Hi folks,

I know oil is like talking about religion and politics here, but I have read conflicting opinions since 07 about Delo 400LE and the specification difference between CI-4 and CJ-4. Now that it's been 2 years or so, are any of you 0M603 engine drivers running Delo 400LE? If so, what's been your experience?

Now it might be just me, but my engine sounds quieter, but seems a tad bit sluggish as compared to the Rotella I first changed my oil with.

Thanks,
Bob

Engine runs fine on both Delo400s. Considering adding ZDDP.

Delo is fine and it's a very good oil.

__________________
- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

I have Delo-400 in my '85 and '87. It's a good oil, why should there be problems?

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I think I put the LE in my 300D when I changed the oil last time. No problems noticed after over 2K miles.
What's the difference and what's ZDDP?

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I used that Delo stuff and when I went to drain it, my crankshaft came out of the hole in little bitty pieces...

Seriously, Delo is very good oil. I really doubt that any of the diesel rated oils make any difference to your engine in ANY meaningful way, unless you look over the lifetime of the engine (500K miles)

__________________
80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

If in doubt, do an oil analysis. The CJ-4 standard reduces ZDDP (old-school anti-wear) and ash (detergency) somewhat, but over on the TDI forum people are reporting the CJ-4 oils are doing really great even in the PD engine which is known to eat its own lifters at times. So I wouldn't worry about using a CJ-4 oil at all. Pretty soon, you won't have a choice anyway.

Now I don't know specifically about Delo 400LE. Is it synthetic? I'd use a synthetic in a turbodiesel simply because of the extra heat that turbocharged engines generate.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

I don't think it's a syn. It didn't cost more than the regular Delo.

__________________
DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

Heh, Religion and Politics are safe compared to OIL.

__________________
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

Gents,

Just to make sure everyone knows the difference, there's Delo 400 Synthetic and Delo 400LE, a new formula released in 07. Are those of you who responded with just "Delo" using Delo 400 Synthic or Delo 400LE?

My friend who is a machinist did some research and ran some tests on Delo (the company he worked for did a company wide switch from Delo to Rotella so he had to get rid of a few hundred gallons of unused Delo) The Delo LE is Low Emission for the new California emissions laws. It was a while ago that he told me about it, so I don't remembers the names of the additives, but in Delo (non LE, Dino Oil) there was an additive that made it stick to the cylinder walls. when they went to LE they took this additive out because it would cause an increased chance of oil getting burned in the engine. He said that if you can find the non LE Delo it would be better in an old engine because the rings have more oil on the cylinder walls so it will have higher compression. Also it will help the engine last longer.

Sadly in CA I can't find Delo that is not LE anymore

I'm using Delo LE now, Delo is the best you can buy no matter what the revision.

My uncle has been buying Delo for the farm for the last 30 years from the Chevron man... they come and pump it out of a truck into a holding tank. The Chevron guy said that when Chervron the Texaco they stopped production of Delo and it is not made in the Texaco refineries.

Now you guys know all the stories I know about Delo

__________________

I'd be interested to know what that additive that they took out is called. I have to say it sounds like an old wife's tale. Like I said the new oils have reduced ZDDP and ash, but that doesn't necessarily mean they perform any worse. In fact they're supposed to be backward compatible and the oil analyses that I've seen so far (from TDI's) have shown the new CJ-4 oils performing superbly.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

It's probably OK in the older turbodiesels, but synthetic is recommended for the newer ones (98+). Supposedly the newer engines put even more heat stress on their oil.

__________________
2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL