Hi I was just wondering what people here think would be the best oil choice for my dads 300 SD mercedes diesel. the engine was rebuilt about a year ago. I dont know the miles on it. I do know it has been recieving 3k mile oil changes with whatever his mechanic has been putting into it. probably valvoline 20W50. He does about 12 mile trips to work 5 days a week and sometimes the car sees the highway but not that often. We live in Florida. I am asking because I plan on changing it for him soon instead of his mechanic. thanks for the info
1980 mercedes diesel
- Thread starter mcrn
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I'd run Rotella T 5w40 if I choose synthetic(Grp III). For dino of choice, ditto on Delo 400 15w40..either way you can't go wrong in humid FL clime.
p.s. I miss my pops venerable W115 240D 5sp..replaced by W123 300D Turbodiesel.
p.s. I miss my pops venerable W115 240D 5sp..replaced by W123 300D Turbodiesel.
Any 15w-40 that is CI-4 or CI-4+ rated will be excellent in a Florida climate. Examples of such oil are Delo 400, Delvac 1300, and Shell Rotella. Also Castrol Tection. These oils are not expensive, and available at stores such as WalMart or Costco.
I would not use oils that are primarily intended for gasoline engine use.
These old Mercedes engines really load the oil with soot.
I would not use oils that are primarily intended for gasoline engine use.
These old Mercedes engines really load the oil with soot.
Two more oils which are probably suitable that no-one here ever mentions are Valvoline's Premium Blue 15w40 and Premium Blue Extreme 5w40, if he wanted to go with or is partial to one particular brand. Before year 2000 or so it seemed like ther were only two choices, but now there is a veritable plethora of choices in this arena.
vwoom I kinda miss my 240d sometimes too however mine was the automatic and was so slow it was almost dangerous. I wish I would have had the manual as I heard they were a little better. Thanks JHZR2and everyone else for their input. But JHZR2 how did you find that info out about the timing chain? My dads engine was rebuilt because the teeth on the gear for the chain broke off and caused the damage. I had my 240's engine replaced when I had mine but I think mine had many more miles than the odo was saying. I bought it from someone that turned out to be a expert at setting the mileage back and I replaced the engine and the rear end which both are supposed to go to at least 300K without a problem the engine went reading 143K and the rear at 172K.
Drove a stick shift 240D in my college days, slow but extremely reliable car,timing chain using Delo400/Delvac Super lasted me 200,000 before my paranoia got better of me and I had it changed even though it had miles left,cam and internals looked brand new.
Unless you are driving in truly extreme conditions like in very low temperature,these two abovementioned dino oils are the best value around,Delo400 actually imporves mileage,never have evidenced any increase in fuel consumption.Rest is up to you,but I would save using these two extremely good dinos and spend my money elsewhere.
BTW: My 240D lasted me 410,000 miles and I sold it to a freshman and when I left my college,he was still using it.
Unless you are driving in truly extreme conditions like in very low temperature,these two abovementioned dino oils are the best value around,Delo400 actually imporves mileage,never have evidenced any increase in fuel consumption.Rest is up to you,but I would save using these two extremely good dinos and spend my money elsewhere.
BTW: My 240D lasted me 410,000 miles and I sold it to a freshman and when I left my college,he was still using it.
JHZR2
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run M1 T&SUV. I use it in my 83 W123, which has the same engine (OM617.952), and we also use it in my father's w210 1996 E300D with excellentr results. Couldnt be more happy.
I have had many other MB dieselers swap over to 5w40 delval1/M1, and everyone has been really happy with it.
Delo (at least in its older formulations) provided statistically sigfnificant MPG decreases!
Real life studies by long-term MB diesel owners indicate that timing chain "stretch" is decreased by at least half, by using syn oils... most of these studies were done using CF Mobil1 15w50, so using Delvac1 or M1 T&SUV should provide greatly improved protection. The added dispersants in that oil provide soot dispersancy to 4%... daimler has shown that wear increases exponentially past 2% loading, though...
I have had many other MB dieselers swap over to 5w40 delval1/M1, and everyone has been really happy with it.
Delo (at least in its older formulations) provided statistically sigfnificant MPG decreases!
