I just did the 2nd oil change on my Crossfire coupe, when I put in the new oil, I put in 7.75 quarts, knowing the capacity is 8.5 quarts, I didn't want to overfill.

When I checked the oil, it was over the line and into the plastic above the dipstick. I thought I was being conservative, but I ended up overfilling it. Doubled checked several times, it was absolutely over. I siphoned out exactly .75 (3 quarters) of a quart. to get me exactly at the top of the hash mark.

Based on that, I calculate about 1.25 quarts of old oil was still in the engine! I did a long drain, but I suspect that using only front ramps is the cause of this? All my other vehicles have oil pans designed to drain best on front ramps, but I suspect the M112 engine is designed best to be drain on a flat surface.

Has anyone else noticed this, that over a quart is left in the engine when oil changing on front ramps? I was expecting maybe half a quart would be left in the engine, but not over a quart. I don't remember having this issue on my last oil change.

 

The drain plug is on the front of the lower oil pan. Yes, the car must be level when draining oil, or even a little forward inclination. I prefer using a suction through the oil dipstick tube. It is so much easier as you work from the top and the car is simply parked in a flat shady area. I checked during my last oil change after suctioning from the top I raised the car on a lift and opened the drain plug to see how much oil I had missed in the suction process. Less than two tablespoons drained out of the plug. If you put 8.5 quarts into the car you will over fill. Put in 7 quarts and then check the dipstick; run the engine a minute,turn it off and let the oil drain back into the pain a couple minutes before topping it off by use of the dip stick.

 

I've had three Roadsters over 12 years. Always put in 8 quarts, it's always within 10% of the top mark.

What you are doing wrong is using ramps. Just remove the underbelly pan (you can do that with a small ratchet laying next to the car, no need to jack the car up or use ramps).
Then, use a low-profile drain pan capable of no less than 10 quarts (mine holds over 3 gallons) and drain the oil by sliding the pan under the car from the front.

I don't see why people have so much trouble doing this. And no, I dont' remember where I got my pan, but it had to be Autozone, Advance or O'Reilly's. I just shopped around until I found one of more than two gallon capacity but only a few inches tall. I change oil in the garage where the floor is level, if you are out in the yard, try pulling to car up to an area where the ground slopes down. Pull right up to the edge where it slopes down, and you can get to the drain plug easier.

But again, I just do it in the garage.

I will confess, my last two Roadsters didnt have the underbelly pan. My first one did but that did not stop me from doing this without ramps. I HAVE ramps, but I don't use them for oil changes.

 

Thanks guys for the confirmation, every single vehicle I've owned prior to this were designed with oil pans that actually drained better using ramps, with the drain plug on the back middle, I should have paid more attention to the setup on this vehicle.

I always under fill until I get the engine up to temp and top off properly, but even filling with 7.75 quarts I was still quite a bit over.

Next time I'll do it level, thanks again.

Note - Read up on some earlier threads on this, even though I was 3/4 of a quart over, I never got the HI warning and beep for overfilling. The dash oil level stated I was "OK". I guess you need to be at least a quart or more over to get the warning, but still drained that extra oil using a siphon down the dip stick tube.

 

I run the driver side wheels onto 2 x 4s and use a topsider. I get the car warmish and siphon out what I can. I leave it overnight and siphon once more. The filter is out of course. I then add 8 litres and run the end then run the engine for five minutes or so. The level of the dip stick is very slightly (1/16”) above FULL, nothing to worry about. We must remember that some oil remains trapped and some still lies on the flat surfaces.
If you do not drain it all you can expect the level to be high if you add what they say.
Just remember the filter holds a fair amount of oil that will drain back raising the level some as will the oil under the valve covers etc. As long as the overfill warning does not come up you should be OK. But you should keep below that and go by the dip stick. In all honesty it hardly matters if a pint of old oil is still in there, unless it looks like tar.
I change my oil and filter at 2,000 miles or so, doing as it says in the handbook is stretching it.

 

Thanks for the advice, sounds like a good plan.

But with the tools and location I have, I decided on my next oil change to still use the front ramps, but since my driveway is at a slight angle, it will actually push the oil back and to the right closest to the drain bolt. This will pool the oil where I can easily siphon it out with my siphon pump.

It should only take a couple of minutes more and will likely drain more oil than leaving it level, since the drain bolt is raised higher than the drain pan bottom, having it level will mean any oil below the bolt hole won't drain. But pooling it to the back, it will be easier to get to with my siphon pump.

