Is this true?

[Snowman]

I was talking to my diesel mechanic about the S350 (recently rebuilt engine) and he mentioned that all the durable diesels eat a lot of oil. Well not a lot but that with these engines you should be careful of the oil level more than on any other car. Do you guys think so too?

[JimSmith]

Snowman,

Can't say I think it is normal to use a "lot" of oil, but between all the causes of oil consumption, I typically use a quart every 1200 miles on my 280,000 mile new 240D (most is leakage through the rear crank seal), less than a quart per 4,000 to 5,000 between oil changes on my E300D Turbo, and the same when my 350SD was healthy. My 190E always used a quart every 1700 to 2000 miles, and my 300E goes between oil changes without using any. I am not sure there is a trend, but you are well advised to learn what the car wants. Those level lights are convenient because they tell you what the deal is with oil at operating temp, when the motor is running. Good Luck, Jim

My 300SDL with almost 260K uses about 1qt every 3000 miles.

All of my 617 5cyl diesels used less than 1qt or zero oil in 3000 miles.

240D's are oil guzzlers by nature, especially if you use them on the highway alot (high rpm). 1qt every 1000 miles is normal.

Anything more than 1qt every 500 miles and something is not right, IMO.

[Ducati]

My 241000 mile 300D 617 engine uses a litre of oil in 5000 miles.
The engine has never been rebuilt or overhauled; just regular oil changes. I have no benchmarks for comparison, however knowledgeable sources say that this is normal consumption for a strong, healthy engine.

[Michael]

My 1992 300D 2.5 (which is I believe related to your engine, albeit with one less cylinder) uses no oil. I'm disinclined to think MBZ diesels are supposed to burn oil (crankcase oil, that is )

[Ken300D]

Does this mean your S350 is burning some oil after the rebuild?

Ken300D

[CarolinaMBZ]

I don't have it in front of me but the Mercedes spec for oil consumption is relatively high compared to the widespread belief that engines don't normally burn oil. They do,its just that it is not normally noticed when your oil is changed often.

Maybe someone with spec will provide.

[Snowman]

Originally posted by Ken300D
Does this mean your S350 is burning some oil after the rebuild?

Ken300D

Well I haven't had it that long since the rebuild to see, but the mechanic just said to constantly check the oil and be careful.

In my mercedes 617 engine manual "accpetable" oil cosumption is anything above 220 miles per QT of oil!! They really want you to run these engines into the ground!

[Snowman]

Moraine I will take your advice. However usually gas stations around here aren't the best place to be checking oil.

[diesel don]

My MB's use the following amounts of oil over a 3000 mile period:

TD - half a quart
D-T zero
D 2 or 2.5 quarts


Don

Originally posted by turbodiesel
In my mercedes 617 engine manual "accpetable" oil cosumption is anything above 220 miles per QT of oil!! They really want you to run these engines into the ground!

For me, that's a quart of oil every other day. I wouldn't own one with that kind of appetite.

[Ducati]

Well, the rain up here on the Wet Coast has let up, and I now see black speckles on the gravel where I park the MB. I think I now know where that "litre every 5000 miles" is going.

[DieselHead]

My 1983 300D with 131,000 miles uses no oil between 3000-4000 mile oil changes. Maybe the 3.5L engine is different.

Alex

[oldsouth]

My 350 used to use a quart every 1200-1500 miles. I switched to synthetic and it went to a quart every 3000 miles. Still wondering why.