I need someone to straighten this out for me. I have a 79 300TD n/a. Engine is 617.912. I took it to my Indy for an oil change. Indy was gone on vacation, so the assistant helped me out. Said the capacity was 8 quarts. OK. A week later I checked the level and it was about 1/2" above the Max line when hot. Now, I check my Haynes manual and it says oil capacity for "non-turbocharged" is 6 quarts, which would mean I am 2 quarts high! But the owner's manual says 7.9 quarts, which would mean I'm ok. So now I am totally confounded on what is going on. So two naive questions-

What is my oil capacity?
What is my oil capacity not including oil filter change?

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1979 300TD wagon (non-turbo)
266,000+

check your oil when the engine is cold. when you first pull the dip stick the reading tends to be high. For some reason the oil "creeps up" the dip stick. Give it a wipe and check it again.

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Sonny


86 190D N/A 2.5L Auto 265k "Ruby"
79 300D 242k "Condi" my first -sold- R.I.P.
95 Chevy S10 114k "The Truck" 8/5 work truck

I thought it was best at operating temp, but off for a few minutes.

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1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

8 quarts it high. but not that high.
the oil change guy may have changed the oil, then changed the filter, that would make you about 1.5 or so quarts high, if your filter o-rings are in good shape.

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John ongoing strip party!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!
84 240D 5speed & 84 300 4Speed
67 rs Camaro, Dodge Pickup, parts cars 78 300D, & 93D(no doors?),85 SD, 83 SD, 85 300D, 85Euro 300TD, 87 300TD, 95E320 T
Daily Drivers 82 SD, 87 300TD, 87300TD!!!!,

I checked cold and hot. Hot, as I said, about 1/2" above max. Cold about 3/4" to 1" above max. I usually check hot, every time I fill up. It seems consistency as to when you check is the most important thing.

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1979 300TD wagon (non-turbo)
266,000+

Oil Pressure has been OK. Between 15/30 lb/ sq in. at hot idle, and pumped to 45 at acceleration. Temp gauge seems to be normal - always between 175 and the 210 mark (or halfway between 175 and 250 red zone). Its also been a bit hot recently out here. For what it's worth, I'll keep my eye on those.

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1979 300TD wagon (non-turbo)
266,000+

I would trust your dipstick first and the owners manual second as it will probably quote the initial factory fill of 7.9 qts which will differ from what is actually collected during an oil change.

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Terry Allison
N. Calif.

85' 300d Turbodiesel 311K
99' E300 Turbodiesel 311.5K and counting NO MORE. (Totaled by Indie's liability Ins after a major oops)
09' E320 Bluetec 66k

I went through this when I first changed my oil, I don't remember where I found it but the oil capacity is dependent on the color of the dipstick. I know it sounds strange, maybe someone else out there can back me up on this, but my dipstick on my 85 617 is mustard/lt. brown, and I found info somewhere out there in cyberspace telling me the capacity was 7.6 qt, I believe. There are two other colors of dipstick and two other corresponding engine oil capacities.

Sorry for the partial info, I'll search and see if I can find it again.

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1985 300D Gretchen (Astral Silver) 220k
1983 240D 4-speed Evelyn (Orient Red) 203k


TANSTAAFL

Service Manual say "engine 616 617 in model 123 starting 1977". (Maintanance manual job 151)

Total capacity during oil and filter change 6.5 LITERS (6.868473 quarts)

Oil pan capacity 5.0 LITERS (5.283441 quarts)

Dave

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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

There are definitely at least 2 different dipsticks for 617's. There is a TSB on the subject. The final version was ocher brown. The TSB only says that the max oil mark was increased. It does not state the actual capacity. The engine itself was not changed, only the upper mark on the dipstick. This change was very late in the run, possibly 1985.

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Palangi

1984 300D 123.133 Heavy Iron
1984 240D 123.123 Euro 5 speed, Beirut Taxi
The above vehicles running on WDO (Waste Dinosaur Oil)
2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg


Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers

Yes, cold engine oil will read higher than when it's warmed up. This is because the cold engine oil will settle down the oil pan and would read more than it's supposed to show (when it's read at operating temp, it should be at or below max, but above min).

Wipe it first before making any reading, dip it in, and read it again when it's warmed up. It should not go beyond the max line. Make sure car is also level.

On mine when it's cold, it reads maybe a centimeter above the max line when it's at the max line when hot. Roughly the same difference you have when you read when cold and hot, just that yours may be overfilled by maybe less than a quart.

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This all becomes even more confusing when you've got a turbo with the oil cooler which no one ever drains

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Overfilling the oil is very bad. If you're unsure, remove some. You could put a small hose down the dipstick tube and start a siphon by mouth and watch it drain for a beer or four. The oil will run up the tube so slowly that there isn't any danger of inhaling any, as there is with gasoline.

So assuming the oil cooler holds + or - 1.5 liters this would make the total capacity 'round about 8 liters, although the most you'll ever get out by draining and re-filtering is 6.5. That seeming discrepancy has been bugging me for months, wondering if there were people out there with more or less engine oil capacity than others.

Also, thanks for the dipstick info palangi. apparently my Ochre dipstick has become light brown/mustard colored, probably about the time the car was imported and Ochre became synonymous with "...Huh?, you mean yellerish brown?"

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1985 300D Gretchen (Astral Silver) 220k
1983 240D 4-speed Evelyn (Orient Red) 203k


TANSTAAFL