winter oil for my 300TD
 

Hello!

I am new to this forum and wanted to say something about myself. I am 19 go to school at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. My father and I own the following MBs
1971 280SEL - green
1976 280S - white
1976 280C - mellon
1979 240D - cream
1982 300D - marron
1983 300TD (1) - gold
1983 300TD (2) - cream

Anyway, we both love our MBs, and the cream 300TD is my daily driver.
Winter is starting to show its face in western PA, and I was wondering if there is a better "winter" oil for it, I have always run Rotella (sp?) T 15w-40, and it just seems like it turns over slower now that its cold, i have 900 CCA battery (new) and all the cables are good. Would moblie 1 or another synthtic oil be good??? and what grade too???? Another question.......My kick down swtich has stopped working all together now, it used to work in high gear only, but now its not kicking down at all.....whats going on???

Oh no! An oil thread!

Seriously though.. you'll get a lot of opinions, but in general, you won't go wrong with a lighter weight oil for cold starting.. A generally approved oil that won't make people scoff at you would be Mobil Delvac 1, available at some truck stops and auto parts stores, and online at avlube.com (now on sale for 94$ for 4 gallons + 1 oil analysis). Its a fully synthetic 5W-40 for great cold performance. No one claims that its a bad oil, though some people think it is 'overkill'. The worst that could come from using it is that you might be spending a little more for your oil than you have to. However, in cold weather, it sounds like a good plan, and is what I'm changing with in the next week, once my order comes in.

Other good choices might be Amsoil's 5W-30 or 15W-40 diesel oil. The 15W-40 is the same weight you are using now, but a fully synthetic, meaning its cold weather performance is better than a dino oil of the same weight.

Cheaper still would be Rotella's semi-synthetic, with the same weight, but again, better cold weather performance from the synthetic portion.

Also, get your battery load tested just to be sure, and if nothing seems to help you crank better, you may need a new starter. However, a lighter weight synthetic oil is a good choice for cold weather starting.

peace,
sam

Hi, welcome to the forum. There are enough oil threads here to fill several volumes. We make fun of people who post new ones.

Most any question you have has already been answered and if you need answers fast, just search. Go to advanced search, the little search box is not good for much.

You may want to read about oil filters too.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/search.php

Thanks......I figured oil would have been a popular thing.....I should have used the search

Any news about my kickdown switch problems?????

Yup-sounds like your switch needs replacing.

Welcome to the forum. You will find this site invaluable. I consider everybody here my friends and feel as though I know them, which I do, but have not met any of them face to face or should I say bumper to bumper. :D

Oil--sheesh, well here's my two cents--I live in Eastern Pa. and I still have 15W40 Rotella in mine with no slow turnovers yet. Doubt I'll change to the reccommended 5W40 because my car stays parked for most of the winter due to the huge amount of salt they put on the roads these days. You'll find many of these cars running fine, but they won't pass inspection due to the rust.

Cheers,

Bill

Go to Wally World and buy Rotella-T Synthetic 5w-40. It's not a "true" synth, but it's cheap and is 5W-40 and diesel rated.

Next up would be Mobil 1 Synth Truck and SUV oil from Checker, Shucks and Wally World again (it's the same as Delvac 1.)

Welcome from another gold 300TD owner
 

It's great to know of someone else weth a Gold 83' 300TD.
When my wife first saw it...
"It's a station wagon."
Yup.
"And it's gold"
Yup.

That was it.
2 years later, she drives it any chance she can get. :D

Do you or your dad maybe wanna get rid of any pesky cross bars off the roof racks that make all that extra wind noise? :)

Anyway, welcome. If you're ever going to be in North Jersey, give a holler on the forum.

DieselBone,

Welcome to the board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like your car collection a lot!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks,

-George

LaughingGravy, In matter of fact, we have two sets of cross bars for wagons. The gold wagon right now is a non-runner, we bought it from a friend of my dad who works & sells MB's, this one was owned by a lady and ran her out of oil, it isn't locked up. I could never get it started either, it wants to start, but never makes it..........make me an offer on the bars......I might want to let them go.... The bodies on both the wagons are PERFECT......we were lucky to find them.

george_hannah, thanks, we enjoy our small collection, have a couple of domestic oldies but goodies too.

I enjoy the board thanks!