Real life studies by long-term MB diesel owners indicate that timing chain "stretch" is decreased by at least half, by using syn oils... most of these studies were done using CF Mobil1 15w50, so using Delvac1 or M1 T&SUV should provide greatly improved protection. The added dispersants in that oil provide soot dispersancy to 4%... daimler has shown that wear increases exponentially past 2% loading, though...
I've also seen diesel recommendations to change from one HDEO C rated oil to another to benefit from different cleaning additive packs. Like changing to another oil from whatever you used the first year. Rotella and Delo look like they use different packs.
thatrs cool Gurkha like i said i really think mine had mileage closer to what your saying then what was actually on the odometer because i babied that car used good synthetics and still had to replace the rear end and the engine which both every mechanic said usually last to 400K easily. oh well lesson learned still have good memories of the car. thanks for all the advice I think i will be changing my dads oil to delo or rotella this weekend.
Mercedes requires an xW-40 or xW-50 oil, and it must be Cx (diesel) rated, so that limits your choices. I'd recommend Mobil-1 5W-40, 10W-40, or 15W-50, depending on what's available near you (try to find the 5-quart jugs at Wal-Mart if possible).
Rotella Syn, Valvoline, and most others are cheaper Group III base stocks... not my favorite stuff. Definitely better than dino oils, but I wouldn't attempt extended drains on a Group III oil.
For dino oil, Delvac-1300 is one of the best out there, and it's pretty easy to locate.
Rotella Syn, Valvoline, and most others are cheaper Group III base stocks... not my favorite stuff. Definitely better than dino oils, but I wouldn't attempt extended drains on a Group III oil.
For dino oil, Delvac-1300 is one of the best out there, and it's pretty easy to locate.
JHZR2
Staff member
I would avoid 10w-40 and 15w-50 oils... the diesel engines used by MB in 1980 are EGR type... the type of setup that CI-4 finally addresses.
We can anticipate soot loading w.r.t. mileage, and timing stretch as well.. But, chances are that the better diesel oil packages are superior (i.e. CI-4+ type)
We can anticipate soot loading w.r.t. mileage, and timing stretch as well.. But, chances are that the better diesel oil packages are superior (i.e. CI-4+ type)
I would run any diesel rated oil that is 15/40 weight. The old benz diesel is good for many miles but it is moody if it is not maintained on a regular basis. Keep the air filter clean and there are 2 fuel filters on it. One is the large spin on and the other is inline near the injector pump. Give it a little injector cleaner on occasion and enjoy. What drove me crazy about benz diesels of that time was that i would change my oil drive a few miles and it was dark again.
The dark oil is normal on indirect injection diesels with prechambers. They generate quite a bit of soot, and the oil is expected to suspend the soot. The oil filter does NOT remove soot. When soot percentage reaches 2% (max!), it's time to change the oil. It only takes a very small amount of soot to make the oil look black, which is why it turns dark almost immediately after an oil change. While many people fret about this, it's perfectly normal. Pretty much the same thing happens on VW diesels (pre-TDI, anyway), which are also indirect injection with a prechamber.
I'm curious as to why people say 2% is the maximum soot level. If you're running Mobil 1 Truck and SUV, which I believe is the same as Delvac, the max soot is 5 or 6%.
Joe
Joe
wow thanks everyone. Its cool to see so many people respond about these cars. I honestly think these are some of the best cars ever built. as far as durability goes anyway. they are tanks! Locomotive I used to hate the oil turning black so soon too. In fact when my dad first got his he had someone change it and when he got the car back home he checked the level of the oil and noticed it was black and took it back to them and asked if they really changed it. ( we didnt know then ) they were nice about it and said they promised they changed it and said they would change it again if he wanted them to just so he could see that this was totally normal. Oh by the way it has 3 fuel filters there is one in the tank itself that when I changed mine I could not believe anything could get out of that filter it sits at the bottom of the tank so it collects all the sediment that settles at the bottom of the tank. The fuel pump on these must be a beast! oh well thanks again to everyone and I will have to see if I can make my dads EGR disapear as well! AMG did you notice a big difference after yours fell off?
That is why I call my old 5 cylinder turbodiesel 300SD "der Panzerwagon".
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