I have a ticking sound coming from the drivers side. I cannot diagnose whether it is coming from the valve area, or exhaust area. I know that cam oilers are a common problem, but i dont think the sound is coming from my valve area, and the tick gets faster with accelleration, while cam oilers cause a constant tick, correct??

I have to change my power steering rack out, which is getting taken care of, and I got an oil change and switched from regular oil to synthetic.THE TICKING DID NOT START UNTIL I SWITCHED TO SYNTHETIC OIL, LITERALLY A FEW HOURS AFTER. It comes and goes, it usually stops after a a few minutes of driving.

When the ticking sound is present it gets faster with accelleration. Could switching to synthetic cause this sound? Should i switch back?? What is the recommended oil for a 1997 E420? If anyone can answer my questions i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

anyone there????

I cann't help you with the noise diagostic but to answer you oil question, no, synthetic shouldn't cause any problem except for maybe minor leakage with old gaskets. For the recommended oil for your 97, here's a link.

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html

Thanks, but i cannot seem to to make clear sense out of the chart. I think i got out of it that if you have a 97 or below:

"some oils which are not recommended:
Mobil 1 SuperSyn 0W-30 SL/SJ/CF A1/B1/A5 9.7 doesn't meet 229.1 nor ACEA A2 or A3
Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 SL/SJ/CF A1/B1/A5 9.8 doesn't meet 229.1 nor ACEA A2 or A3
Mobil 1 SuperSyn 10W-30 SL/SJ/CF A1/B1/A5 10.1 doesn't meet 229.1 nor ACEA A2 or A3
These 3 oils do not meet MB spec of > 3.5 cP for high temperature high shear strength."

So basically i should change back to dino oil, if i am correct. However it still doesn't state what kind of oil i SHOULD be using. Can anyone help me out a in a little more specific detail?

What kind of oil and grade are you using?

lukesmith55,

Basically any 229.** oil should be more than edequate for your car.
However, since your car is 1997, it doesn't need synthetic oil because it doesn't have the FSS (flexiblbe service system). Normal dino oil should be good enough.

The grade is in your owner manual due to your climate but I would imagine a 0W-40 or a 10W-40 should do.
Again, I don't think synthetic oil causes the ticking problem

Regards,
JeffreyP

Who changed your oil and what did they use?

__________________
(2) 1988 300 SEL W126

it's been my experience that synthetic oil is thinner than mineral so that might account for your tapping noise.easy to find out switch back to 20/50 and see .cheap test.

__________________
David S Poole
European Performance
Dallas, TX
4696880422

"Fortune favors the prepared mind"
1987 Mercedes Benz 420SEL
1988 Mercedes Benz 300TE (With new evaporator)
2000 Mercedes Benz C280
http://www.w108.org/gallery/albums/A...1159.thumb.jpg

My friends mechanic, who does all the oil changes on his two benz's. He used mobil 1 synthetic.

Yeah, i know the oil guides go out, but it literally happened like a few hours after the oil was changed. Do you by chance know what the sound is like when the oil guides go out? Is it a constant tick or one that comes and goes, and gets faster with accelleration.

also what kind of oil should i use?? 20/50 Mobil non-synthetic??

Try 15W50 or 0W40 mobil 1.

What grade did he put in? You haven't answered this question.

you need a good diesel then there is no worries about the noise, casue its always tapping sorry!! Just ahd to poke some fun, by the way i am a diesel lvoer, hahah