Forgive this oil thread, could old oil be OK???

[mpolli]

I have the 98 C230 with the spooky 4 cyl engine that doesn't burn ANY oil. I am coming up to 10,000 miles since the last change with Mobil1 0W40 and I checked the level and it is still right at the max line. And the color is a brown amber color. On the one hand, some will condemn me for letting it go so long, and I have previously been an "always change at 3K" guy with other cars. But I feel like I will be draining out perfectly good oil. If it uses NONE and still looks good, and was Synthetic to begin with, is it possible I can go farther on it with a clear conscience? I am looking for scientific answers here, not religious. I admit it is a question I never thought I would have reason to ask, but I never imagined there was an engine like this.

Thanks,

Mike

[Mike Murrell]

Originally Posted by mpolli

I am looking for scientific answers here, not religious.

You'll get 2 kinds of scientific answers. One will say leave as is; the other will say change it now, so in reality, science and religion in this regard, are one in the same.

You have what I suspect is a nice car. Why would you want to gamble with stretching it's most important lubricant any farther than you have?

Change the oil and forget science and religion.

[Larry Delor]

One inescapable fact is that so far, oil is cheaper than a new engine.

[Tomguy]

Oil slowly breaks down over time. This is an inescapable fact. Normally, you can tell bad oil easily by its black appearance. Just because oil is not carbon-polluted doesn't mean it's still good. It can break down, or have its additives corrupted by metallic components from your engine. The best way to find the ACTUAL condition of your oil is to have it analyzed. Only then will you TRULY know if it can go farther or not. From the sound of it, you're unsure - if you drive it every day, change it, and analyze what you took out - you'll know if you can take the next change further safely AND you'll have safety of mind while you wait for the results.

[engatwork]

Not only can analysis tell you alot but so can an engine rebuild.

[Hatterasguy]

Send it to the lab, everything else is guessing.

[uberwgn]

Originally Posted by mpolli

I have the 98 C230 with the spooky 4 cyl engine that doesn't burn ANY oil. I am coming up to 10,000 miles since the last change with Mobil1 0W40 ...

Mike, I take it your car doesn't have the FSS indicator? I run this same factory-speced oil in our car and change it out around 10k miles. I've performed UOA on the past two changes. The results have been virtually faultless. Based upon what I've found via UOA, I'm going to start changing the oil no later than 10k miles regardless of the prediction made by FSS.

You might wish to change earlier with a 4 cylinder engine. As hatterasguy mentions, it's nothing but guesswork changing the oil with short intervals.

Take care.

[mpolli]

The manual says it has FSS however it just counts to 10,000 miles, so it is really not very "flexible".

Mike

[manny]

Originally Posted by mpolli

The manual says it has FSS however it just counts to 10,000 miles, so it is really not very "flexible".
Mike

Wrong!
It starts at 10 k miles & will add or subtract, based on many variables ( temperature, distance driven between start-ups, etc ).
Under " ideal " conditions, it can add as much as 1 k miles between oilchanges.

[mpolli]

In my experience it did not move 1 mile. 10,000 on the nose.

Mike

[Hatterasguy]

Notice MB dumped FSS. Thats one of those things you are betting off ignoring.

[shailey]

Mike,

I have a 2002 E320 that has had perfect FSS services during it's 57,000 mile life. I also have lots of tappet noise upon startup that's going to cost several thousand dollars to repair. Change your oil frequently. I don't care what the owner's manual and the oil analysis results say, change the oil. My Volvo just passed 260,000 miles, has had oil changes every 5,000 miles (per Volvo's recommended service interval), and has been trouble free. I'm now using the 5,000 mile interval for the Benz.

Best of luck,

Steve

[Nate]

I'll be running synthetic in both of my cars next summer, but the DD's getting some soon, in basic auto next week.


I'll change the oil every 6k miles or so, but I'll do the Ac Delco filter every 3 k... Just cause, I'm anal about that.

Moms car can fit a PF52 in it, without any issues... about 2X the filter. I'll just change the oil and filter every 5k miles...


10k is running on the edge for a synthetic, but it's past the limit for a filter imho. You loose about a quart of oil when you change the filter only (it goes back down into the pan, it wont drain alot out except the filter)

I'd at LEAST change the filter every 5k, and dont use no fram crap on it. Use ANY better brand then fram, do NOT use fram

good luck with your car, is a 94 mercedes considered a beater yet? I'd only run oil that long on a cheaper car, but W/E

~Nate

[rchase]

Originally Posted by shailey

Mike,

I have a 2002 E320 that has had perfect FSS services during it's 57,000 mile life. I also have lots of tappet noise upon startup that's going to cost several thousand dollars to repair. Change your oil frequently. I don't care what the owner's manual and the oil analysis results say, change the oil. My Volvo just passed 260,000 miles, has had oil changes every 5,000 miles (per Volvo's recommended service interval), and has been trouble free. I'm now using the 5,000 mile interval for the Benz.

Best of luck,

Steve

Uuugh.... Here we go with the unfounded claims.... Gotta love oil threads....

[uberwgn]

Originally Posted by rchase

Uuugh.... Here we go with the unfounded claims....

X2.


Our '02 car had all services performed against the FSS system using only oil that meets the factory's spec. The engine is so quiet I can barely hear it run. Fuel economy is shocking for a car of this weight. I can't see any room for improvement and have several UOAs for validation.