oil type
 

I know there is a wide range of oils that people like but I just wanted to make sure that I didn't error here. My local mechanic suggested and I let him use 5W-30 Mobil One for my 1995 E300 Diesel. I am located in Chicago, IL.

Make sure he uses a DIESEL rated oil.

A quick search of 5W-30 Mobil One on their website shows that they make that oil for Gasoline engines.


EDIT: The first thing I read wasn't Mobil's website, this is from their site:
Pasted from here:
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil1_5W-30.asp

I was quilty before,but I will never run Wal Mart Super Tech diesel.Or any Generic store brand.
Winter I run one gal 5w 40w sync oil,and one gal 15w 40w(both diesel rated).This thins her down some in my climate zone.

Mercedes still forbids oils with High Temperature/High Shear viscosity below 3,5 mPa·s...this one has 3.09 and no MB approval.
There are other xw-30 oils that fulfill the requrement.
If you insist on a fully synthetic oil,use a HD mixed fleet one (API CI-4/Sl)

For synthetics from Mobil you want to use either Delvac 1 synthetic or Mobil 1 Turbo-Diesel & Truck

Mobile 1 or Shell Rotella 5w-40

I use the 5/40 version of the latter in my 99 which has the same engine as the OP (only turbo'd). After a 15,414 mile change interval the wear metals were good, the TBN was still at 7.7 and soot was only at 0.2%. You could do a lot worse.

Another oil thread -- and I didn't start it this time, but must chime in.

I use Valvoline 15W40 Premium Blue Diesel --- it's their top of the line non-syn for diesel, and also what several HDuty diesel OEM's use for factory fill. Did lots of research, and Valvoline also has a 15W40 Diesel All Fleet that rates very highly....But, choice of brand is like "religion", a personal thing!

I believe that Mobil 1 is fine for my car, but I am more concerned that the 5W/30 is the wrong viscosity for winter. Should I have changed the oil with 0W/40 or 5W/40? Can I wait for the next oil change or should I dump it asap?

The API ratings exist for spark ignition engine oils and compression ignition engine oils for good reasons. In general the compression ignition engine demands for lubricating oil far exceed the spark ignition engine demands, and therefore oils rated only for spark ignition engines are INADEQUATE for compression ignition engines. In short order the typical blow by, especially at start up, will overwhelm the additive packages of spark ignition engine oils, leading to pH changes and relatively short life. Of the oil and if you leave it in there for the typical 8,000 to 15,000 miles one can expect for a synthetic engine oil, your engine.

So, if you are looking for better engine longevity, you can't beat a properly selected synthetic engine oil. But an improperly selected oil is a waste of money at best and at worst a potential danger to the wearing parts of your engine.

If you have to leave the spark ignition oil in the engine of your Diesel powered vehicle, don't leave it in there much longer than the 3,000 miles you would for a non-synthetic engine oil. When you change it, pick something rated for Diesel engines. The difference between a 5W-40 and 15W-50 synthetic rated for Diesel is a lot less important to your engine than the difference between a Diesel rated (and, by the way, always spark ignition rated) and a spark ignition only (many if not most engine oils on the market) rated engine oil. Jim

So, Jim...a question for you: If you have a high mileage W123 or W126 diesel, and they have enjoyed 'dino' oil all of their life --- is it OK, to start using synthetic oil??

My reason for questioning is this: My wife has an E320, with 215K on it -- her work car-she loves and doesn't want to trade, and it's been a GREAT car, but it does burn some oil...she has it serviced at MB in Greensboro, NC and they use synthetic Mobil 1 --- They said absolutely NOT to go from syn to dino, or dino to syn --- will either increase oil consumption, or start oil consumption.

Does that 'theory' sound reasonable -- if so, would that apply to both diesel and gasser's???? Hopefully I haven't lost you....:confused:

Thank you Jim! I have seen the light. I think I am going to dump the oil and take my lumps with a new (correct) oil change.

I have been using the Shell Rotella 5w40, endorsed by my mechanic as well.

The question of switching oil types is wallpapered with stories or personal anecdotes for and against. I use exclusively Mobil 1 synthetic oils in all my cars. Some, luckily, from very early in life, and some started on Mobil 1 synthetics well past 100,000 miles.

Oil usage for me comes in two distinct varieties. First there is oil that one way or another leaves the engine through the tailpipe, and then there is oil that leaves the engine and ends up on the ground or on the plastic lower enclosure under the engine on newer MB's. There are stories about how both can be aggravated by switching to synthetics. And there are stories about how the kind of usage that goes out the tailpipe can be reduced. I don't know of many, if any, stories about how synthetics reduced the sort of usage that results in oil leaking onto the pavement or lower engine enclosure parts.

As I have learned to view the problem of leaks, if synthetic oil results in more leakage it is because the synthetic oil dissolved some sludge that was "sealing" the spot. I also believe the synthetic oil removed sludge from other parts of the engine, where it added to the life of the parts. In the end, the leaks, if they become annoying, can be fixed by relatively simple maintenance. The 1988 300E we have is an exception. That car developed a leak between the head and the front of the chain box and required a new head gasket to be fixed. At about 180,000 miles it was time to rebuild the head anyway. That car went on synthetic oil at about the 100,000 mile mark and the oil leakage was more a result of a failure of the thermostat housing plastic hose connection to the radiator - and the subsequent overheating - than the change to synthetic oil.

Same with my 1983 240D. Delvac 1 from ~ 140k miles. No oil leaks yet. And no significant oil consumption - about a quart every 8,000 miles. So, when it is low, I change it.

I use Delvac 1 on all my cars (it is rated for spark ignition engines as well as compression ignition engines). In the past, when I began using it, it revived my 1982 240D for several years - that car already had a rear crankshaft seal leak that my son ignored at college and ended up running it dry, killing the engine with 300,000 plus miles on it - actually cleaning the accumulated internal junk out of the engine to the point where the compression increased and the low temperature starting performance improved to make it reliable in the Troy, NY winters.

My point is that there are all kinds of cars in all kinds of conditions. My view of one that is being held together by dirt is that it is not reliable, and there is nothing worse in my personal experience than giving my wife an unreliable car to drive. Or my daughter. Or my sons since my wife will make that my problem in the end. So, I don't believe internal engine consumption is likely to go up, and if there are more leaks through mechanical joints, well, if you want the car to last a long time and be reliable, fix the leaks and use synthetic oil. Not that my beliefs on the subject are of any greater value than anyone else's, but you asked.

Jim

Synthetic Rotella T
 

Compared to the Diesel oils of the '80s and early '90s
(AND the ULSD oils of Today)
The additive package in the Syn Rotella T protects the Valvetrains of the
'80s to mid '90s Diesels better!