MBLoverSC

I recently purchased a 2000 E320, 82K miles, great condition and am confused on which kind of oil to use. The place where I bought the car told me to run ONLY premium gas and synthetic oil. The guy in my city who is the known authority (he has worked on MB's for the past 40 years and has people from a 200 mi radius come to him) told me to switch to regular oil and go to regular gas because the oil won't gunk up and the gas won't make that much of a difference with the way I drive it (mostly in the city, some highway). I've put 3K miles on the car and he showed me the oil cap and rim of the same model car that had regular oil which was clean and no yellow gunk (approx 2.5K miles), and mine which had a lot of yellow gunk and was cloggy looking. He told me that yellow gunk will clog up and destroy the engine. Not ever having one of these fine machines before, I am somewhat confused as to who is right.

I have talked with different people who have used regular oil and have over 200K miles on them and have NEVER had a problem, as well as those who have used synthetic oil and not had problems.

Can any of you please enlighten me?

RichardM98

Hello and Welcome to the forum.

As far as oil, the main issue is whether you are going to use the built-in FSS (Flexible Service System) to determine when you do an oil change. MB recommends specific synthetic oils and special fleece media filters when changing according to FSS (usually >10K or 1 yr). If you use regular oil and paper media filters, you need to change more frequently maybe 3K-4K. Do the math and you'll find FSS is probably cheaper.

Early W210's had serious problems with oil sludge because people used regular oil and then used the FSS to determine the oil change interval.

The computer in the car can adjust engine operating parameters to burn regular gas so you may not notice the difference during normal driving but your gas mileage and performance will be poorer. Again not any likely cost benefit.

I would suggest operating the car as it was intended by the manufacturer which is spelled out in the Owners Manual. Many owners of these cars expect to get 250K or more. They are built to last much longer than most cars providing you treat them correctly.

Good luck.

01BlackE320

The car requires at least 91 octane fuel or else you will hear engine ping, which is not a good thing.. The owners manual even gives you instructions on how to drive in case you inadvertantly put in lower octane fuel.

MB spec oil is Synthetic, Mobil 1 0w40, Castrol Syntec European Formula and some others. This oil, along with the proper fleece oil filter can be used for 10-12k miles. I change my oil every 10k miles, always with synthetic.

Everybody on this board will recommend that you use synthetic oil. If you choose not to use synthetic oil, I'm sure you wont do any damage but then I would change the oil at around 5-6k miles tops. The yellow sludgy stuff you are seeing around the filler cap has nothing to do with the type of oil you use. That has more to do with the outside temperature and how often the car is driven to full operating temperature. It is an emulsion of water and oil from condensation in the engine. If you took a nice long drive in your car, it would be gone.

MBLoverSC

Thanks for the great answers. Personally, I would rather use premium - I always put it into a Mazda 929 when I had one and I never had any problems. As for the oil, I will probably stay with the synthetic. I probably don't drive the car long enough at any one time to get the engine to full operating temperature unless my husband and I are taking a trip to the coast.

ohlord

That mechanic is a none authority on Mercedes.
Run as fast and as far as you can from where ever he hangs his shingle

azbenze

Hi everyone. I hope nobody minds me posting a quick question in relation to oil. I have searched the forums and don't really want to start another string on what can be a contentious subject!

I have a recently acquired 1998 E320 100K miles. I am planning to start to do my own oil changes (suck out the dip stick). I have read that Mobil1 0w40 is the MB approved oil. My concern is that I live in Phoenix, AZ and as you know it gets extremely hot here in the summer! Given that a good portion of my daily drive is stop and go traffic is this oil still the best to use? Are there any other oil considerations/recommendations for this hot dusty environment?
Thanks

Musikmann

Stick with Mobil1 0W40 (or anything that has the MB 229.5 spec on the label) and check your air filter regularly due to the dust. I think for a 1998 you would be O.K. using 229.3 spec also. The "lower" spec should allow you several more brand options.

RichardM98

Hi, MM, actually MY1998 requires a 229.5 oil. It's MY1997 and older that are 229.3.

Trust me it's hotter inside your engine than it ever gets outside in Phoenix! And I've been there in August. When changing viscosity it's the lowest temperature that matters not the highest. Mobil 1 0W-40 is okay to -25C (-13F).

However, blowing dust is one conditions under which oil should be changed more frequently. I don't believe the FSS monitors for dust although the oil filter is supposed to handle it. As MM said more frequent checks of the air filter are in order. If there is a 'dusty' season and the car is parked outside a lot I would probably change my oil at the end of the 'dusty' season just as a precaution.

I posted a link to a MB document with all the fluid recommendations in a thread called "Regular Oil vs Synthetic ??" in this forum today. It lists 229.5 and 229.3 oils by brand. (Page 4)

Good luck.

