Today while at the local Pep Boys, I discovered a new type of oil especially formulated for small truck and car diesel engines. It's Castrol RX 15W-40 Heavy Duty. I picked up a case for my next oil change. It says on the back of the bottle that it meets Mercedes-Benz and VW diesel engine oil standards. I generally use Castrol GTX 10W-40 year-round, but will give this a try and let you all know how it goes. Also, it was the same price as regular Castrol GTX ($1.39/quart).

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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

There's an interesting article about oil in Patrick Bedard's column in the November '99 issue of Car and Driver magazine. It suggests using diesel-rated engine oil in pre-cat older cars.

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Robert W. Roe
1984 300SD 165,961 miles

Yes I saw that article, caught my attention right away. Anyhow, figured I'd give this a try and see if there's any kind of difference. The car doesn't use any oil but maybe this special blend will lubricate better--especially during those hard Italian tune-ups down the interstate between Cleveland and Cincinnati! (a wonderful stretch in a W116 S-Class)



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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