranty you won't find any mention of DIY stuff as they will all take it to the dealer as it should all be under warranty.

I was looking older stuff too see issues related to vehicles. Not a lot of stuff available, and GL was best selling full size luxury SUV fr a long time, and still is I believe.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by Chris142
Somewhere on a MB forum a guy is complaining about a nosey neighbor that bothered his oil change routine.

There are no MB forums where people talk about DIY stuff. That does not exists. When I was considering GL450, I joined several. By far most useless forums to figure out anything.


Depends on the forum and the model. Certain ones like the CL or CLS or other low production models don't get many posts. The most active forum is mbworld.org. Sometimes though you have to go to one of the other forums to find more activity. I look in the AMG forums sometimes too just because they tend to be more loaded and so sometimes you see more mention of options that the more base level cars don't have. Also the DIY stuff depends on the year, the early stuff that's still within 4 years of the factory warranty you won't find any mention of DIY stuff as they will all take it to the dealer as it should all be under warranty.

I was looking older stuff too see issues related to vehicles. Not a lot of stuff available, and GL was best selling full size luxury SUV fr a long time, and still is I believe.


It's best selling for a luxury SUV, but the numbers were low compared to an E class or C class. It's also a GLS now, the last GL was in 2016. Some of the forums go through spurts, they can die for a little while as people trade in their old ones and you don't get new blood in the forums. That's why you have to raid some other car forums that used the same engine/transmission. And then some issues like keyless go apply to multiple car lines and you try some of the other forums.
 
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