N_Jay

(Cross Posted in X164 forum)

What is the normal oil consumption for a GL320 CDI?

I know most diesels require a bit of topping up, and just want to get an idea what people are finding as normal.

I have 100K on mine (just purchased) and added about a 8 oz when the "Check oil at next fuel stop" message came up.

I am about 300 miles from the next old change, but don't know if it was topped up at all in the last 9700 miles. (10K change service interval)

zemun1234

Check for turbo seal oil leak ...it is common problem and if you have a problem with oil consumption, it could be your problem - speaking from experience. As quick (temporary) solution, you can replace seal (rubber) and it could be good for next 30,000 miles ...
In general, I change oil on 5-6k miles and I don't get to problem with leak but it could be interesting to see if I can last full oil cycle without adding oil

N_Jay

I don't think I have a problem as I believe some oil usage is normal in these engines.
I was just trying to find out what the norm is so I can have something to judge against.

Seems that as long as it does not use a full quart in 10K miles, the message will not come up and most people will assume they are using no oil.

LAS_Bluetec

Neither of mine use a drop of oil and I check them every few weeks.

Carsy

My 4 cylinder diesel runs from full to half a stick in 10,000 km & I consider this normal.

All engines use a certain amount of oil but will vary according to how they were run in ,the original machining tolerances & whether they have any minor leaks.

If used on short trips where the oil does not have the opportunity to heat up for an extended period the useage will appear to be less as there are more impurities collected which cannot evaporate off.

Good luck with the new buy.

N_Jay

Got a call from the dealer, and I do have some seepage from the turbo oil seal (Inlet seal, I think he said).

How hard is the replacement on a GL320?

Anyone have any experience, suggestions, tips, etc.??

ekm

Reviving an old tread....
What is normal oil consumption on a diesel? owned the truck for 15K miles and it appears to be using oil. 6K on this oil change -usually run 10K per change. Low oil alert came on....it was low. added a quart. Light again....so keeping an closer eye on this.

Nothing leaking from the bottom of the truck.... Turbo bearings?

N_Jay

I talked to the dealer. He said up to one quart per change is common, and he sees many that take 2.


He said up to 1qt per 1K miles is "acceptable".
I said "not to me!"


I am running about 1 to 2, but it is hard to tell, since I had an oil cap issue last change(my fault) and I forgot to double check the fill after the service this change.

ekm

That is what my Subaru dealer said too....1 qt per 1000 miles.
I'll monitor more carefully but I might be hitting 2 quarts per oil change (10K). Looking to see if turbo bearing leakage is an issue. What was the seal you ended up replacing?
Thanks...

N_Jay

I haven't replaced the seal yet.


It is the turbo air inlet seal. It does not reduce oil consumption, just prevents dripping.


I have the part, but a schedule change forced me to take it in for oil change and filters, so I will do it next time.


If crankcase venting is a big oil loss, then maybe a Crankcase filter with a return line (like a Pro-Vent) would help.


That might be a project for another year.

ekm

I was thinking crankcase venting is a piston blow by issue creating excessive pressure which entrains oil vapor. Am I understanding this correctly? Any problems with turbo bearings (which ends up getting burned as part of the combustion process) on these motors?

N_Jay

I have not seem many posts here or on the GL or ML boards about that issue.


Anecdotally, most of the turbos that I have seen people mentioning replacing are due to ingesting something on the compressor side.

Shadow5501

Are these GL320 engines equipped with DPF? If so, I would expect the oil level to rise over time due to condensing of the post injection fuel in the crankcase. This is what I see on my E-class with the (basically) same engine. A quick google search shows that it is quite normal for any DPF equipped vehicle without a dedicated injector for the DPF.

Isn't failure of the hockey-puck sized oil separator a relatively common OM642 fault? Could that be at issue here?

N_Jay

All have have DPF particle Filter), 2009 and on use DEF (AddBlue).


I have been told the fuel that gets past the rings normally leaves as vapor.
However, VW and Audi say to watch for a rising engine oil level when using Bio-Diesel due to it condensing in the crankcase.


I did not look at the size of our crankcase oil separator, but a better one is certainly a good idea.


The problem is where to add the return line.


I was thinking of adding a "T" at the bottom of the dipstick tube. (a project for another year).

Shadow5501

We are 100% petrodiesel here in Texas and I am consistently seeing rising oil levels on my OM642. It had 3.5% fuel in the oil at the last 10K mile change interval. I put 700+ high speed miles on it over the recent U.S. holiday, and the oil still smells noticeably of diesel, so not everything boiled off. From what I can tell, this is a relatively normal experience.

I've heard of a couple of instances in which the factory oil separator failed and caused oil consumption on the OM642. It's not expensive nor difficult to replace; doing so on speculation isn't much of a commitment. It's simple to look at the quantity of oil in the vent line. But that said, I'm not sure how much would be too much.