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#1
08-18-2012, 09:43 PM
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OM617 Oil Level changes drastically?
I recently bought an 84 300SD, and well... its nice to buy another POS to fix up and make all nice again.
My issue is that the oil level (as shown by the dipstick) changes drastically when I check it several times a day. Sometimes it says I am OK, halfway between the two marks, then an hour later, it'll be at the lower limit, then another hour later it'll be four inches above the top mark. Any Ideas? On a somewhat related note, could this be a sign that the oil isn't getting pumped around like it should? On my 300D, I noticed that there was something gunking up the oil nozzles (don't know what you would call a pipe with holes in it) that spray oil onto the cams, which scared the crap out of me. My crazy neighbor (obviously a trustworthy source of car information, I know.... ) recommended that for the 300D, I try putting in some ATF, let it run for a few minutes, and then do an oil change. He believes the high detergency of the ATF would break up any clumps/gunk that might be plugging stuff up. Is this an acceptable practice? Thanks everybody! 
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#2
08-18-2012, 10:00 PM
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Run it till warm. Park on level ground, let it sit 5 minutes. Pull dipstick, wipe dry, put it back in. Pull it out, this is your oil level.
Motion of the crank can agitate the oil, push it up the dip tube. Oil can accumulate in the head & upper pan, take a while to drain down when cold. Did you change the oil? How much came out? How much did you put in?
__________________
CC: NSA All things are burning, know this and be released. 82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin 12 Ford Escape 4wd You're four times It's hard to more likely to concentrate on have an accident two things when you're on at the same time. a cell phone. www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?
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#3
08-18-2012, 10:15 PM
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The means after you drain the Oil out of the Pan some where in the Engines system one liter of Oil that you cannot drain out is trapped. My guess is the Fuel Injection Pump and the Oil Cooler system have most of that. If you mixed ATF with the Oil and drained it when you change the Oil you would have 1 liter of un-drainable Oil+ATF left in the Engine. You could switch to full or partial synthetic Oil and get everything cleaned out and later go back to regular Oil. I park my Car in the same spot and check the Oil in the Morning before I run the Engine. That way I always have the same reference and I the Oil has had all night to drain back into the Pan.
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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel
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#4
08-19-2012, 09:28 AM
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I've seen other engine types that the oil drain passages had become partially and or fully blocked. The oil would all get pumped to the top of the engine, but took too long to drain back. In severe cases, the oil pump would be starved and you'd notice a drop in oil pressure at high rpm.
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Remember, Safety Third! '99 E300 Turbodiesel, '82 300TD, 1996 12V Cummins Turbo, '94 Neoplan - Detroit 6V92TA
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#5
08-19-2012, 10:43 AM
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One thing I have found on both of my cars and I am sure on a lot of other cars. When you check the oil, you pull the stick, wipe it off, reinsert it and pull it back out quickly you will see a level lower then it actually is. If you pull, wipe, reinsert and wait 10 seconds, you will see a higher level. The reason is the o-ring seal on the handle of the stick makes it a plunger type device that pushes the oil down in the tube. The tube goes very close to the oil pan so the oil has to refill the tube. So wait 10 seconds before pulling the stick back out. If you don't believe me, try it both ways. Also, look at both sides of the stick. The stick could be picking up oil from the tube and give a false reading. If the levels are different, use the lowest reading.
This applies to the transmission also. Especially looking at both sides of the stick and using the lower reading as the correct one. Paul
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84 500 SEL (307,xxx miles)
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#6
08-20-2012, 07:13 AM
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X2
Quote:
measured on hot or cold I always got on one side "max line" and on the other side in the middle of the lines... I recon it could be slightly bent tube so the stick is picking a side wall oil .... cheers ChO .
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w126 500SEC gen II euro, powered by OM617 turbo stolen from 84 300SD  2.88 diff,EGR blindednext wish/project: w114 coupe OM603 powered
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#8
08-20-2012, 09:20 AM
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I always check mine stone-cold rather than after 5 minutes, not because I think it's necessarily the most "accurate" way, or because I think it's the true level (which it may not be)... but because I believe it is the most reproducible, and I believe that the oil level thus maintained is "safe enough not to hurt anything."
These M-B diesels are the slowest-draining after warm shutdown of any engine I've ever experienced. Most engines, you check them 2 or 3 minutes after shutdown, and they've already drained down all they're going to. These diesels, for whatever reason, seem to hold a huge amount of oil, maybe in the filter canister, maybe in the head, I don't know... but typically, mine all read low if I check them within 30-45 minutes after driving them. So for consistency's sake, I just check them all cold and call that my level.
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 ~Michael S.~ Past cars: 1986 300SDL 1987 300SDL 1982 240D 1982 300SD Current: 1987 300SDL
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#9
08-20-2012, 10:59 AM
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The oil is alot thicker too. I did an oilchange on a modern gasser and poured in 5W30. Then I went to the Benz and topped it off with 15W40. Big difference in viscosity, that is one of the reasons it takes so long to drain down.
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#10
08-22-2012, 08:34 PM
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Hmmm I see
Sorry for taking so long to respond, but I'm still a little confused.
As for the ATF in the oil (to supposedly break up deposits) how bad would such a small amount of ATF (for 1 liter of the oil+ATF) make? Also, would it even work as advertised? I'd rather use Synthetic if it does the same obviously, just wondering. Also, This is my second OM617, and I don't find nearly the same amount of variation on my other engine.. I mean, the oil level is at LEAST 6 inches above the line whenever I check it within one minute of turning it off, whereas it is just a little above on my other engine. I was mainly wondering if these massive variations were normal, or a bad sign.
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#11
08-22-2012, 10:23 PM
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Quote:
__________________
2009 ML320 Bluetec 1985 300CD 1981 300TD  Past Mercedes 1979 300TD 1982 300TD 2000 E320 4Matic Wagon 1998 E430 1984 300SD 1980 300SD
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#13
08-23-2012, 07:23 PM
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ATF
Yes, I always wipe my dipstick ...... I am just wondering WHY there would be something to push oil that far up the dipstick tube, and if that was normal.
I would agree that adding stuff to your oil is a bad idea because it could break something loose and clog an oil passage, but ... the whole point is that it ALREADY has blocked up some passages (before any ATF addition). Why is sludge building up so readily in the engine? I'd think that with all the heat, pressure, and vibration that it'd be quite clean in there.
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#14
08-23-2012, 07:46 PM
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So you are saying the level is HIGHER immediately after you shut off the engine versus when you let it sit? It should be the opposite. Perhaps there is foaming in the oil from what you added that happens when it runs?
__________________
2009 ML320 Bluetec 1985 300CD 1981 300TD Past Mercedes 1979 300TD 1982 300TD 2000 E320 4Matic Wagon 1998 E430 1984 300SD 1980 300SD
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#15
08-24-2012, 03:26 PM
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Pressure in the crankcase from blow by might push oil up he dip tube.
__________________
CC: NSA All things are burning, know this and be released. 82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin 12 Ford Escape 4wd You're four times It's hard to more likely to concentrate on have an accident two things when you're on at the same time. a cell phone. www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?
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