best oil for high mileage 300e?
 

Im sure you've noticed the sudden popularity of motor oils made especially for high mileage cars. I know it's been advised to stay away from full synthetics on high mileage engines cause of the risk of developing leaks. So I just use dino oil from valvoline called max life. The engines got 130,000 on the clock. Would it be ok to try a synthetic blend without causeing any leaks? Mobil 1 has this new oil thats fully synthetic made for high mileage cars.

I can't tell you if its okt o use synthetics or not, but I would just leave well enought alone. If your current oil is working fine, I don't see any reason a synthetic would be better than what you have. As long as you change it hot and change it often, and don't let it go too far past 3000 miles, you should be fine..

Of course since oil is one of if not the most debated item on this forum, you should get tons of varying answers.

Alon

those high mileage oils have additives that condition seals that may shrink / harden over time. they are specifically aimed at preventing leaks. synthetics, when they first came out, had a problem with leaking because they can seep into the smallest cracks. most of them now have the additives to prevent that. if you are using the high mileage oil i would stick to it. i myself am using half "high mileage" and half regular dino oil because my main seal was slightly leaking (it has since stopped). i intend to switch over completely once i reach 75k. i had a bad experience with a leak i attribute to switching to synthetic oil and i would never switch a car over from dino ever again...

What are you calling high mileage? My M103 engined 300E has 220,000 miles and uses absolutely NO oil.

If it is using a lot of oil, it probably needs valve seals.

Good luck,

I havent tried MaxLife but I have used Chevron supreme oil (sold in cases of 12 at Costco) 20w50 in my 300e with excellant results. I also added a bottle of Mobil 1 TriSynthetic 10w30. I use the Mobil 1 205 filter. I used to consume a bottle of oil a week (400 miles) but now with this combo I have only used 2 bottles in 3000 miles.

Many others have mixed in 1 bottle of Mobil1 and got similar results. Also, Castrol 20W50 is what Mercedes were initially were putting in the 300E even in cold climates. If you are not really burning oil and really love your 300E, go buy a case of Mobil1. I doubt you will have leaks.

HEY GUYS THAT ARE SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH WITH THEIR OILS....

YOU NEED TO FLUSH THE OIL EACH TIME IF YOU'RE USING NATURAL OIL AND DECIDE TO SWITCH TO SYNTH....

I have noticed no difference in consumption with synthetic blends vs. regular oil.
I almost always use a synthetic blend, but have never tried a 'high mileage' version.

I lose 1 quart per 3k miles @192K.

When I tried a full synthetic for 2 change cycles, the consumption approximately doubled, so I changed my mind.

I used to use regular Castrol oil 20w 50 weight in my 1992 300E with 165k miles. I had a slow oil leak from the head gasket and decided to switch to that Valvoline Max Life 20w50 and the leak has slowed down quite a bit to where i don't add half a quart every week. To Synthetic Oil, I sold my 93' Mazda Rx7 last year and used Mobil 1 syn. every 2500 miles. The Buyer insisted i have a rotary engine compression check before he bought it so i did. Rx7 had 122,000 miles and the test came back Excellent. Strong or almost new engines had a rating between 7 to 9 and i had a 7.5. The oil was awesome. But didn't run like it should, Reason- it killed my catalytic converter by clogging it. After talking with a few Mazda techs they said in the Rx7 synthetics don't burn cleanly like dino oil which leaves residues. So i decided not to use Mobil 1 in my 300E. Bottom line, changed oil often in both motors and they haven't let me down, but the difference is I have not had to change the cat on my 300E. I'd stick with Dino!!

The particular catalytic converter problem described is unlikely to be an issue for a Mercedes.

The RX7 rotary engine is a very special beast indeed. One of the many things that sets it apart is that a certain amount of engine oil is deliberately injected into the combustion chambers to lubricate certain components. The exhaust therefore contains an unusually high concentration of unburned oil, which may create 'downstream' conditions you would not typically see with a conventional 'reciprocating' engine.

I have a 300D and have been using Shell RotellaT. It is an oil that comes recommended for diesel engines over in the diesel forum (and in my father-in-laws living room:)). In reviewing the owner's manual for my new 90 300E (that I just purchased 2 weeks ago) it has a table that shows 15W40 as an acceptable oil for the car. So I say what the heck why not use RotellaT in my gasoline 300E engine too. The jug states thats its ok to use in gasoline or diesel enginees. Call me crazy?:rolleyes:

I have used Valvoline's MaxLife and I just tried Castrol's oil for high mileage cars. I originally tried Mobil1 but I got leaks. I am seeing an excellent cleansing property of the synthetics, but for the 300E it was too much: Leaks!

So I changed to the MaxLife and did so for several changes. Oil consumption continued to decline from 1 qt every 800 miles to 1 qt every 2,200 miles.

I have noticed the car seems to like the Castrol. Starts very well hot or cold, smooth running but it is too early to tell on consumption. I will update as soon as I need to add some.