Mobil 1 0W-40, year-round. It starts easily in the winter, but the weather is fairly mild here. The lowest temperature I've started it in has been about 17 degrees F.

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Marshall Welch
Seattle, WA
1982 300D-T

I run 15w40,and she has fired up at 0f degrees.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran, deutschland deutschland uber alles uber alles in der welt

This exactly. I run the 15w-40 synthetic year round. Even when I lived up north, I never changed oil weights during the cold winter months.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Mobil 1 0W40 started my 6.2L diesel V* without a block heater during the -4 degree weather we had in Detroit last year.

Other important thing: cleaned/ new battery cables of the correct gauge.

Thicker than # 4 wire.

Soon I'll be making my own, now that I have a supply of 1000' of # 000 sheathed stranded cable.

Talk about good ground and starter cables-- yowza!

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

Straight 30-W all vehicles year round for 40 years, havent had even frost here in almost 10 years.

-c-

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"I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

M1 5w40 TDT in the '95 E300 and M1 5w40 ESP came in 2005 E320 CDI.

I remember being able to start an 1976 300D on Dinosaur oil and outside in middle of winter in Chicago. the trick was good glow plugs, battery and plenty of glow time.

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-- Chris

'95 E300, 216k miles, Silver Surfer
'05 E320 CDI, 138k miles
'07 S550 4matic, 69k miles

Gone but not forgotten:

'76 300D, 350k miles?, SOLD in 1995
'75 240D, 300k miles, SOLD in 1991

0w40 in the 190E (doesn't get driven in the winter)

5w40 Rotella T6 in the 300D, 300SD and 420SEL. (year round, no changes)

300D has no trouble starting with standard glow/crank when light off down to -15 degrees.

300SD had no trouble starting with standard glow/crank when light off down to low teens (coldest so far this year)

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Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out.
Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability!

(4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!)


82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

I hate to say Ive never adjusted this motor for valve lash ,having the service done this sunday and will report back on lash before and after to see how far mine were out of specs.It seems on this daily 83 300cd I complete a DIY service of some sort once a week .Next week who knows ,this car is like owning a service fleet in one vehicle. Sooner than later it will also get some preset tested injectors ,all this to bring back the peepy motor I remember it being when I bought it 6 yrs ago.Ive never ran the compression #s on this 617 so it will be getting a heart checkup for sure.

5w40 Mobil 1 TDT in both the C240 wagon and my 190d 2.2 OM601.

The c240 gets to be in the garage and I plug in the OM601, so I can pretty much just bump the starter when its 10F out and it starts right up. Sitting cold it still fires off in one rotation down to about 5-10F, below that it has to spin a couple times....still starts WAY better than a 617 in the cold.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

What oil are you running that's a straight 30?

+1

I also use this oil in my w210 e320 and 2010 Hyundai Genesis 2.0T. My buddy uses it in his Mazdaspeed 3 and Audi A3 2.0T. Very good stuff. Wally World sells it for $22 gallon. Blue jug.

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1987 300 SDL
2000 E320 Wagon

I use Delo 15W40 all year round. Even with my 8 year old battery, it starts up without problem. Obviously it turns over a little more before catching with its -10 degrees celcius and your car looks like an ice cube, but with the foot on the accelerator as per MB instructions, I've never had it not start.

With the car plugged into the block heater for about 2 hours before start, it will start just like in summer, and the main bonus is the almost instant warm air ;-)

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1987 300TD
1984 300D
755,000 KM and going strong
BC Canada

Pennzoil hd 30 wt

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"I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

I run Shell Rotella T6 5W40 in my car and in my bike. But it gets cold here, and as others have said a 300TD should have no trouble starting above freezing with a crankcase full of 15w40. It's what we ran in the fleets I serviced in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they both get colder than Houston.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

Last year I ran Delvac 15w-40 all year and had the most difficult time getting the old beast started when it was -30 F without a block heater. Starting would get difficult below 40 F. For winter this year I'm running Farm and Fleet semi-synthetic 5W-40 and it makes a world of difference below ~20 C.

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1987 300SDL