purplegrog

I generally change the oil in my 2001 E320 living in Austin, TX with Mobil1 synthetic 15W-50 for high mile engines. I'm curious if I should consider using 0W-40 instead. Are there advantages or disadvantageous to either one for my environment? I have nearly 160k miles on the car.

01BlackE320

Mobil One 0W40 is a recommended oil. The heavier oil that you are using probably wont hurt anything, particularly in the hot climate that you livie in but it is not the recommended viscosity. Why did you go with 15w50? Anyway at this point I would still recommend 0w40.

ohlord

15w50
it does not have the proper viscosity and definitely does not have the base or the additive package that the M112 needs to live a long and happy life.Flush it and put in the 0w40 wt mobil or any of the several other mb spec oils.
Fleece filter of course
DIY oil and filter change the proper extraction method www.mercedesshop.com resource section diy articles oil change #2.Saves me some typing

X72

You will pay a slight fuel economy penalty with the 15W-50. I wouldn't hesitate to use it as long as the ambient temperature remained above 40 degrees F, but the 40W oil is preferable because of better fuel economy.

Are you having an oil consumption or leak problem causing you to want to use the heavier motor oil?

purplegrog

@x72: No leaks, but that's what my local mb only indy shop uses.

@ohlord: I'll have to double check, but iirc the manual lists 15W-50 as one of the supported weights of oil.

purplegrog

update: I found the booklet to which I was referring. It's "Factory Approved Service Products, October 2000", and among others, it lists "Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic Formula 15W-50" and "Mobil 1 Tri-Synthetic Formula 0W-40" on MB spec sheet 229.1 as mb approved engine oils. there's also a chart with viscosity grades for motor oils that instructs the reader to "select oil viscosity according to lowest air temperature expected before the next oil change". The weights range from 0W-30 to 20W-50.

lkchris

229.1 is not applicable to the car in question.

Cars with M112 engine require either 229.3 or 229.5 oil.

IIRC 15W-50 is not an approved oil for this car and 0W-40 is the way to go.

purplegrog

fantastic. I guess the person who sold me the car included a booklet from a different model car.

I'll be switching back to mobil1 0W-40 this weekend.

purplegrog

at the risk of taking this thread off topic, is there any advantage to draining the oil from the bottom as opposed to using a topsider? I usually use a topsider out of laziness, but should I occasionally drain from the bottom or would I just be wasting time and effort?

uberwgn

I tend to alternate. It's not a bad idea to get under the car once in a while to see what's leaking and/or broken.

M1 0W40 is the correct oil and carries the mfr's spec required for the engine

01BlackE320

Either method works fine. Service centers typically pump it out but whatever's easier for you. I drain only cause I don't have a pump.

ohlord

gets out more due to the drain placement in the pan.You can spend the extra time saved doing it the proper extractor method,inspecting the car from stem to stern and therefore avoid any trips to a shop for A and B services.Diy all the other maint. items yourself
229.1 is well below mb spec and 15w50 is not the recipe for a long M variant engine life,no matter what some crappy indie shop tells you.

MB changed the minimum spec required a long time ago. 229.1 in modern formulation is going to hurt you in the wallet,
even 229.1 back in the day was not for the FSS extended change intervals.
Run from that shop

socalsounds

Ohlord... Hey, I realize this one has been beaten to death, but on my 1997 M104, I prefer to run synthetic, simply for the shear and ash properties; I don't mind the extra 2 or 3 bucks a quart. With that in mind, is the 229.1 still applicable? I realize it doesn't have the FSS, but do I want 0W40 in the older inline, or maybe 10W40 Mobil 1? Thanks!!

Chris

ohlord

you still want at least 229.3 and with the 1997 not being prone to the leak issues of the earlier M104's on the headgasket and timing cover,if you have been using synthetic and have no leaks(a good condition,properly maintained M104)
keep using it.0w40 euro syn meets the spec
10w40 does not meet spec
10w50 fuchs oil does but that is the race engine oil,no need to waste the money.
Happy New Year

socalsounds

Thanks- BTW, why do you think it is that 10W40 doesn't meet spec? The amount of viscosity additives, or just the range? Thanks again...