AMG Jerry

We just took delivery of a brilliant silver/charcoal SL55 this past Friday. Let me say both my wife and I are very impressed with the car. It really lets you have your cake and eat it too.

Im new to the world of Mercs though and I was wondering what is the best method of checking the engine oil. The owners manual wants me to use the multi information display system- and given that I have under 120 miles on the car Im not worried right now about low oil, but I know its a good practice to check, especially with a new car. I looked for a dipstick in the engine, but I cant find one!

Also, I like to drive around with a spare quart of oil, Ive checked the manuals and they indicate either 5w30 or 0w40. What do you guys prefer? I have a few quarts of 5w30 synthetic in my garage as other cars use this so its easier, but I want to make sure I treat the engine right.

Its quite a machine.

Best Regards,
Jerry

JosanK

Look elsewhere on this forum for how to get a dipstick. Will cost you $120 from Benz. For an 03 SL55, the proper amount of oil is 170 mm on their calibrated tool. The S55 has a dipstick, weird. In Northern Cali the oil used is 0 - 40 Mobil1. Used to be 15 - 50 Mobil1. Found an independent tester that experimented with many oils and they found that Mobil1 actually did survive heat better, no just hype.

Found my old post. Some details....

It's called "the tool" or "the measuring stick"
Part # (W)120-589-07-21-00 (W doesn't always show up, depends on source).
Price through the dealer was $120 (ouch! for a dipstick!)
It is a thin metal rod with a handle and mm calibrations, looks
like a dipstick.

I was told that....

.. for my 2003 SL55 the engine number is 113.992

.. a full amount of oil is 9 litres or 8.5 quarts

.. this shows as 170 mm on the tool

.. each 11.5 mm is 1 litre

The tool is inserted into a tube that sets in the middle of the engine,
about 8 inches from the windshield.
It looks like a place where a dipstick would go. Its black, setting atop the valve cover.
There is a plug on the tube that can be pulled out.

AMG Jerry

Josan,
Thank you for the information- I guess they really want us to use the electronics- I will oblige.

Best regards,
Jerry

JosanK

I suspect that Benz was just being cheap or a little weird on this. There is a place to insert the dipstick after all, and there is a dipstick on the S55 which is the same engine. When the oil is changed the techs use the dipstick to check the amount.

I can imagine a marketing meeting years ago where someone advocated saving a few bucks in manufacturing cost and a few ounces in weight since they already had the "idiot lights" electronics. I can also imagine an argument being made that SL customers wouldn't do manual oil checks anyway and would prefer "the computer" (this, of course, ingores the AMG type of buyer).

The dipstick is far more accurate.

For a car costing well over 100 large and an engine with a supercharger and 500 horsepower I would advocate investing in a "tool" and using it.

Beware of propoganda.

Just my opinion.

AMG Jerry

Youre right- I will be at the dealer in the next few days and I will get or order the dipstick for the car. Do you do check it when cold? I have several BMWs and BMW wants you to let the engine get to operating temp, then let the car idle for 60 seconds and then to shut the engine off and wait another 60 seconds before checking the oil. I usually check the oil every 2-3rd gas fill up.

Also, the car came with these beautiful light color/white floor mats. I plan to buy black ones because I can see that while the material is high quality, the color will not last long.

Best regards,
Jerry

JosanK

I have checked it both cold and after waiting 15 minutes for the engine to cool. Not much diffrerence. It will be around 170mm. I also use the computer occasionally just to see what it says. You need to get a chart from the dealer on proper oil level. The engine model on the 2003 SL55 is 113.992.
Oil info....

1.057 liter = 1 quart, 1 quart = .946 litre
170 mm (on the stick) = 9.0 litres (capacity) = 8.5 quarts
11.5 mm = 1 litre

These numbers may be identical for the 05, but double check.

Concerning floormats, I have always purchased rubber mats (which come in several colors) from weathertech.com (800-441-6287). Their mats are heavy rubber with ridges that can hold over a quart of liquid. They are indestructible. Highly recommended. An order of magnitude tougher than any other mat I've ever seen. I think you can get grey, black or almond. Check it out.

This may trigger a debate, but I would adivse you to change oil more often than 10K miles. Once every 5K or every year. Not everyone agress with this. Cheap insurance. Look for other posts on this forum about this.

Good luck.

AMG Jerry

Josan,
Once again, thank you for that useful information. Gee whiz, on the cars Ive had previously, you had lines or dots on the dipstick- now Ive got to sit there and measure it? What's the rationale behind this?

I 100% agree with you on the oil changes. My attitude is, it does not matter what the car is, I get it changed at least once a year and usually twice, regardless of miles. Always by the dealer- yes its a few extra dollars, but like you said its insurance- cheap insurance if you ask me. FWIW, I've been told that with the synthetic oils, the oil itself could go ~100,000 miles, its just the filter that needs changing. I've been told this by a number of mechanics, and I believe them, I figure if I'm making the effort to have the dealer change the filter, might as well do the oil too.

I disagree a little bit on the floor mats. I get the same mats for our daily drivers, but the SL is really not a daily driver for us. I like carpeted mats for a car like the SL and I like the OEM ones that say SL on it. Yes, I know, within a few years I will have managed to dig my heel through it (I've done it many times over the years!)- so I'll get new mats every few years. Btw- I'm about 10% through my mats.com (same co. as weathertech) floor mats in my daily driver- I must be absurdly hard on floor mats! lol.

Best regards,
Jerry

Ormond2004

I too was interested in checking my oil. I noticed in the manual that it states not to check the oil until after the break-in period. Seems funny to me. Did anyone else notice this?

I have the ash interior, and received a set of black SL55 mats to use every day. They don't show much dirt, and I have the originals to put in on special occasions.

Walter.fr

Osmond,

It is the same here in Europe - I got shocked when my display told me " add one liter of oil" during driving on the German Highway ..... I arrived a few hours later at AMG / Affalterbach, and they checked the oil manually - telling me afterwards that the level of oil was ok - it was only a fault of the electronic checking device ...... (no comment) I asked them to send me one of this manual devices and got told "this is not for sale - sorry".

From now on - I am checking my oil every time I start the engine - and write down the level in my agenda - to be sure, everything is fine.

Kind regards from France

Walter

JosanK

If you read some of my other posts you will notice that I had the oil analyzed. There are many services to do this, just draw off a few ounces and send it off in a mailer. I owned a plane once and got in the habit of doing this. At any rate, on the times when I've had the oil analyzed, there has been definite deterioration on lubrication properties at the higher viscosity number, that is the oil is less able to protect the engine at high temperatures. This is to be expected, that's why the oil gets changed. There are also various byproducts of combustion and other junk that get in the oil. The filter doesn’t get everything. For what its worth.

The mats are, of course, a matter of taste. What drove me to the rubber mats was a nightmare experience I had several years ago. Got out of my car and found I was standing on oil residue. Some idiot had spilled oil all over a parking lot (very slippery). Got it all over my shoes. Got back in the car, and thank God I had those heavy duty mats. Any carpet I had would have trashed.

Good luck with your SL55.