Hello all,

on sunday i changed the oil in my 87 300sdl (225k). i purchased car in june 08. had oil changed at my indy as no one in town stocked the filters and i was headed out for a lil road trip in august. Ok so now i get a filter, get some Rotella 5w-40 synthetic and change filter and oil. car ran noticably rough on startup and also did yesterday and today on statup (but getting better maybe this is normal when very cold out)but runs better once warm and also quieter. but when i initially started it up after the new oil change it blew black smoke and black stuff out the tail pipe (had an old gas engine truck that blew black stuff that meant it was running rich). from what i was told the the p.o indy that i bought car from (not my indy but his friend) it had regualr oil changes and didnt require synthetic. did i create a problem by switching to synthetic or is this simply the synthetic cleaning crap out of the engine and some ends up in the tail pipe on startup?

sorry if this has been covered but i have searched around on this forum and others and cant find much info. if it has been covered, just supply me with a link.

thanks
Ron

where did you fill it up to?

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You know you are not supposed to put the oil into the fuel tank, right?

Just kidding, just kidding.

Welcome to the forum. One quick note before we continue is that you should really add your location to your profile so that it shows up in your posts. Even though you stated what car it is for you should add your car to your signature as well for future questions.

Now...

You didn't notice this at all before? No smoke at all on start-up? This doesn't seem like a symptom of switching to synthetic motor oil. BTW- Rotella is not REAL synthetic oil. It has some same properties so it is labelled as such.

Did you do anything else besides an oil change? How did you do the oil change?

I would say check the oil level, make sure that is fine. Then just keep an eye on it for the next few days to see if you notice any differences.

Others will chime in...

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2009 ML320 Bluetec
1985 300CD
1981 300TD

Past Mercedes
1979 300TD
1982 300TD
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1998 E430
1984 300SD
1980 300SD

ok oil level right now when warm and running is right between the high and low marks on the the dipstick. no nothing else was done, other then getting oil all over my driveway. the black spitting was only on inital startup but it seems to smoke more then usualy on startup, maybe im just not aware this happens when its cold as this is my first winter with a diesel.

i live in chicago

you should do some searching on that. I was under the impression engine was off and warm nad the level should midway b/w marks

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hmmm ok i'll go warm her up, drive to gas statin shut it off and check oil. if i dumped in 2 gallons of oil thats 8 quarts right?

right, but if you do the metric to imperial conversion accurately, its a little less, and there are other factors. Best to start low and add.

Make a note of what it took and reference for the future.

and search first.. I could be wrong.

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8quarts should be about right.

Check the oil cold, won't be a significant difference.

Synthetic oil, or any type of approved engine oil of the correct viscosity will not change the way the engine runs or smokes.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I thought I read somewhere about "Synthetic" oil and how it can (possibly) eat away gaskets. People expiriancing leaky seals after switching to synthetic.

I did a google search and found a few hits on "synthetic oil gasket" Worth looking into.

Hope it ain't anti-freeze that's burning!

That is not entirely true. A cold engine that doesnt smoke on 15w40 might smoke a bit until warm on 5w40. Thinner oil can mean more oil in the cylinder. Also with synthetic more oil will stay on the walls.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

You may want o reference the thermal coefficient of expansion for engine oils. I thought over normal temp differences they can expand 10%

Edit: Did not realize the engine model.

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603 oil consumption

check last post here

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The only thought I have is the change to lighter weight 5W40 oil instead of the standard 15W40.... At 225K the rings are probably a little worn and you may be getting some of the lighter weight oil moving past the rings on cold startup causing the smoke. Its the 5W portion of the blend that is suppose to be the top end lubrication in low temperature starts and that is burning off.

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FRED

Daily Driver: 98 E300TD 199K
Hobby Car: 69 Austin Mini
Past Diesels: 84 300SD, 312K
87 300SDL, 251K
94 Chev. K-1500 6.5Ltr.TD, 373K

My first thought was why are you using 5W40 oil?

Check your owners manual and use the recommended oil year round.

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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Okay, to clarify.

Important to notice the word "significantly" here.

Checking the oil hot is fine, but how long do you want to wait for the oil to all drain back to the pan from the upper areas of the head etc.? It is easier and from my experience as accurate to check the oil cold before starting out, as the oil is substantially all in the pan at that time. Stopping for 5minutes at the gas station and checking it might be as accurate if the ground is level and the oil is hot enough to drain back to the pan fairly quickly.

So far, my 603s have been happy with 8.5quarts. I fill with 8.5quarts at change time, it shows full, and 6,000miles later when I'm changing it I get almost 8quarts back out. Never burns, never add, no problem.

As far as using a syn oil having a detrimental effect on the seals? All oils are formulated for certain amounts of seal-swell. According to Mercedes in the STAR, it has no detrimental effect. If the oil change to synthetic causes leaks to increase, it is likely because the oil is not as thick when cold, and doesn't tend to clog leaks like dino oil does. Further according to the opinion in The Star, Mercedes' stance was if it leaks more on synthetic, switch back to dino oil or a part-synthetic and all will be gummy and clogged as before.

Back in the '70s when we were first using commercial synthetic oils the formulations didn't properly mimic the seal swell of dino oils and did leak when put in older engines with degraded seals. In over a quarter-century of development since, this has not been the case, but the legend lives on.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff