Is your calculator broke?

http://www.math.com/students/calculators/source/basic.htm

Yes, this has become a full blown "oil thread".
Time to stop looking at it & hopefully it will die a natural death.
More opinions than brands of oil.
Probably more has been spent on internet time than any savings.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

77 replies.

Must be complicated...

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My occupational hazard bein'
my occupation's just not around...
1980 300SD
1980 300SD

At least no one's suggested Royal Purple yet.

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1981 Mercedes 300TD, 1994 Honda Civic Del Sol
http://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/67195.pnghttp://mefi.us/images/fuelly/smallsig-us/103885.png

Yeah when people start throwing around baseoil groups I, II , III, and IV, it is bound to get complicated. I am surprised I have not heard about the merits of different additive packages that make a full blended lubricant.

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2010 ML350 Bluetec
2012 Mustang Convertible

I put Royal Purple in my diff a couple of months ago, and it bumped my MPG's up 2 points

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'81 300SD

Funny, you should argue that with Blackstone....They disagree with your theory. Dad ran his 6.2 litre V8 diesel well over 100,000 miles on that oil and it was very clean when we pulled it down to freshen it up.

That was good enough R&D for me....Robert

P.S. Dad had the oil analyzed periodically and it was always within acceptable levels. Changes were done at 5,000 mile intervals, FWIW.

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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

Funny, I've been thinking about trying it as its available at my local Car Quest...

BTW to respond to a couple of questions on mine. Yes at 12k I'm using analysis, it says so in my post and no you probably can't go that long with a 61x engine. My 190D has a 601 engine which doesn't make doodly for soot in that time. I can't find the reports just now but 2% is the break point and it was at like 1% at 12k. For long durations analysis is a must.

This assumes that your time isn't worth anything.
Over 100k miles if I have to make 33 oil changes at 3,000 miles vs 8 at 12,000 miles (why would I stop at 8k?) thats significant. Median hourly wage is apparently a bit over $16/hour. Lets say it takes around an hour for an oil change thats another $400 AGAINST conventional oil.

Finally to the guy using Fram filters bought at Wal-Mart on sale.... Well no, Mom said if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything.

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Sadly Benz-less

Sometimes that's a great assumption. Have you heard of recreational oil changers?

The Fram cartridge-type diesel oil filters are not at all in the same league as the typical Fram spin-on filter. The only thing "Fram" about them is the box they come in.

I believe you are remarking about me. and the sale is at pep boys, not wallmart...
anyway, the fram is in the top 5 of best filters available for the 617 motor. possibly top 3...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! 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!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Incorrect. Blackstone only measures wear metals and contamination, they have no involvement with your engine or the oil manufacturer. FYI, because of that soot clumping, soot load will be artificially low.

Ah, that explains why he decided it needed to be removed and torn down. "Very clean" is very subjective. Without proof its 100% anecdotal.

That explains it all.
Do you have any personal experience?

Thats why I included $20 per oil change in the followup figures.

Because these engines run dirty even when well cared for. For the average "spill and fill" weekend warrior 8k is more than long enough.

Actually Fram is in the bottom, equally, with every other 617 filter manufacturer because of the extremely poor quality bypass section. The only good 617 filter is the Made in Turkey Fram. The Wix/NAPA bypass-less filter is a distant second, only because of the micron rating.

During my competition motorsports period, I used Valvoline in everything that was liquid cooled. I used Aeroshell 20/50 in my Porsches with excellent results.

On my street cars, I use Valvoline also and have used it since the 1970s.

On the MBZ's and Peugeot Diesels, we have used Delo, Delvac and Rotella, but started using the Valvoline 20/50 Racing Formula after seeing very favorable results.

I think it goes something like this....

You use what has proven itself to work for you. I stick with Valvoline, you may prefer something else. I think the lack of ZDDP in the 'LE' diesel formulations is of greater concern to me than anything else.

I have about 53,000 on the 617.950 right now. It went over 320,000 on the first motor for at least 250,000 of those miles it was given Quaker State 10/40, based on the maintenance records.

I tend to change the oil anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 miles, depending on when I can take the car out of the road long enough to service it. The engine is always visibly very clean, so soot residue in the bottom of the filter housing and the oil drains out without any clumping or other abnormalities.

So, I guess 'correct' is a very subjective thing, especially for those, such as yourself, that are offended if the forum doesn't bow to your every whim...Robert

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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

Ah, so because you used that brand, all of their oils work exactly the same. Okay, totally logical.

They were our sponsor. I liked the product and feel like the 20/50 VR1 is working for me.

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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