So I've changed the oil in my 300SD several times over these few years I've owned it, and I've never seen it clear... I've been told that this is normal, but that kind of doesn't sound right to me... I am very meticulous changing my oil, and I even pour some clean oil while the bolt is off to kind of wash some black oil off, but once I add all the oil, the dipstick still shows black oil... I'm thinking that when I take the oil pan bolt off, the oil in the oil cooler stays there in the cooler, but shouldn't gravity take care of that? Or should I disconnect the oil cooler too? Anybody has this problem?

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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

I've never owned a car with anything but pitch black oil in it in my entire life. I wasn't aware this was a problem.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

yup. everyone.

sorry, couldn't resist.
your MB holds nearly 9 quarts of oil. the drainpan and filter only get about 7.5 out. that cooler and the lines, not to mention the film covering all the parts, hold a LOT of soot.
you could change the oil every day for a year and still have black oil.
it's fine. the oil is designed to protect the engine if you are using Cx rated oil
"100,000" mile motors aren't bothered by a little soot.

You could always switch to a gasser . . .

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"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

Diesel or gas? Some of my gas cars 3k mile oil looks damn near brand new.

The 300D and the Jetta however, put clean oil in, back it out of the garage and its black already.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

The oil in a diesel vehicle picks up the soot, the by-product of combustion. Remember a diesel vehicle runs much higher compression than a gasoline vehicle. So you really can't compare them.

Diesel lube oil is formulated differently then gasoline lube oil. It is designed to carry the soot. A little soot color goes a long way. Then if you figure that you have some oil that is still in the oil cooler and other passages that oil will mix in the new oil the first time you start your vehicle.

After I drain my oil, replace the plug/filter and fill up the oil, but before I start the vehicle, I check the level with the dipstick and it is clean. Once I start the vehicle and it comes up the pressure, shut down, check the oil level its dark/black again.

Wiki has some interesting reading if you wish to know more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil

Another item to look up is soot loading.... That is way above what I want to know. Just use a "C" Commercial/Compression vise "S" Service/Spark rated oil and all should be well.

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92 300D 2.5L OM602 OBK #59

I ran several 616/617 engines to high mileage. The oil would be mostly clear immediately after my frequent, hot changes, but then would be black very quickly afterwards.

I changed oil on a 3,333 mile average interval. I would pull it in the shop on a Friday night then go straight in and change clothes. I would then come back out as soon as possible and pull the drain plug and remove the filter. I would then let it drain overnight.

By doing this, the last drops were the nastiest sludge and I was giving those drops plenty of time to come out.

Doing infrequent, cold oil drains will guarantee constantly black engine oil.

All that said, as long as you're changing the oil and filter regularly, the soot does not really cause a problem.

Put a drop of ink in a bottle of water. The water will go pretty black, pretty quick.

Ink can be stabilized carbon black, just like diesel soot. it is normal, it is effectively a stabilized, suspended dye, and your engine has lots of surface where the remnants of old oil can stay even during a change. Just a drop goes a long way towards darkening the oil.

modern oils are designed to suspend 2-4% by weight soot in the oil without creating wear. A w123 will get less than 1% over 5-7k miles, leaving plenty of margin. it just looks dirty, doesnt mean it is or it is harmful...

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)

Welcome to the world of Diesel engines.

This black oil really helps when checking the oil level on the dip stick. no guess work as to where it is at.
Don`t worry about the color, just make sure you have oil in the engine, point the star into the wind and enjoy the ride.

The only diesel vehicle I ever drove that the oil would stay clean for a long time, was a 1995 International 4900 with the 466 I-6 engine. it always amazed me how long that oil stayed clean. I started driving it since new until I retired 4yrs ago, and it was about 150K at that time.


Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Huh... so it is normal after all. And yeah, I was comparing it to my Caddy and my fiance's Corolla... Both gassers. Silly me...
Well, that's good to know... I do change my oil & filter at regular intervals. I'll stop worrying about that then Thanks everybody!

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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT

Initially after oil changes, my '83 SD's oil was clear when checked on the dipstick for a short number of miles. Blackened up rather soon though.

In my way of thinking, if the oil is seeing adequate change interval, it will be somewhat clear as soon as it's changed. If it is immediately black even before the engine is run, then you're not changing it often enough.

My $0.02,

So, what's the consensus on oil change intervals????

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

5000 miles as the owners manual states.