I'm not a trucker --- but now I'm curious, and will be on the look out for those 'blue bottles'....

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71Inka02

62 W121 190DB - Original CA/AZ Car - Excellent Example
99 E300 Turbo Diesel - 362,000...Awesome Daily Driver
01 E320 Wagon - 297,xxx (wife's work car)
01 E320 Wagon - 131,000
02 Land Rover Disco SE- 110,000
87 BMW 325is (E30) Full Restore - Son's
06 Mini Cooper 'S' - Son's
87 Toyota FJ60 Land Cruiser - Showroom Condition - 152,000

84 300D - 142,xxx :cool - "Sold"
83 300D-"Sold" - 211,456
85 300SD-"Sold" - 213,789

yeah, similar to syringes on the Jones shore and back alleys of NY.

PS. I use Delo 400

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I have no ambition to achieve 500K miles to prove eBay claims so I don't see the value in synthetic. Delo is what a fellow I know uses -

http://www.silverstateclassic.com/results-01-may.htm#105

... so it's good enough for me. I might reconsider if the lifter make noise. New lifters in a new head made noise in the SDL so that got Mobil 1 which quelled the ticking. I wonder if Matt still uses Mobil 1 in it.

Sixto
87 300D

I can't make sense of your link Sixto. Who are you referring to?

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For sub zero starts synthetic is hard to beat, the starter sure turns the engine over a lot faster, and oil pressure comes up faster.

If you live in a warm area this isn't much of an issue.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Is 20-50 Oil bad for these ol' Diesels? I've been running 20 50 on my 617s for 2 years now and synthetic 15 50 on my 603 for 4 months.

20-50 is to heavy and AFAIK its not diesel rated.

For diesel engines, API has a separate rating system. The current category is "CI-4" (introduced in 2002 for newer diesels that have exhaust gas recirculation). The previous CH-4 (1998), CG-4 (1995), and CF-4 (1990), can all be used in older four-stroke diesel engines. CF-2 (1994) is the API classification for two-stroke diesels.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Hatterasguy is correct -- When I started this 'venture' earlier today, I started doing some internet digging and found the API stuff interesting --- I have a couple quarts of Castrol 20W50 in the garage as that's the oil we run in my son's 325is ---- No where on the bottle does it reference diesel or the above referenced API ratings for diesel...I've decided to go with Valvoline Premium Blue Diesel Engine Oil 15W40 - It's the factory fill for cummins, which includes the Dodge Ram Diesel Trucks - It's exceeds standards and is approved for Caterpillar, Cummins, Mack, Volvo, Navistar and Komatsu --- in my opinion, along with MB - these OE's are strong players in the diesel world...

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71Inka02

62 W121 190DB - Original CA/AZ Car - Excellent Example
99 E300 Turbo Diesel - 362,000...Awesome Daily Driver
01 E320 Wagon - 297,xxx (wife's work car)
01 E320 Wagon - 131,000
02 Land Rover Disco SE- 110,000
87 BMW 325is (E30) Full Restore - Son's
06 Mini Cooper 'S' - Son's
87 Toyota FJ60 Land Cruiser - Showroom Condition - 152,000

84 300D - 142,xxx :cool - "Sold"
83 300D-"Sold" - 211,456
85 300SD-"Sold" - 213,789

IMO that stuff is crap it reeks and its too expansive ,i had it in our 300SDL and all it did is cover up the head crack problem...

As for oil i got with Mobil Delvac and Coolant MB stuff great combination

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Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

Thanks for the tip; Delo 400 was my oil of choice until I changed to M1, mostly for the cold weather. I have run Delo 400 in MB, Toyota diesel pickups and used it in all HD apps (Cummins/Caterpiller/Detroit/Perkins) when I was a HD mechanic (in a former life).

I found it to be the cheapest at Costco, and it looks like an even better deal with the coupon.

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'98 E300 DT
'87 190D 2.5 turbo RIP
'92 S500 Sold
'03 3.2TL-S A-Spec

Entry 262 in the 105 mph class - Al Lumas in his 84 SD. First Diesel to compete in the Silve State Classic.

Sixto
87 300D

Until they get together in the coolant reservoir

Sixto
87 300D

Me too, my 240D leaks badly and Delvac 1300 is way cheaper than the Mobil 1 I put in my 190D. In fact I use Delvac 1300 (15w40) in everything I don't use synthetic in like my 1952 Farmall Super M tractor, good stuff.

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Sadly Benz-less

If you're going to change it frequently it probably doesn't matter what you use, any diesel rated oil is probably fine. Thats why I use Delvac 1300 in my 240D, it leaks enough to make synthetic a total waste.

In fact, I probably shouldn't admit this, but one time I changed with Mobil 1, I forget if it was 15w50 or 5w40 one or the other anyway. Then I used the OLD oil as make up oil for what I lost. Actually now that I think of it I may have done that a couple times... That car leaks a lot, like a quart in 800 miles and at the time I was driving it ~110 miles a day.

Now that I have it back I'll spend some time addressing the oil leaks. Last time I owned it I lived in an apartment and didn't have any space to work.

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Sadly Benz-less

In the 617, ANY CI-4 or higher rated oil is better than the best oil available in the 80's. If you are using conventional oil, unless your engine is quite warn, the best choice is 15W-40. For synthetics, ALL of the 5W-40 are at least better than the best conventional oils, especially for winter starting. Rotella 5W-40 synthetic is often the lowest price synthetic.

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Ron Schroeder
'85 300 Turbo Diesel 2 tank WVO
'83 300 Turbo Diesel 2 tank WVO
Some former WVO vehicles since ~1980:
'83 Mercedes 240D
'80 Audi 4000D
'83 ISUZU Pup
'70 SAAB 99 with Kubota diesel
'76 Honda Civic with Kubota diesel
'86 Golf
Several diesel generators
All with 2 tank WVO conversion
LI NY