PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

JHZR2 · #8 01-08-2004, 12:50 PM

Sometimes potassium can be a trace additive... But can certianly be indicative of a headgasket issue, etc.
I would be interested in seeing your Silicon (Si) readings, as that will shed some insight into the wear levels. 2000mi is way low to have such high Fe levels. But, if you have some sort of intake leak or a dirty/lousy filter that is letting junk pass through, the resultant junk in the oil (usually shows up as Si) will greatly increase wear. Lead and copper are reasonably low, telling me that bearing wear isnt bad, all the more reason to check for intake issues.

Rotella is, Id say, in the lower tier of the diesel oils. Its like any oil, if you change it in the right interval, itll make your engine last for a long time. However, there are better oils that will yield better economy and less wear of certain parts. Rotella has negligible molybdinum additives, which is a really great antiwear and economy enhancer. Delvac 1300 and pennzoil longlife has it in a nice shot. Delo doesnt have it, but its cold temp specs more than make up for it... delo is a high quality hydrocracked oil. Rotella doesnt have very good cold temp properties, nor does it have an additive package that is anything special.

I found personally that my worst mileage was obtained with rotella and especially delo 400...

JMH