Would anyone be able to advise me if I can use Mobil 1, or a similar synthetic engine oil in my 1991,500SEL. The 117.965 V8 engine has 123.000 kms on it and is running as sweet as a nut at the moment. We have year round high temperatures here and wonder if the thinner, lower viscosity synthetic oil do any harm. All your $0.02's worth most welcome !

I have a 1985 500sel i used moible 1 about 5 oil changes the car did not run all that great so i went back to castrol gt

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Dan Younes
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1985 euro 500sel 220k
1981 300sd 278k sold
1979 240d 298k sold
1983 300sd 272k sold
1989 chrysler 2.2l Turbo
Leabaron 130k
1996 C220(hopefully soon)

Mobil 1 is a great oil. I use it in my turbo (Porsche) where high temps torture conventional oils. With Mobil 1 being a synthetic you can generally extend the interval between oil changes as the base oil and additives are of a higher grade. That said, it is expensive $50 oil changes for my turbo and $4.25 a quart. I use conventional oil (Valvoline) and frequent changes for all my other cars, M.B. included. Synthetics, due to their flow characteristics, tend to leak greater amounts from any small leak you may have. If you can afford it, you can not go wrong with Mobil 1. Mr. T.

First off, I run Mobil 1 in everything I own. Great stuff, and the additive package makes it act almost like dino oil in terms of keeping the seals swollen (and keeping oil from leaking out).

However, that's a big almost. My 300TE was 7 years old when I switched to Mobil 1 (15W50 summer/10W30 Winter) and it sprung leaks everywhere. Since I'm keeping it forever I was okay with that. I was more successful with my 500E; no leaks since changeover 25k mi ago (at 45k/6yrs old).

Good luck :D !

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

I also run synthetic oil in one of my cars, the BMW 745i. Because it is a high horsepower turbo motor, I feel that Mobil 1 is the best choice for it. I run the 10W-30 full synthetic blend and it pumps very quickly after initial startup (a BIG plus over dino oils). In my other cars I just stick with good old Castrol GTX 10W-40. Works well year-round and is a long time trusted brand.


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Rgds,
Aaron Greenberg
MB technician
Precision Motorcars, Cincinnati, Ohio
'67 250SE Cabriolet
'77 450SL
'80 300SD
'85 380SE
'86 420SEL
'89 420SEL
'93 300E 2.8
'74 Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
'81 DeLorean DMC12
'84 BMW 745i Turbo

Thanks for that guys, I dont really need any more oil leaks on the drive-way at the moment, the steering hose leaks were hard enough to hide from the wife without having any more fresh ones!. Seriously, if there is no appreciable benefit, I will stick with the BP Visco 2000 I change every 3000kms with the filter.