oil question
 

I've been using Mobil 1 15W50 for my 300SD and want to change to Delvac 1 but can't find any around. So my question is should I change to Rotella or stay with Mobil 1 since thats what I've been using.

I'd stay with the Mobil 1. You might also look at www.tdiclub.com. They have a nice forum. Do a search of the fuel and oil forum for Delvac and you will find a list of sources buried in all the messages.

turbodiesel300,

This is like chumming the water, but in the grand scheme of things any of those oils is likely to be ok. I was using the Mobil 1 15W-50 for years and switched to 0W-40 for the gas models and Delvac 1 for the Diesels. I found the Delvac has breathed new life into the old 240D, in combination with the mild winter so far in Troy, New York where my daughter uses it. No problems starting in the teens so far, which is much better than with the 15W-50 in there.

I e-mailed Mobil's service center and told them where I lived and asked for a local distributor. They were good enough to list three, so I called around and buy all my Mobil 1 stuff from them at a competitive price. I would buy from Walmarts or Target, if they carried the same oils at their sale prices. But, apparently, like your situation, the local discount stores do not carry these oils where I live so I went the other route. Probably costs another $5 to $8 for the Delvac 1 than the equivalent volume of Mobil 1 15W-50.

By the way, I use a Sureflo WaterWolf to suck the old stuff out of the dipstick, and I store it in an outside shed. Or I used to. I think the residual oil in the tubing got too stiff to be sucked into and through the pump when it was 20 degrees F the other day, and the pump impeller came apart. I got a new impeller (it is actually a rebuild kit with seals and stuff) from Sureflo under warranty. The point of mentioning this is to let anyone else with a powered pump for their oil changing functions know not to do what I did. Store it in a place where it is warm enough to flow when the pump starts up.

Hope this helps, Jim