what is the best way to look after this.
some say use synthetic oil .
others say not to shut engine down after a hard drive immediately.???????
i guess the bearings are the weak point in any fast moving machinery????
what is the warming up time before you drive a diesel on the highway.
i live in canada and it gets to -30 degrees sometimes.

In the very cold weather, Mercedes recommends a lighter oil. Just let the engine warm up for 5-10 min or so and your fine. What is meant by letting the engine cool off a little before stopping is: be careful to not rev the engine then turn off. You will have a spinning turbo with no oil pressure.

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Benzmac:
1981 280GE SWB
1987 16V
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
SERVICE MANAGER FOR 14 BAY FACILITY
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 8 YRS
PARTNER IN MERCEDESSHOP.COM

As far as synthetic oils go...
If you do a search on oil, you will find one or two (sometimes somewhat spirited) discussions about reg. vs. synthetic oil.
As a matter of fact, one member was going to have his oil tested by a lab to gain more insight on a (so far) slippery subject.

As far as living in the great white north, I wonder how warm the block heater gets.

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'83 300D

When the engine is cold, don't give it any heavy throttle until the needle on the temp gauge at least reaches the first mark. You want to let the engine oil warm a little before highway driving. After hard driving on the interstate, I usually run it for a mile or two on a "cool down" period. As far as turning off a hot engine right after driving, it won't hurt anything, unlike the Maserati BiTurbos. Those you had to let cool down for at least 5 minutes before you shut the engine off or else you'd coke the oil in the bearing housings. Also, it is a good idea to give your turbodiesel an "Italian tune-up" every now and then. When you run them hard (i.e. 3,700-4,000rpm) it burns off the carbon deposits in the combustion chamber. Give it a good 5-10 minute blast on the open road then cool it down before exiting the interstate. It's also a good idea to use a bottle of Red Line Diesel Catalyst every other tankfull. Keeps the injectors clean and the pump lubricated. Hope this helps!

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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'79 6.9
'79 6.9
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8

can i get the red line diesel catylst in canada??

We sell it and will ship maybee??? Send in a parts request.

We routinely ship Red Line products to Canada. Take a look at the Additives page on PartsShop.

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Bill Wood - Webmaster
MercedesShop.com, LLC