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#1
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wrong oil for winter!
I brought my freshly bought 1st diesel for an inspection and an oil change and the guy (as I discovered later) put oil not suitable for temps under 30f (this is New England). My questions are: how will my vehicle function and should I just put the right oil in asap?
Thanks, Alex
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1984 190d 5 speed manual |
#2
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What grade of oil has he put in it?
What is recommended for your climate? jackD |
#3
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Jack:
I would use Mobil Delvac 1 5W40 in Canada. Dino oil of too high a viscosity (summer oil) is very likely to give you starting problems if you must leave the car outside overnight. If you have a garage, heated or not, you may not have much trouble. However, sitting in a parking lot all day..... I lived in Sault Ste. Marie, ONT for three winters, I know! Peter
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1972 220D ?? miles 1988 300E 200,012 1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles 1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000 1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs! |
#4
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Worse than being harder to start, is the fact that thicker oil takes longer to reach all engine parts at startup in very cold weather. This means that for quite a few precious seconds, whole areas of your engine are running with no lubrication. NO GOOD!
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Jean 97 C280, 36k miles 96 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport, 146k miles |
#5
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...he put 15W-40, I believe. I found some information on it being appropriiate for large diesel engines ie Mack trucks.
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1984 190d 5 speed manual |
#6
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That oil is correct for your engine, but *may* cause starting issues if temps get well below freezing. If your car is parked outside and must be started under cold temps like that, I strongly second the recommendation for Mobil-1 5W-40 full synthetic (also known as Delvac-1).
The oil you use MUST be diesel rated (CF/CG/CH/CI) and meet the viscosity range in the owner's manual. You cannot use anything thinner than xW-40 in ambient temps above what it says in the chart. The Mobil-1 5W-40 is perfect year-round, I use it in all my cars. |
#7
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Thanks...will a block heater help and if so, how long does it take to heat up?
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1984 190d 5 speed manual |
#8
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Quote:
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Jean 97 C280, 36k miles 96 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport, 146k miles |
#9
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ok, thanks Jean.
Alex
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1984 190d 5 speed manual |
#10
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Usually the block heater needs 30-60 minutes to provide good heat. Leaving it plugged in longer does nothing but sustain the heat level and waste electricity...
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#11
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A less costly alterative to Delvac1 is the Rotela 5/40 synthetic. It is not really syn just highly refined dino that the gov said the could be marketed as syn. Its $12.94gl. at wolly word. Delvac1 is about 5 plus bucks a quart and a little harder to come by.
BTW Mobil truck and suv 5/40 is the same thing as delvac1
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82 Rabbit diesel (first d), 84 Jetta turbo d (300k when sold), 83 240d (305k when sold), 84 F250 6.9d w/Banks turbo(parts truck), 86 F250 6 cyl.gasser(waiting for 6.9d), 84 300d ( 347k Sold 8/04), Y2k New Bettle TDI (185k miles), 95 740IL (wifes), 87 300TD (206k Sold 7/05), 05 Passat TDI Wagon |
#12
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All true. Rotella Syn is better than most dino oils however it is NOT, IMO, suitable for extended drains. I would change the Rotella Syn by 5kmi at most. If you want to do extended drain intervals (which I do), you really need a proper Group IV or V synthetic, which would be Mobil-1, Amsoil, Red Line, and a few other top-shelf synthetics. Mobil is the easiest to locate and similarly priced to Amsoil's dealer pricing, Red Line is nice stuff but pricey. I use Delvac-1 in my vehicles (both diesel AND gas.)
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#13
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Quote:
---What is an extended drain interval?
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1984 190d 5 speed manual |
#14
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Quote:
The problem is, you need to do an oil analysis or two at your estimated extended interval to see if it's OK. The usual limiting factor is soot levels. The limit MB says to stay under is 2%, regardless of what the oil can suspend. My 617 engine reaches this level by ~5kmi so I can't really do extended drains there. However my two 603's were only 1% at 10kmi, so I could theoretically go to near 20kmi before changing the oil. I do it at 10kmi anyway, that's about once per year, which is fine with me. Here's a sample of my oil analysis reports - I have a newer one (240-250kmi) but haven't made it into a PDF file yet: http://www.meimann.com/docs/mercedes/oil_analysis_87b.pdf |
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