Hi all what kind of oil do you all use, or what kind should i use. Thanks

I use Rotella 15w40 in the summer and when I used to live in Wisconsin I ran mobil 5w40 ESP formula in the winter

These are what Mercedes Benz recommends from the factory.

I use Mobil Delvac1 5W40 synthetic year round.

Its not good to constantly switch between oil types.

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html

I use mobil1 in my car year round and rotellat in the wifes.

Interestingly enough the TD had 20w50 for most of its life, from the dealer up until the 90s.

well 5w40 is pretty thin to be running in the summer time, and good luck getting that motor to crank in -40 degrees with 15w40. My car has had the oil switched from winter to summer blends all 260 000 miles and no problems. Ive heard about the myth of switching oils and never actually seen a problem from it. If anyone has I would sure be interested in hearing about it.

(07-15-2009 09:15 PM)MB TECH Wrote:  well 5w40 is pretty thin to be running in the summer time

Not its not. Its no different/worse than running 20W50 in the winter.

I run 15w40 rotellat year round with no problems

There are a handful of days in winter when its to cold for 15w40.

(07-15-2009 09:15 PM)MB TECH Wrote:  well 5w40 is pretty thin to be running in the summer time, and good luck getting that motor to crank in -40 degrees with 15w40. My car has had the oil switched from winter to summer blends all 260 000 miles and no problems. Ive heard about the myth of switching oils and never actually seen a problem from it. If anyone has I would sure be interested in hearing about it.

heres a pretty good explanation- http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

I moved to 5W-40 from 15W-40 last year and it had a major impact in cold weather. I was able to start first crank below 5 degree F with the 5W with no block heater, vs the 15W which was a major problem starting. I would say 5W-40 is the best choice year round if you have decently cold winters. Both oils have the same viscosity at operating temps.

Well that makes sense, maybe I will try to stick to just the 5w40 then. I have just been in the habit for so long I never really thought about it on an in depth level. Thanks for the responses, but still has anyone ever experienced problems from switching oils or no? I am curious to see what part of the engine that affects.

(07-16-2009 10:57 PM)MB TECH Wrote:  I am curious to see what part of the engine that affects.

The insides will stay cleaner since there is no dino oil to build up sludge.

It's starting to get cold around here it gets down to 10 F most nights the other morning my car barely started will 5w40 help a lot in cold starting? i have no block heater so what ever helps would be nice! Just got my new glow plugs and getting my injectors rebuilt right now so hopefully that will help a lot? Any thoughts?

(12-14-2009 11:21 AM)Jtn190D Wrote:  It's starting to get cold around here it gets down to 10 F most nights the other morning my car barely started will 5w40 help a lot in cold starting? i have no block heater so what ever helps would be nice! Just got my new glow plugs and getting my injectors rebuilt right now so hopefully that will help a lot? Any thoughts?

Absolutely. But make sure it has a "C" diesel rating, i.e. CJ-4, CI-4, CH-4, CG-4, CF-2, and CF, and not a 5w40 meant for gassers. A diesel 5w40 oil will most likely be synthetic.

Any of you guys heard of Total or Redline oils? are they any good?

amsoil 5w-40 fuly syntetic diesel oil is great... just put in today and cars running much smooter/quiter and less smoke on heavy acceleration.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried the wal-mart oil? Supertech 15w40?

(12-18-2009 03:54 PM)Jtn190D Wrote:  Any of you guys heard of Total or Redline oils? are they any good?

Total is very popular overseas makes good motor oil, they used to be called Elf. I've used Total on my other vehicles with good results.


Redline also makes a good synthetic for gassers.. for diesels, not sure.



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(01-05-2010 02:21 AM)cell Wrote:  Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried the wal-mart oil? Supertech 15w40?

No experience with the 15w40.
But I have the Supertech transmission fluid in my 300D right now for the past 30,000 miles and been shifting great.

I've used the 10w30 oil on a 1994 Volvo 850 for a few years before getting rid of it and my guess it was fine.


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(01-05-2010 02:21 AM)cell Wrote:  Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried the wal-mart oil? Supertech 15w40?

I did a bit more reading about this on some oil forums. It looks like the actual supplier of this oil is unpredictable (changes with time and is different regionally). So I guess that makes it hard to have any meaningful disussion about this oil.

Delo 400 or Delvac MX.

MB dealer uses M1 0W-40 year round. Look at the Marshal Booth (Dr. Diesel) diesel forum at MBCA (http://mbca.cartama.net/) for discussions on oil, base stocks, SAE certifications, etc.
Personally uses M1 0W-40, change oil every 25k miles, change filter every 10K miles in all my cars.

1986 300SDL
1964 230SL

(05-23-2010 03:42 PM)nrkmann Wrote:  MB dealer uses M1 0W-40 year round.

That weight is not suitable for non-CDI engines due to its low viscosity. 5W40 is whats appropriate to use and it meets far more diesel API standards while being better able to disperse soot.

Quote:change oil every 25k miles

Thats far too long for any car engine. Have you actually done a UOA to determine if its safe? By 16k miles the soot accumulation will be approaching the limits, sooner if you do any city driving.
Even modern long-haul semis don't exceed 30k mile OCI.

I have used oil analysis and spent many hours with SAE engineers researching this issue and come to the conclusion that somewhere between 25-50K miles was where oil becomes contaminated. I went with the low end and have ran several vehicles 300+K miles with this regime (25K oil change and 10K filter change) including 15 years living in Germany and running cars routinely at 100+mph. All have had very low oil usage and ran perfectly when sold.
I don't know about long-hall vehicles but in the Army, where I spent 39 years, we only changed oil based on oil analysis and many vehicles and aircraft went thousands of hours without an oil change, just filters.
Currently I have 230K on my MB. It does not smoke, uses about one quart every 5-7K miles. I for one, cannot argue with success. Do the same with my other cars and trucks... this is a MB forum.
I use 0W40 because it is the lightest oil approved by MB... see below. We could get into a whole engineering discussion that would show the the shear strength of 0W40 far exceeds the pressures in any engine, and has the heat resistance to work in turbine engines at 10-20 times the temperature of a compression engine without sludging.
I have saved enough money over the years that if an engine failed and I bought new from the factory, I would still be money ahead.

regards, nrk


From the list of MB approved oils for my 300SDL.

Mobil 1 SuperSyn European Car Formula 0W-40 / Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel 0W-40 (USA)

MB spec 229.31
Mobil 1 ESP 0W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 ESP Formula 5W-30 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 ESP Formula M 5W-30 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 XE 5W-30 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Syst S Special V 5W-30 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA

MB spec 229.3
Mobil 1 0W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 5W-50 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 Arctic 0W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 Formula M 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 New Life 0W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 Peak Life 5W-50 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel 0W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Formula X2 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil SHC Formula MB 5W-30 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Special X 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 Formula M 5W-30 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 Formula M 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 X1 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 X1 Diesel 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 X2 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Super 3000 X2 Turbo Diesel 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Synt S 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Synt S Turbo Diesel 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA
Mobil Syst S 5W-40 x Exxon Mobil Corporation, FAIRFAX, Virginia/USA

I've avoided the 0w40 because of the postings on the VW boards about their test results. Any idea whats the approved list on the 617? I know that 20w50 was recommended for a long time (probably still is?).