Mercedes 300 SDL (OM 603) oil

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Charlie

Joined
Aug 29, 2003
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Location
San Jose, CA
I've read that pretty much any diesel rated oil is OK for the OM617 engine used in the 300D, 300SD, etc... but I just icked up a 300SDL with nearly 200k miles on the clock (so... I guess that's pretty young in the same way that I am - a lotta miles on the clock but many left still).

Wondering about M1 15W50 for this engine or other synthetics people may have experience with. Thanks.

Charlie
 
For the money, Schaeffers Supreme 9000 5w-40 is a hard oil to beat. Only $13 a gallon, and it's a synthetic heavy duty diesel engine oil. A more expensive option is Redline's 15w-40 diesel oil. Very good, but pricey at $7 a quart.
 
Dont use M-1 in diesel, instead, use Delvac-1, the only difference between the OM616 and 603 is the aluminum head in later which would damage in case of over heating.

For general use, HDEO like Delo 400 and Delvac Super perform really good without being heavy on your pocket.
 
Charlie,

I saw that Mobil Delvac Super 1300 15w40, was a bit over $6. a gallon, Shell Rotella T 15w40 was almost $7. a gallon, and Mobil 1 5w40 T&SUV was a bit over $20. for a 5qt jug, at the local Walmart. Chevron Delo 15w40 is rare up here, but is in the same price range as the other dino diesel oils. These HDEO oils, are what I would use.
burnout.gif
 
As you are in San Jose where it rarely gets cold, I would go with a mineral oil 15w-40 such as Shell Rotella, Chevron Delo, or Mobil Delvac 1300. You want an oil with an up to date diesel SAE rating. All of the above mentioned oils are CI-4.

Forget the Mobil 1 15w-50. That is for gasoline powered cars. If you insist on synthetic, instead of Delvac 1, you can use the almost identical Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5w-40 that can be purchased at WalMart for approx. $20 per 5 quart container.

By the way, I run a 5 cylinder 1984 300SD
 
Hi,
I have just started off a new OM662 (5 cyl TDI) engine

It was put on to Delvac 1 5w-40 at 2270kms and has already done nearly 7.5kkms (in the last month)

I will publish a UOA soon

The latest oil spec for this engine is MB229.1 or MB229.3 and a range of viscosities are specified

k1xv - Using a good quality CI-4 lubricant (or M1 T&SUV 5w-40) as you suggest to the original poster is on the money IMHO

Regards
Doug
 
Hi,
Ler - MB229.1 or MB229.3 it is
These engine are actually relatively easy on their oil and a HDEO is a slight overkill

The history of this engine family is longevity with a capital "L" - if looked after of course

Regards
Doug
 
The biggest enemy of these engines was heat, unlike all iron OM 616/617 which could go over 120C without any major damage, OM 603 would not survive that ordeal.
 
I worked for (and still moonlight for) Mercedes-Benz for a number of years. I still own a 1978 300SD with a much modified OM 617.950 that produces over 180 horsepower.

I live in California's Central valley where it get's over 104° in the summer. I use Shell Rotella T 15/40 changed at 5,000 mile intervals.

At the MBZ dealership, we used only Castrol 20/50 GTX in everything..even cars that specified a 5/30 multigrade oil.

The only exception was the BMW M-Series V8 Engines which specified a 15/60 Castrol Full Synthetic due to problems with lower end failures on 5/30.

Funny...I spoke to an MBZ engineer once and he said the factory uses 5/30 to meet CAFE mandates and so the cars are already setup for the coldest possible climate they might go to. However, he likes the heaviest viscosity possible for the ambient temperatures at hand, especially at high speeds over extended distances.

Hope this helps...Robert
 
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Herndon:
I still own a 1978 300SD with a much modified OM 617.950 that produces over 180 horsepower.


Hope this helps...Robert
Click to expand...
That is a significant HP gain from its original 115 rating, would be really interested to know about the mods if you don't mind.


I have a Indian made G Wagen clone which uses MB OM 616 turbo which is basically the original OM616 with 617 turbo parts added to it. At it's current form, the OM 616 turbo develops 91bhp, I modified the air intake for ram fresh air effect as well as removed the muffler for a straight pipe, all this has given me significant performance increase as well as cooler operation and mpg increase as well, but nothing compared to your mod.
 
Well..the modifications are not complex, but they are effective. Starting with the T-3 Turbo, the housing is machined to accept the larger Buick Grand National Exhaust Turbine. It doesn't give you any more boost, but the larger area allows better spin-up at low exhaust velocity.

The turbo inlet housing and reducer cone was mirror polished. Boost pressure is held to 11.5 psi. maximum and the car pulls 6 psi at a 65 mph cruise.

The entire intake tract is stock and completly adeqaute for these power levels. The exhaust system is also completely stock.

The head is ported and polished extensively. The valves and seats are cut with 6 angles to promote flow. The intake nanifold is Extrude Honed.

The later '05' camshaft is used and is installed 4° advanced with valve adjustment set to .006" intake and .016" exhaust. Injection pump timing is set at 28° BTDC.

The stock nozzles are shimmed with special MBZ shims to raise delivery pressure to 2100 psi. The output on the injection pump was increased 3% across the entire range, both on and off boost, by Advanced Diesel Systems of Fresno, CA.

There are a few more small changes, but those are the big modifications.

Hope this helps...Robert
 
Great, I post under Gurkha there as well, it is indeed a great forum, lots of info for dieselers, I am shocked that you are still driving a 300SD. The W123 and the OM616/617 were the best to be ever built by MB.
 
I love delvac 1 5w-40 in the OM617 engines.

A 50/50 mix of delvac 1 and delvac 1300s 15w-40 gives excellent reasults, and minimal drop of MPG.

Ive found that rotella and delo give inferior MPG results, but they do fine as well.

Id suggest you go to wal-mart, get mobil 1 truck and SUV (more or less the same as delvac 1), and use that.

Keep an eye on your turbo drain seals, as they may tend to leak after a change... that was the only spot on my engine that ever leaked.

Dropping the pan, removing the valve covers, etc. on my engine showed absolutely no sludge, perfectly clean, etc.

Keep those valves adjusted, and use mann filters.

JMH
 
MPG: Never, ever saw a difference in fuel economy with idfferent viscosities and we have run those 40 hours tests on the dyno under load.

Valve Adjustment: set the valves at .006" Intake and .016" Exhaust.

Mann Filters: Good choice. So is Mahle.

Best of luck...Robert
 
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