I had to add 1 quart of oil to my 78 300D the other day. I changed the oil 1,100 miles ago.
This seems exessive to me. The car has a new top end done by the dealer here. (rebuit head, new cam, timing chain etc..) 144,000 mi on origional lower end.
It does seem to smoke a lot on first start up, yes it is blueish.
I average 22 mpg. I travel 20 mi a day total, 2 miles in stop and go traffic.
I have used fuel additives before. It seems to help smooth the engine out and I guess improve fuel economy a little.

Any suggestions?
Thanks, Matthew

Mathew,

This oil usage does not sound to me like it's totally excessive, however, after a top end, the valve guides and seals should have been taken care of. The BLUE smoke on startup could indicate valve guide or seal problems.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

My manuals states 1 qtr oil / 2,000 miles is consumed so you are ridding a little more oil than normal.

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'89 420 SEL
'90 300 SEL
'84 300 SD (sold it)