As you said though, that extra oil doesn't really matter, especially with an engine with 8.45 quart capacity. Even more so since I only average 2,500 miles a year on the car, and do an annual oil change. I just really like getting most of the oil out, leaving 17% of it there does irritate the OCD in me.

 

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As previously posted, I use the topsider. I also use just the jack and raise the driver's side (on USA cars the driver's side is furthest away from the oil dipstick/drain plug If a RH drive vehicle jack it on the opposite side of the dipstick/drain plug). That slight 'tilt' achieves most of the oil gets drained and I add through the oil filter housing before replacing the filter/housing. 8 quarts later I button her up, lower the car onto the level slab, and run the car for a couple minutes. I then shut it down and clean up/put away everything except a small used rag. Before I park it in the garage, I check the level and am happy for usually the next year (don't forget to manually check the level on occasion, always a good practice since those electronic oil level thingamajigs fail sometimes). Have FUN!


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I fill to over the dip stick about 1/3" or so, want reserve for hard corners and such, never saw any over fill indications, oil is cheap and I have in other cars seen oil light on in tight sustained corners due to high rpm flooding the top and side loading of oil in corner. Better more than less is my belief, no down side here. Woody

 

I'm "old school" & perform an oil change by draining the oil from the pan. I also put my Crossfire up on a pair of low profile Rhino ramps. And as some have stated, I always pour in 8 quarts of synthetic oil (Mobil 1 or Castrol Euro Formula) & install a fleece filter (like so many others).

Years back, I made an attempt to install the 8 liters which was 8.45 quarts. PITA trying to add just under 1/2 quart after the 8. Probably because I use the ramps and the car isn't exactly level, there was enough oil left in the system that the HI OIL LEVEL ALARM kept coming on when I took the car to a ToD event in the Smokies (the alarm was most likely caused by the forces at play when driving the "twisties" on these roadways). Came back home & siphoned out about a 1/2 quart and no more warning light during "spirited" driving. Made me a firm believer & follower, like others, to only add 8 quarts during an oil change. I firmly believe that if one follows the procedure onehunder80 described in his post, and change the oil while the car is flat, adding the 8 liters during an oil change will work w/o turning on the HI OIL LEVEL ALARM. And he has verified that to us all.

Probably an optimum oil change quantity, for those of us locked into the US English system, would be to purchase a 5 liter bottle of the oil (probably an internet purchase at a higher cost than the local Walmart) & then add another 3 quarts . That would give you just over 8-1/4 quarts during an oil change. And then again, probably not worth the extra effort & cost. When I check the oil level stick after an oil change, it is always at or slightly above the FULL mark. Oh, and I change the oil in my Crossfire every 2 years, driving 2500-3500 miles during that time frame (most 2-yr periods, the overall mileage is much less). And I don't know if anyone shared this with you, I pour the new oil in using the oil filter housing, not the oil port in the valve cover. Much faster using this method. The oil filter goes in last. And I torque the filter cap to the 25 N-m stated on the cap. I are an educated & trained reliability engineer!

 

Thank you for some very timely comments.
I have been changing oil and filter every fall before the car is put away for winter.
Only have 2000 kms on this summer and seems overkill to change it.
Thanks for confirming this. I will wait until next fall to change it.
Somehow it never occurred to me to add the oil into the oil filter housing.
How did I miss that? Great tip.

When I bought my 1975 Kawasaki Z1 900 new in 1975 I changed oil and filter every 1000 miles.
When I worked out of town this meant every other weekend.
But this was an air cooled engine and non synthetic oil.
Sold it in 2018 (43 years) and still running like new.

Had a 1984 Pontiac Fiero for 27 years and did the oil change every fall too regardless of mileage.

Time to change my way of thinking about too frequent oil changes on Crossfire.
Thanks again.

Jim

 

Most of us "baby boomers" that were driving "back in the days" were used to changing the oil & filter every 3000-5000 miles or every 6 months. Nowadays, with the improvements in design on both gas & diesel engines, along with the technological improvements in oil (heck - synthetic wasn't even a thought back when I was driving my 1968 Mustang), oil changes are being extended to 7000 - 10,000 miles; sometimes beyond that depending on driving habits. For many of us "baby boomers", it's hard to accept doing an oil change beyond 5000 miles or longer than 1x/year.

 

Long-interval oil changes are, in my opinion, nothing but a fantasy.

