2008ml550_0104

Hello everyone- I am doing an oil change for my ML550, and wanted to know what exactly is the best practice when filling up and the total number of quarts.

as an aside, I will be doing my own oil consumption level check post change, and I did not see anything from a prior post about if it was ok or even what others have recommended for a higher weight. I live in Nw burbs of Chicago, (someone brought up weather brings lower weight demand) so I will buy this time a 5w-30 to see if this helps the amount being burnt during highway driving.

thanks- Steve

Maj. Dundee

Here is the amount.

2008ml550_0104

Do u have the same thing for MB recommend type/weight oil for oil....full synth what....?

2008ml550_0104

For all Mercedes e.g., sheet 229.5 Simple search elicited recommend types.

Audi Junkie

The 5w-30s that are approved are thicker Euro 30 weights. Regular American 5w-30 is much thinner, can cause excess wear and definately will not help with consumption.

You want a 5w-40 or maybe a 15w-40 depending on your climate.

2008ml550_0104

HUH? Does anyone know what this guy is taking about?

Audi Junkie

Apparently not.

Does anybody know why this guy is using 5w-30 in a Mercedes?

2008ml550_0104

sorry, there was another thread I had been actively seeking info frkm and did the unthinkable here and made an error on my words to the fellow poster and help he had suggested. The info I got is what I was posting about and clearly shows the insane efforts some dealers go to to not give the customer the right info so in my haste again, wrong thread delete as see fit to the moderator! The answer in fact is in 0W 40 oil that clearly the fellow poster above as well as my own research has suggested is the correct fluid and will no longer be making the mistake and shouldn’t have any more low by issues using a lighter weight oil and instead the correct one - thanks

Audi Junkie

It's fine bro. Very few people realize there's two kinds of 5w-30. The visc grades are a range, with one on the thick end and one on the thin. The thick Euro 5w-30 pulls some extra HT/HS +150C visc with fancy base oil. like Redline does. It's just a different beast, and unique....only three I can think of in USA. Castrol SLX pro OE, Mobil 1 ESP and the Pennzoil Euro L that I use.

A 0w-40 is always a great choice. Oddly it's very similar to the Euro 5w-30 visc-wise, just a hair thicker on the other side of the "40" line. 5w-40 is fine too, but is generally an older formula as a Euro oil, a truck 5w-40 HD diesel oil is actually a better choice.

Often people use plain old 5w-30 Mobil 1, even with a turbo, and it works fine. We dont' really heat up the oil in American driving, but the Euro spec has a buffer of being thicker for hours of Autobahn driving. You can get low wear with thick or thin oils, but too thick will kill MPG and power, and bad in cold w/short trip driving. On the other hand thick oil will be a bit quieter. The rule is to use the thinnest lube that doesnt' cause excess wear. Often American 5w-30 is fine in this regard, but you want a little "buffer" as well.

In the non-Di 3.5, I see no reason a good 10w-40 at 6000 miles is perfect down to +10F or so. Maxlife comes to mind. In 0w-40, Edge with titanium is king...

lkchris

If the motor oil meets Mercedes spec 229.5 it is acceptable. (It has to be printed on the bottle). Viscosity numbers are meaningless ... because a 229.5 oil will be full synthetic. As for the cold start (W) number, I once looked up Mobil 1 specs ... the cold pour points were identical for 0W, 5W, and 10W ... synthetics are cool (ha ha).

Don’t you just love questions here that can be answered by reading the owners manual? Manuals are available online, btw ... just like this forum.

Just for fun ... during the life of the 164, the spec for Om642 (diesel) changed from 229.51 to 229.52, including retroactively. This means from 5W-40 to 5W-30. 229.51 is superseded The top number is very much more related to engine design clearances than to ambient operating temperature ... the latter again virtually irrelevant given synthetics.

Speaking of Autobahn driving, a Mercedes cooling system can handle that and consequently so can the motor oil.

2008ml550_0104

Yes, makes sense. We should look into using puns though, it may not have been such a hot idea to be funny in such a serious discussion! I’m glad you brought that up - lifespan etc., as you suggest with your GL, the lifespan “recommendation” maybe is where my confusion was. Swore that dealer had always said using the 5w and a weight of 20 was what they used but retroactively thinking man this is going through way to much oil lately, brought this up here. It makes little sense though why the manual even stated across even the colder temps, and transversally, on the hotter end (ambient) temps it’s still an 0w-20,30,40 respectively. Nonetheless, the printer ran out of paper so I will get some more to print these out for future handiness. Filing under Das Beste Oder Nichts. Cheers!

Audi Junkie

Pour Point is a meaningless spec. It's not part of any certification, and is somewhat arbitrary as a measure.

The Winter test is conducted with a micro rotary viscometer, a MRV test at sequentially lower temps for 10, 5 and 0 ratings at -20F, -25F and -30F I think 6000cst is the goal.

I am befuddled by some of the criteria people list for oil properties. Just remember, a 5w-20 is thinner in cold than a 5w-30 and thinner than a 5w-40, for instance. Not all 5w oils are the same in cold.

A 0w-40, 5w-40, 10w-40, 15w-40 are all approximately the same 14-15cSt when heated to operating temp of +100C. The w is an indication of how much the oil thickens when cold. So if ambient is warm, a 15w-40 is ideal, in cold a 0w-40 is ideal. The difference being the 15w-40 is more robust and less volatile, so it won't burn....if that's what the issue is.

Different oiil's visc will overlap with other grades at different temps, making them more similar than people think. The only real difference is on cold start, then when fully heated. It works on both ends; a 5w-20 is the same as 5w-30 just a few degrees difference. I'll post some data later.

Also, there's no requirement for 229.5 that makes it special....it's really just a long-life spec for running extended oil changes. If you use regular oil and change it at 5000miles, not only is it ok the computer has a setting for regular or 229.5 oil. Frankly, non turbos can run on ANY OIL IN THE STORE. Bear in mind I mean xtra thick oil for hot climates, extra thin oil for cold....synth for extended changes.....ANY oil. Above the arctic circle, use 0w-20, in Saudi Arabia, 15w-40 or a 50 weight.
imo Mercedes should be more specific than jst "5w-30" or "0w-30" in the manual. API 5w-is quite different than Euro 5w-30. Most people run 5w-40 which is 14+cSt at op temp, API 30 weight is only 10cSt, quite a difference. Euro 5w-30 is about 12.5cSt