I was talking to Brian at Bearing Service today about the break-in period for my soon-to-be-complete OM616 engine, and he mentioned that it would be a good idea to locate some oil with a good amount of zinc in it for the secondary period of break-in. He strongly suggests that I go with some special oil that he can sell me for the very first few hundred miles, but after that I can either use regular oil with zinc, or a secondary special oil that he also sells. His special oils are spendy; I'm willing to buy a six pack for the initial period, but I'd like to just buy off-the-shelf oil for the next period. Apparently this is an issue because the most common and cost-effective oils on the market have had the zinc levels reduced because

a) newer engines with roller bearings don't need it
b) it messes up emission systems

I poked around on bobistheoilguy.com, but didn't see anything especially pertinent, other than to learn that in the old days 1200 ppm was considered an effective level for zinc.

At the risk of starting an oil thread... anyone got info on zinc in commonly available oils?

Thanks,

Kurt

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- '79 240D - engine swap complete! Engine broken in! 28-31 mpg! Lovin' the ride!
- '86 190D (W201-126) - 2.5 NA engine, 5 speed, cloth interior, manual climate controls, 33-34 mpg (sold to forum member).