X72

Aluminum 3
Chromium 0
Iron 10
Copper 4
Lead 2
Tin 1
Molybdenum 65
Nickel 0
Manganese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 2
Boron 87
Silicon 7
Sodium 3
Calcium 2426
Magnesium 21
Phosphorous 699
Zinc 788
Barium 0

SUS Visc 68.3
@ 210 F
Flashpoint(F) 370
Fuel(%) TR
Antifreeze(%) 0.0
Water(%) 0.0
Insolubles(%) 0.4
TBN 2.9

This sample was taken on Jan 13, 2006 and sent to Blackstone laboratories. The oil is Mobil 1 0W-40 and I believe it was the last of the SL I had stockpiled. The car is a 2003 Mercedes E320 with 59,661 miles. The oil was run for 11,900 miles / 10 months. The car was driven gently. The first 5k miles were driven on a cross country road trip. I put this oil in before the trip but did not reset the FSS. The rest of the miles were 60% city and 40% hwy. I used a paper Hengst oil filter, which I changed with another filter of the same type 7.5k miles into the oil run. I added 0.5 quarts of oil at that time which is the only make up oil. The air filters are the original equipment air filters which I checked and are good for at least another year. I bought the replacement filters thinking they would need changing, but when I saw their condition, I just shook out the dead bugs and put the old filters back in.

I reset the FSS when it requested an oil change in December. If I would have gone by the FSS, it would have been 15k miles/15 months.

I refilled with Mobil 1 0W-40 SM and used the fleece Mann filter. I think I am just going to do an oil change every 12 months.

Blackstone Comments: Sometimes we see oil life monitors that are way off base, but it looks like you’re going to be able to trust yours. This oil was run for 11,900 miles, and wear still looks good. We think the oil could have been run 15,000 miles without causing any problems, though it’s always good to be cautious at first. We applaud your decision to change the oil when you did. The TBN read 2.9, still active additive left. We consider a reading of 1.0 or lower to be too low. The trace of fuel isn’t hurting anything & should drop out next time. Nice engine! Check back to monitor.

RickyE430

Awesome info! Thanks

paulv

William check out my post on your post in the other place.

Thanks...

Regards,
paul

mleskovar

Great information, thank you All your engine values for wear are well below the 'universal averages' shown in the sample. However the sample lists iron in cylinder wear category and that wouldn't apply to the MB engine . How hard is it to get a sample of the hot oil though?

X72

Thanks paulv for the link you told me about.
mlekskovar, I did sample when the oil was hot at approximately mid-stream when draining from the drain plug. It is not that hard to do. I wear the blue nitrile gloves to protect my skin from the hot motor oil. Blackstone labs provides you with a nice oil sampling kit.

I just feel more confident running the oil 10 to 15k miles with a used oil analysis; the data makes me feel safer trusting FSS. Mercedes current recommendation of a once a year or 13k mile oil change interval seems to be safe based on my limited data.
William
2003 E320

michakaveli

Where did ya'll find the Mobil 1 0w-40?

C43AMG

I get mine from my local AutoZone.

michakaveli

Thanx

paulv

Had Blackstone analyze my oil -- here's the report:



Regards,
paul....

mleskovar

[QUOTE=paulv]Had Blackstone analyze my oil -- here's the report:QUOTE]

That looks great Paul...Did FSS tell you to change it at 14.5K miles? How many miles do you have on your car?

paulv

FSS came up with "F" service for the approx 14.5 k miles. The car had approx 54K miles when I changed the oil about a week ago. When I reset the FSS and checked again, FSS told me that I had "B" service due in 13K miles. It looks like FSS defaults to 13K (assuming you selected the 229.5 item on the menu) as X72 pointed out in the above post. By the looks of the report, I could have probably gone a few thousand miles more as the TBN was above 2.0, and the viscosity was still within specs, but I'll change the oil when FSS tells me.

By the way, I intend to keep doing this as long as I own the car and to include the TBN test with the basic oil test that Blackstone offers. It will be interesting to see how much the TBN reading varies as the engine wears and more acid is developed. $30 a year for an oil analysis isn't bad!!!!

Regards
Paul...

X72

Paul, I was looking at one of the other documents posted on the bentleypublishers website in the W211 forum regarding oil changes. I read that selecting a 229.5 oil multiplies the mileage by a factor of 1.3 . So perhaps it always says 13,000 miles to next service after reset, except the computer may count down the miles more slowly if you select 229.5 versus standard motor oil. This would also explain how the reset mileage says 13,000 miles but the actual request for service is greater than 13,000 miles.
William
2003 E320

paulv

William, That's a good point, and FSS probably polls the oil sensor to see how the oil is doing depending on a person's driving habits to go beyond the 13K default.

By the way, did you ever read the "Synthetic Oil Study" link on Blackstone's site? Really good info regarding the Mobil 1 and Amsoil studies. Speaking about Amsoil, although they're advertising that one of their products meets 229.5, I have yet to see a TSB from MB adding Amsoil to the "recommended" oil list.

Regards,
Paul....