I am considering switching my 500E to synthetic oil. At present I use GTX 10/40. I am primarily switching because I believe it will help keep engine temps lower.

My concern is that I don't drive the car daily, sometimes a week or a month goes by in winter when I don't use it. Will the oil drain from the lifters? I switched to synthetic in my Range Rover V8, and if that is not driven for 3-4 days the oil drains from the lifters and they clatter like crazy for a second or two. Does this happen to the Merc V8?

David Hendy
500E '92 65k miles

I have had no trouble switching to Mobil 1 15-50 from the conventional oil that was used by the previous owner. I do not notice any lifter noise upon startup after the car sits a week or two... I have not seen any increase in oil leaks either.... I made the switch at 47,000 miles - now it has 53,XXX.

TWB
92 500E

I dont think there would be much problems using a fully synthetic oil though I would prefer to use semi-synthetic for engines above 5 years old. However, this is a matter of personal preference.

The oil will not drain from the filter - not that I have noticed any of this happening. I would be more concerned about the hoses and cables going brittle from storage. This was what I found when storing my brother's W123 ... that the hoses went dry and brittle. I needed to run the car more often than once a fortnight just so that the juices could be pumped up and lubricate every possible hose and cable there is!

:)

I converted my 500E to 15W-50 Mobil 1 last year, when it had 43k mi. on the odo. It now has 80k, and not a drop has leaked out.