engine oil..

[mobeyone]

i got a second message today on my car asking me to top up 1 ltr.

Last time this happened was just over two-three months ago. and I put in 1.5 ltr of shell helix.

Something i should be worried about? Or is it becasue i have used 5w40 instead of 10w40?

cheers

 

[Ian B Walker]

How many miles between tops ups are you doing?

 

[mobeyone]

Bought the car on 59k.

First top up around 68-9 and now on 70 nearly 71.

It is due a service.....

 

[230K]

Hi

I would get the oil changed i have found over the years that as the oil gets older that engines start to use it.
I would change oil every 10K and use fully synthetic.

The 5w instead of 10w should not make much diff although the 5w would be thinner.

Get an oil change and monitor things.

230K

 

[mobeyone]

Thanks for the advice so far guys.

Will do first thing monday. Am I able to get most service parts from a stealer with no problems? And anyone have part numbners of what I shoudl get?

Now, if this was to continue... what could I expect? Hope this does not mean bad news..

 

[Ian B Walker]

are you burning or just losing the oil, any blue smoke? If you have the dreaded blue smoke there are quite a few things that could be wrong eg, valve stem seals, piston rings, burnt valves. Or it could be smothing totally different like the oil pump being worn, oil leak etc

 

[Robbo]

Or it could be the the oil sensor playing up, I wish these engines had a manual dipstick. I would change the oil (use mibil 1 0W40) and monitor the consumption.

 

[mobeyone]

Well, thats really p1ssed me off (no one here!!)

I went into a local garage and asked if i coudl use mobil1 and they advised no becasue of how thin the m1 is and recommended castrol gtx 10w4 which is what i have got... But I last topped up with shell helix.

No smoke, just get some (white??) smoke when i open it up but thats to be expected?? only noticed it every now and then.

I have a feeling i am buring oil... not losing as there is no sign of an oil leak anywhere and i am just over my service. A friend told me that once the service passes, you will get prompted with the oil light as the oil will begin to wear down.. can anyone confirm this?

cheers for all this!!

 

[Robbo]

I went into a local garage and asked if i coudl use mobil1 and they advised no becasue of how thin the m1 is and recommended castrol gtx 10w4

That's bullshit I am afraid. I strongly believe you should only use fully synthetic MB229.3 approved oils like mobil1. The extended service intervals on these engines means that non synthetic oils can break down and cause sludging, high oil consumption and serious engine damage. There has been a class action lawsuit about this in the states as the dealers there used non synthetic oil and causing serious engine problems. I also know of UK customers with M112 engines who have had to have their engines replaced due to engine sludging caused by non synth oils.

If you want to use non synth, its fine to do so, just change it after about 5000 miles.

I use fully synth mobil 1 in mine and have no oil consumption issues.

 

[mobeyone]

I got the fully synthetic castrol gtx? .. or should i take it back?

 

[Robbo]

If it is castrol GTX magnatec, then it isnt fully synthetic, its mineral oil. I'd take it back. The dealer wanted to use this in mine, I insisted they used mobil1. If mobil 1 is good enough for AMG engines its good enough to go in mine!

 

[mobeyone]

Just did it!!!!!!!!! and yes, it was gtx magnatec.

I thought so, it does my nut in when idiots try to blag me saying this that and the other!
But its only 4litres!!
Is that enougth?

 

[Robbo]

The M112 V6 engine has an oil capacity of 8 litres so if you are going to change it yourself, you need two packs!

 

[mobeyone]

Thought so!! Just bought another 4 litres of ebay for £20! Bargain!

Wont be changing it myself, dont trust my hands round this engine!

Thanks for all the advice!!

 

[Satch]

Well, thats really p1ssed me off (no one here!!)

I went into a local garage and asked if i coudl use mobil1 and they advised no becasue of how thin the m1 is and recommended castrol gtx 10w4 which is what i have got... But I last topped up with shell helix.

cheers for all this!!

They clearly know very little.

SAE 40 is SAE 40 no matter what the "W" prefix number is: 5W, 10W, 15W or 20W. The second viscosity rating is always measured @ 100 degrees C.It is specified to be within the minimum of 12.5 cSt (centiStokes) and a maximum of 16.3 cSt. Mobil I weighs in at 14.3 cSt, Castrol Magantec 15 cSt

So it is slightly thicker , but not much.

At the lower temperature measure (40C) Castrol as a 10W is much thicker at 106 cSt, Mobil 1 as a 0W is 80 cSt.

So yes Mobil 1 appears much thicker at room temperature, but oddly enough your engine does not operate at room temperature!

But thicker oil is no great advantage at low temperature because although it might increase oil pressure, it also reduces the volume of oil pumped. In a modern engine pays to stick to a full synthetic.

 

[mark.t]

top up

just my 2 penny worth having read the thread it seams your putting a awful lot of faith in the sensor reading on the display I would prefer to check it manually before adding any further oil as to much would damage the engine see if there is anyway to check this manually first . or a full drain and refill is the only way to be sure if a dip stick is not a option.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

just my 2 penny worth having read the thread it seams your putting a awful lot of faith in the sensor reading on the display I would prefer to check it manually before adding any further oil as to much would damage the engine see if there is anyway to check this manually first . or a full drain and refill is the only way to be sure if a dip stick is not a option.

You can't really check it manually on the M112 3.2's as there is no dipstick! Surely there's got to be a manual way of checking the oil level

 

[mobeyone]

I will drain it regardless. It is due a service and I feel that dirty oil and plugs is probably why I have a drop in performance and probably also why it is asking me to add 1.0 ltr.

Will change and moniter of course....

 

[silverarrow]

buy the dipstick from main agent £15
oil sensors do go faulty but too little oil umm and too much oil seal goes
stick to fully synth and mbz 229.3 is more important than brand

 

[Brad]

Have a 500Sl and the oil level is slightly over the MAX line..is it absolutely critical to get the excess oil drained away???