ENGINE OIL TYPE

HELP NEEDED PLEASE. I AM UNAWARE WHAT TYPE OF ENGINE OIL THE PREVIOUS OWNER[S] OF MY E420 [97] WERE USING. IS THERE A WAY I CAN FIND OUT EITHER THROUGH THE COLOR OF THE OIL OR .......?
I WANT TO CHANGE THE OIL AND I KEEP ON WONDERING WHAT TYPE OF OIL I SHOULD USE, EITHER SYNTETHIC OR NOT. AT WHAT INTERVAL SHOULD I CHANGE THE OIL? I HAVE 110,000 MILES NOW.
ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS FROM ANYBODY? THANKS

http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html here you go!

Gomes, don't know what country you're located in, but Mobil 1 0W40 seems to have become the 1st choice and is the specific oil recommended by MBUSA. There are others. You need to track down products that meet 229.1 or 229.3.

I AM IN USA

THANKS. I OPEN THE WEBSITE. APPROVED ENGINE OILS ON THIS WEBSITE STARTS WITH MODEL YEAR 1998 ....
MY MODEL IS 1997. CAN I STILL FOLLOW THE SAME GUIDELINE?

Please I need your help.
I went to this website http://www.whnet.com/4x4/oil.html , I got the information you mentioned.
Unfortunately, MB recommendation calls out for 1998 and upward. Mine is E420 [1997]
Tell me, do you think I should just drain out the oil and start afresh with synthetic oil?
Thanks

Gomes, if you are uncertain of the oil presently in the car, why not just change it and be done with it?

This is my opinion:

You can put synthetic oil in all cars, and it is better but costs more. Once you switch to synthetic don't switch back to regular. It doesn't matter what oil the previous owner used provided you drain the oil completely and replace the filter. Do not mix the two. Call your local Mercedes dealership for the correct oil weight for your car, if you have an owner's manual it should tell you this. Once you find out buy Mobil 1 or Castrol oil, I wouldn't recommend any others because the oil starts to break down sooner. Unless of course you plan on changing your oil every 1,000 miles. Hope this helps. Good luck!

P.S.


Change your oil every 5,000 with synthetic. 3,000 with regular oil. I recommend changing the oil now no matter what the previous owner said. If you buy Mobil 1 expect to spend about $40 for oil and a filter (if you change it yourself).

Here's some good info on Engine Oils


Hope it helps.



http://www.mercedesforum.com/m_17821/mpage_1/key_synthetic/tm.htm#18656

I know there is a lot here.

I may switch oils based on info in this thread and what I have seen in MY oil use. I purchased my SLK 320 in February with 55K miles. I changed the oil (at Q lube) using Quaker State Full Synthetic 05-40W European formula meeting MB 229.3 per product label, Q lube uses Fram oil filters.

I went back after about 5000 miles and changed it again. The oil looked like the filter was not doing it's job. Very brown , and no odor or burned feel ( I race bikes and know what bad or failed oil looks like). The oil looks bad and I expected more from it. I have driven the car 22000 miles since February, yes I drive a lot...working. I have since changed the oil twice more with the same results. I am not happy with what I see. The dealers want your car every 10-12000miles. That sounds like a program for short engine life. Is mobil 1 that good?

I will try Mobil 1 next time and would like to know if anyone has a recommendation on filters. The stock filter looks like it should be changed often due to it's small surface area. Does anyone know if WIX or others have a dual stage filter cartridge or just something more efficient? I am worried about flow rate issues from too small a pore size.

The point of all this is: Is the oil I am using as good as the best synthetics? and...Should I service the filter often, how often and with what? Also, has anyone use LUCAS synthetic oil stabilizer I am tempted since their fuel treatment is really good.

I want to change my own oil to make tighter service intervals more affordable, so I am looking for the nicest home use dip stick tube oil removal product out there, as long as it's affordable also.

Thanks;

quote:

229.3

multi grade but viscosity is not ideal for hotter country.

i prefer 229.1

I used to rebuild engines and Quaker State was the last company to switch from asphalt base to parifin base and i always remember what an engine looked like inside when Quaker State was used.Synthetic oil molecules are smaller and all the same size. Organic oil molecules vary in size considerable. I have always preferred Mobil 1 simply because they were the first major brand to go synthetic. If I am changing oil on a European engine I like Knecht filters. I have cut open many a filters before and there IS a difference. Fram is cheap for a reason. Wix and Puralator make good filters too. As far as the dipstick fluid pump, Eastwood has a good one and so does Griot's Garage. both about a hundred dollars. The one you connect to an air compressor works real well.

I have been studying about "By pass" oil filters. Some over the road trucks are using them. I have read about trucks running 100,000 miles a year and only changing the filter element every so often. I am not quite ready to try that on my cars but imagine the oil we would save if that would work,let alone how it would help the environment.
I honestly believe that oils and filters are so good now a days that we should only change oil every 7500 miles. Oil companies and oil change stations will have you believe that you should your oil at 3,000 miles for obvious reasons. Engine manufacturers have done extensive tests and feel that 7500 miles is an acceptable interval.

Thanks Buck;

I will try Mobil 1 and inspect the filter at 3000 miles. I remember Wix having a good product so I wiil try to find one. Thanks for the tip on oil removal tools. I have a compressor and I'll look in that direction.