Musikmann

Hi too RichardM98,

Thanks for the correction.

ejsheltra

As for which type it really is in the frequency of change and the quality of the filters used. I would stay with MB spec filters as there is little leak down when inverted as in the inline 6 motors. MAX of 5k miles for non synthetic and even that is at the edge of acceptance. Sludge will start to form. Type of driving is a factor. In city stop and go and dusty environments require more frequency in the changes as stated by others here. Synthetic has a higher burn temp and can tolerate higher load and operating temps. My changes with synthetic Mobil One 5-40 are at 6k intervals with an MB spec filter not Purolater or Fram. With non syn oil it was at 3k with an oil filter and every second change with an air filter too. My 1990 300 inline went 242k and at tear down had 5/1000 taper in the cylinder walls. That is just barely past breakin spec. Good luck and welcome.

azbenze

Thank you all for the advice. Much appreciated

RichardM98

Musikmann, I owe YOU an apology. People have recommended Mobil 1 ECF 0W-40 (which is a 229.5 AND a 229.3 listed oil) out here for so long that I blindly continued.

In fact, a 229.3 oil is acceptable for MB prior to 2005 so you are correct as is shown in the table on page 3 of a MB doc I listed a link to in another thread.

Musikmann

Thanks for the clarification RichardM98,

I'll have a look for that thread and check out the MB document. For now I'm using the Mobil1 5W40 Formula M (not the ESP as I'm aware that's for diesels only) since that's what my dealer has in their bulk tank. I use oil so needed some by the quart. My dealer doesn't have it and say their supplier does not carry it (more insanity). I found a case of 6 online and ordered it. Plus it no longer even appears on the Mobil website so I guess I got some old stock. It's enough to make me tear my hair out sometimes.

Why they haven't reverted to the 0W40 is anyone's guess. I asked the parts guys and they didn't have an answer. Another dealer I am familiar with changed back to 0W40 at least a year ago.

Figuero

Musikmann,
Mobil is currently changing a lot of their product labeling on their oils and their web site is also undergoing change to reflect the new branding and that's part of the confusion.

Another part are the 229.31 and 229.51 spec oils. Both Mercedes and Mobil have wavered on their use in gasoline cars. As of today, MBUSA officially says "Diesel Only", while Mobil says thier 229.31 and .51 oils are good for both gas and diesel.

Finally....the ESP Formula M thing. FYIW that oil isn't even API rated, nor does it carry any other manufacturers ratings. So it's only "approved" as 229.31 and 229.51 making it for exclusive use on a Mercedes diesel car. However, Mobil says it's good for MB gassers too.

Frankly, I think all these European manufacturer specific ratings are a bunch of hooey reflecting ideology and corporate alliances as much as true engineering requirements.

ejsheltra

Frequent change w/ filter and regular oil is very good. Synthetic has higher molecular adhesion and will take higher temps and longer time between changes. Consistency in your maintenance is more important than anything.

Musikmann

Figuero, thanks for the information. I should have checked the Mobil website again before posting what I did. The last time I looked, there was no 5W40 Formula M listed. Plus, the place I bought it didn't show it on their site either (AVLubricants in Ohio). The woman explained that the website only reflects what they stock in the Columbus warehouse and she found what she sold to me in the Cleveland one.

Lastly I think you're probably right about the corporate alliances. In reality, we can probably run anything we want (brand, viscosity, dino with more frequent changes, etc.) in these MBs and would be O.K.

tirona

+1. if you go to liqui-moly's website to check approved oil for m112 they list an oil that meets 229.31 spec, and also recomend other oils that only have a3/b3/b4 spec and not mb spec, or meet just 229.1 spec. there is no difference in mb engines in usa and other parts of world, but oil recomendations seem to differ
http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/w...oil_guide.html

Musikmann

Liqui-Moly makes good products and I have no doubt they would perform well in our engines. Unfortunately they are hard to find in the US, or at least they used to be. If available for me, they would be online or special order because I have looked for them around here and no store sells anything they make.

tirona

musikmann, napa will have them. they have a few of their engine oils, oil additives, gasoline aditives, gear oil, and a few other products.

Musikmann

O.K. thank you tirona. We have 3 local NAPA stores so I will look for those products. They are not located as conveniently as some of the other chains so I'll confess I'm not in there very much and probably overlooked this brand.

tirona

problem with napa is they charge too much. for some parts they are even more expensive than dealer.

Musikmann

OT: Something I forgot to mention about NAPA. The Toyota shop went through 2 power steering pumps from NAPA before they found a good one. 1st lasted a month, 2nd 5 minutes and I "think" the 3rd was one of theirs too. Shop foreman remembers that they got tried of fooling around and ate the difference of a genuine PS pump, but I seriously dobt that so I don't know for sure. This is another reason I don't shop there often, if at all.

The reason I went with them rather than OEM was the Toyota pump was only available as new and was over $1000. The NAPA reconditioned was about $250 and the shop recommended that they put one in. Saved me money but there was the inconvenience of 3 trips to the shop for all of that.