Recently I asked a question concerning my 1999 300TD burning oil with only 15000 miles on the car.I appreciate the 2 replies, but I would like to hear from the " experts" i.e Mercedes service people. Here is the question, Should a almost new Mercedes 300TD burn 1/2 quart of oil considering that I change the oil every 4000 miles?

[Edited by Gaston on 12-18-2000 at 01:42 PM]

That is only one quart in 8,000 miles. That would be considered by almost anyone to be negligible oil consumption.

Good luck,

And Larry Bible is an expert.

Sorry, I meant to disclaim being an expert. I am NO expert. But I can't imagine anyone proclaiming 1 Quart in 8,000 miles as excessive oil consumption, regardless of occupation.

There are many diesel owners who are pleased with using 1 Quart in 2,000 miles.

Again I apologize for the implication of being a self proclaimed expert. But please be happy with your oil consumption, or lack thereof.

Good luck and Merry Christmas,

I meant no sarcasm just that you are as knowledgable as anybody around here. By the way, are you any relation to the John Bible who umpired college baseball games here at UT back in the eighties?

Here's a definition of expert that can be pieced together from Webster's:

Ex- a has been
Spurt - a drip under pressure

All of us have probably been exspurts at one time or another!!! However, I think that Larry falls under the more traditional definition of expert and a great asset to this forum! Hope you enjoyed the comic relief.

Best Regards

John,

No sarcasm was taken. It just reminded me that I had not disclaimed like I meant to when I posted the first reply.

I am closely or distantly related to most all the Bible's in the Austin, Texas area. We had an ancestor who brought his entire family from Tennessee to the Marble Falls, Texas area in the early 1880's.

I know of John, and I've watched him at work, but I don't know him personally. Also related to this line of Bible's was Dana X. Bible the famous NCAA football coach at The University of Texas in the forties. There is much more family history in the Austin, Texas area of which we are very proud.

Thanks for asking and Merry Christmas,

I'll chime in with the other posters that 1qt/8K miles
is plenty low oil consumption. Mercedes generally specs
the maximum oil consumption of its engines - gas or diesel -
at 1qt/600 miles. Granted, that's for a tired old worn
out motor, but you're more than 10 times below that.

Unless you get down to perhaps 1qt/1500 miles, the dealer,
the zone rep, and the warranty folks don't even want to
hear about it.

BTW, how do you accurately measure oil consumption at such
a low rate? I would think that at such a miniscule rate such factors as how long you wait for oil to drain to the sump and oil temperature (thermal expansion...) would add significant error.

- Jim

'98 E300TD
'87 300TDT

I am not a Tech, so I am not an expert, but I always read the Owner's Manual. If I read right, you do not have to add oil until the level falls to or below the "Add Oil" mark.

If you are not at or below this line before you change your oil at its recommended interval, I'll bet the "experts" will say it's not burning oil. If you're using 1 quart in 8,000 miles it's not burning oil.

At that rate it's not burning, it's evaporating. Yes, engine oil can, and does, evaporate over a long period.

BCingU, Jim

As a technician, I see no problem with your oil consumption. Since I see very few brand new cars I am not an expert on your question.

Just thought I would pass along a little tale I heard recently. Seems a little old lady brought in her Toyota at 110,000 miles with the engine locked up. She apologized that she had run past her advertised 100,000 mile service. She had done no service of any kind in 110,000 miles because she was told it didn't need servicing till 100,000mi. The story is that she drove the car on the original fill of oil till failure.

If this piece of American Folklore is true she had very little oil consumption.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician

I am certainly not an expert on your particular model, but I hope you will let me share a little of the meager knowledge I have stumbled across. On most MBs if you are a very diligent owner and insist on keeping the oil exactly to the full line the engine almost always brings the level down to about midway. If you can force yourself to be content to just monitor the level and not add more oil uless it goes below the minimum most engines in good condition will seek their own level and happily stay there until it is time to change. For many owners this is a lot to ask, but grit your teeth and give it a try. I love my cars too, especially their precision, but the oil doesn't have to be at the top mark to be perfect.

Bob DuPuy
1971 220D
1983 300SD

Steve,

Thanks for the laugh, I'm just now getting my breath. Whether it was folklore or not, it was a great application of the tale.

I guess you're right, six or seven quarts in 100,000 miles would be pretty acceptable oil consumption, especially given the oil change frequency.

I laughed so hard that my grinner now hurts.

Merry Christmas,

Bob, I think you have the real answer here. I agree that my experience is that the engines use more oil if kept topped off. I guarantee that if you over fill the thing it will use a bunch.

I attribute the extra consumption to a larger quantity of oil vapors in the crankcase breather system which is carried into the intake as PCV.

__________________
Steve Brotherton
Continental Imports
Gainesville FL
Bosch Master, ASE Master, L1
33 years MB technician