Well, you know--some are just missing the point.
Yes, it's kind of neat to have a well made, fully cast and machined oil filter canister assembly with all kinds of gaskets, through bolts, washers, etc. Some engineers may like or appreciate this. Other engineers will simply say it is an inelegant solution. The truth of the matter is it was a leftover relic from the 1950's.
A spin on oil filter is an elegant solution. One simple highly efficient filter assembly. No washers, no bolts, no hidden gaskets. One small, simple and inexpensive part to replace many. That's elegance. You don't have to like it, just appreciate it. After all if the complexity of the canisters was something so great, it would be the standard. It isn't. It's ancient history. Like lever shocks, mechancial ignition, and goodness knows how many other archaic things. Most every car today has a spin on oil filter--including Rolls Royce, Ferrari, MB, BMW--that should tell you something. People who make cars that cost multiples of 6 figures and are known for highly engineered products are not using multiple-piece canisters. They use spin ons. Hmmm....
Make no mistake--those of you reading this here represent but a portion of the owners of W113's on the road! That's why so many of these cars that we find have missing parts, like those on the oil filter assembly! KISS. Keep it simple... Our cartridge filter assembly is anything but simple and explains why we've seen missing parts in it.
Yes copper crush washers should be replaced if you have them. It's not the end of the world if you don't. I still leak a drop of oil out of the drain plug over the winter even with a new washer and new plug. A better solution is a bonding washer, with a neoprene seal on it. You'll never leak. My service place goes one step further--they nearly ALWAYS change the drain plug with new! Why? The tapered [pipe] threads are deformed each time you take it in and out. Perhaps a bit extreme, but nonetheless they don't want anyone calling them out on an oil leak when their $100,000 new Mercedes leaks a drop of oil on their $5,000 epoxy garage floor. Some people are just that way!
But you know, all spin-on's include a built in O-Ring, and many OEM spin on's include the crush washer...some aftermarkets make you buy the washer separately.
Frankly, though--the oil filter and the drain plug are really mutually exclusive.
Some of the innovations mentioned such as halogen replacements for example have been around for many decades; they are not really in the same boat as this newly engineered product.
If you don't like it for goodness sake don't buy it. But appreciate the effort that went into designing, testing and manufacturing it, and appreciate the fact that there are people out there who recognize problems and find solutions for them. The fact that it may not be a problem for you specifically doesn't mean that it isn't a challenge for others; remember Richard Madison asked for an easier way! Changing oil and the requisite disposal is a huge problem for some. Changing oil means you are dealing with some quantity of used oil. The spin on adapter allows, for those who choose to use it, a more reliable and confident visit to a quick oil change place, but that's only one reason.
I'm sure Jim Villers and those on in the 190SL group who devised, designed, prototyped, tested and finally, manufactured this didn't do it because they had nothing better to do. They solved a problem. Maybe not yours, but a problem nonetheless.
For those wanting an easier way to drain the oil there are ways. You can use that method where the oil is "sucked out" of the dipstick hole. You can also install a capped valve in place of the drain plug. Remove the cap, turn the screw and out comes your oil. I've added this not to my car, but to my high pressure pumps at the car wash that need to have the oil changed.
Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America