Oils are SLIGHTLY better than they were, but the definitely ARE NOT miracle oils, even if they claim it.
When auto manufacturers went to longer oil change intervals, the ONLY thing they did was change the print in the owner's manuals from 3000 miles to 10,000 miles. It cost them only the price of the print. It eased the maintenance load on the dealers, who offer "maintenance for life" or include "lifetime oil changes", knowing full well that they will only have to do an oil change every couple of years, because now they only have to do it when the manufacturer specifies, and that is like once every two years or so, whereas formerly they would have had to do 3 oil changes for free every year on a customer's covered car.
If you want your car to last, fresh oil and a fresh filter are the best thing you can do.

I have a Jaguar that has a "Sealed for Life" transmission. It's a total crock of s***, and I have no idea how they thought they could get THAT to work. Their engine oil changes are all long-interval. The differential actually has NO DRAIN PLUG AT ALL, and NO FILLER PLUG! Jaguar was trying to relieve the constant complaint that Jaguars "need a lot of maintenance." They didn't fool the enthusiasts, who are smart enough to ignore the owner's manual, and change all their fluids regularly. In fact, there is a member-designed kit to install a drain plug, a dip stick, and a filler tube on Jaguar XK-8 transmissions.

If you want your Crossfire to last (And they DO, as we have seen by the number that have reached 200K miles and are still running just fine!) I guarantee you that the owners of these cars are NOT using the Mercedes-recommended servicing schedule. That schedule is for people who want to get a new car every few years.

By then, the car is out of warranty, and the owner who bought it used has to face the risk of failure due to poor prior maintenance and servicing. Mercedes is not worried about them at all.

 

Well said, I change my oil and filter every year with an average of 2,000 miles on it. All fluids have been changed except the auto transmission fluid, which has 41,000 miles on it, I plan on doing this this year or next.

 

Good day,
How far do you insert the tube into the dipstick channel? Any concerns?
Thanks,
Darlene

 

Push the tube in until you hit the bottom of the oil pan.

 

Awesome. Thanks. How much more oil do u get out by using the 2x4 trick?
This forum has been awesome!
used the 3m primer and urethane in 2016 to fix the convertible top as described by mach2plus and it’s been holding well and looks factory.

 

My guess is many xfire owners have never physically witnessed the internals of an auto engine. There are numerous places where oil can remain after the crankcase has been drained. When doing an oil change I always position the car on a level and remove the oil drain plug. I also change the engine oil filter. Before draining, the oil temperature should be at minimum room temperate. For maximum removal let the oil drain until dripping stops. After draining, I install 8 quarts, start the engine, let it run for a minute, and shut it off. After a couple of minutes I recheck the dip stick reading and add the balance needed to attain the correct level. Using this method in my opinion prevents over filling. Excessive overfilling (> 1 quart) can cause the internal crankcase and cylinder pressure to become excessively high and potentially detrimental.

 

POST OF THE YEAR, sir.

Many will disagree with you, and that is their opinion. Their opinion is wrong.

 

I've had three Roadsters over 12 years. I've always done my oil changes from below, using a low-profile 10 quart pan. I don't jack the car up, I don't park it on 2x4s, etc.

How much do I get out? Let's say this: I put 8 quarts back in and am at 85-95% of the way to the highest mark on the dipstick. Am I getting 100% of the oil out? No clue. Don't care, cause there is no reason to care - my oil is changed every year at around 1800-3500 miles.

Back when I drove the Graphite year round, I changed it at 5000 to 5500 miles for all the reasons Mr @BrushRoadster explained so well.


MANY use the pump-thru-the-dipstick method. I disagree with that technique, but admit it is as good as my way and potentially better than my way. It is certainly easier than my way. But again, there is no reason to care if you are changing it more often than the BAD ADVICE of every 7000-10,000 miles.

 

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My 2008 owner's manual (page 330), I quote; "The recommended oil and filter change interval is based on FSS or 1 year." That is the first sentence, the 'or' defines not to exceed one year if the milage isn't higher than 7500 miles in the current oil (if I remember, that is the stated milage recommended within FSS, and references) maybe it should have been clearer in prior notices in the owner's manual? My car (a 2008) has not exceeded 3000 miles any year (best I can recall) so it gets changed every year. I am sure the engine is not damaged in any way at all. The only thing you're doing if you change the oil in the engine sooner (prior to the recommendations), is wasting oil and passing on a clean engine to the next owner (possibly through a dealer who will dump any cheap grade in it to show it is clean for a sale).


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