High-Mileage V8 Diesel - 5W30 or 5W40?

[E55BOF]

I don't know, but I've had numerous cars with the same system and never had a problem. Also, I'm pretty sure if it wasn't, it would have been picked up at the service. I'll check again once I've topped up the oil.

 

[E55BOF]

Update...

I was confusing my memory of the W163 ML500 dipstick with the ML420. The 420's dipstick has a red knob on the end, and it is also on the LHS of the engine, but tucked away under the overhang in front of the alternator. I checked the oil level on the dipstick, and it is at 3/4 full, so the 420 isn't using much after all. Oh, and the electronic oil level now says OK again, so plainly the car wasn't quite level before.

 

[T5R+]

Update...

I was confusing my memory of the W163 ML500 dipstick with the ML420. The 420's dipstick has a red knob on the end, and it is also on the LHS of the engine, but tucked away under the overhang in front of the alternator. I checked the oil level on the dipstick, and it is at 3/4 full, so the 420 isn't using much after all. Oh, and the electronic oil level now says OK again, so plainly the car wasn't quite level before.

Excellent. Mine is also red.

Funnily, it seems to take a while for the electronic and manual dipsticks to more-or-less agree.

I sometimes have to park on the edge of kerb with nearside wheels to level the car, as the road camber has an effect.

Saddo Alert - to totally empty the old oil......jack the car from nearside, remove sump guards then sump plug (plug is at offside of sump hence jack up from nearside). It will then take about 12litres of oil.

 

[E55BOF]

If there are over eleven litres in the sump, I don't think I'd worry too much about the small amount left when draining with the car level.

Do you know how much oil needs to be added to go from the minimum to the maximum mark on the dipstick? My handbook doesn't say, but that information would provide a useful guide to the accuracy of the electronic oil quantity measurement in the engineering menu.

 

[T5R+]

From memory added a litre to go from bare minimum to over approx 2/3rds. Like you, prefer to top up to between half and maximum.

I do not trust the electronics - every time I go uphill at Rakewood Viaduct (M62) the dash flashes red for oil warning. In fact it has been a standing joke for years.

 

[E55BOF]

I went over the Rakewood viaduct twice just before Christmas, and had no oil warning.

 

[E55BOF]

I managed to get the wagon pretty much level in the office car park yesterday, and with the oil level on the dipstick about one-third above the minimum mark, and the OBD saying there were 10.3 litres in it, it still said Oil Level OK. I put three-quarters of a litre in, and I'll settle for that.

 

[ullwn]

My ML420 diesel has done 980 miles since it's last service six weeks ago, and it says it wants a litre of engine oil. It has now covered 156K miles. At that mileage I'm minded to use 5W40 rather than 5W30 (Mercedes-approved 229.51 SPAsh oil, naturally; there are plenty of suppliers of 5W40 on the list) to see if I can curb this thirst a little. Does anybody think that would be a bad idea?

FWIW.......

Review the following, I posted this on another site, if you have never read this or saw article before you may find it interesting. In my opinion, Tom Stephens comments and opinions would be applicable to either engine.{OM642 V6 diesel or the OM629 V8 diesel]

Anyone who has a MB BlueTec Diesel should review the following article;
BlueTec Diesel Oil
by Tom Stephens

http://www.stephensservice.com/oil-r...res-to-engine/

Your thoughts after reviewing this article?

Regards

Joseph~

 

[Gazwould]

I've noticed Mercedes don't do a dual petrol & diesel oil unlike VW .

Technically Mobil 1 5W30 ESP should be up there as also C2 and the universal dual VW 504.00 507.00 .

But decades ago I used a Mobil 1 0W40 and after a month when I did a service I got a low level beep..

With the universal dual VW oil what you get is reduced ZDDP ( Zinc and Phosphorus ) anti wear that leave high ash but higher group oil basestocks 4 and top group 5 Esters .

 

[E55BOF]

Review the following, I posted this on another site, if you have never read this or saw article before you may find it interesting. In my opinion, Tom Stephens comments and opinions would be applicable to either engine.{OM642 V6 diesel or the OM629 V8 diesel]

Anyone who has a MB BlueTec Diesel should review the following article;
BlueTec Diesel Oil
by Tom Stephens

http://www.stephensservice.com/oil-r...res-to-engine/

Your thoughts after reviewing this article?

My first thought is that the OM629 engine in my car is not a Bluetec engine.

My second thought is that the oil I have just bought is in the 2019 MB approved list, but it does not say MB229.51 on the container, only MB229.5.

My third thought is that when I checked the DPFs after purchasing the car, one was about 15% full, the other about 55% full. The ash contents, however, were both in single figures.

My fourth thought is that the car has done 156K miles, and runs perfectly.

My fifth and sixth thoughts follow on from my fourth; I don't think I have a problem, and if there has been a problem in the past, it has been sorted.

My seventh thought is that it is well-known that these engines can have problems sludging up the inlet tracts, but provided that they don't do lots of short runs, they're usually OK. The same holds true, to some degree, for diesels in general.

See my post #13 for the preventive action I take. I'm not particularly concerned.

 

[Bellow]

FWIW.......

Review the following, I posted this on another site, if you have never read this or saw article before you may find it interesting. In my opinion, Tom Stephens comments and opinions would be applicable to either engine.{OM642 V6 diesel or the OM629 V8 diesel]

Anyone who has a MB BlueTec Diesel should review the following article;
BlueTec Diesel Oil
by Tom Stephens

http://www.stephensservice.com/oil-r...res-to-engine/

Your thoughts after reviewing this article?
Regards

Joseph~

''If the engine started life with Break-in oil and then went to actual diesel oil with the correct ACEA “E9” or API “CK-4” approval, you would not have nearly as many check engine lights. ''

That someone else considers the API classification to be worth noting.

 

[Gazwould]

The 229.5 is no good for your dual dpf equipment Merc .

 

[ullwn]

My ML420 diesel has done 980 miles since it's last service six weeks ago, and it says it wants a litre of engine oil. It has now covered 156K miles. At that mileage I'm minded to use 5W40 rather than 5W30 (Mercedes-approved 229.51 SPAsh oil, naturally; there are plenty of suppliers of 5W40 on the list) to see if I can curb this thirst a little. Does anybody think that would be a bad idea?

My first thought is that the OM629 engine in my car is not a Bluetec engine.

My second thought is that the oil I have just bought is in the 2019 MB approved list, but it does not say MB229.51 on the container, only MB229.5.

My third thought is that when I checked the DPFs after purchasing the car, one was about 15% full, the other about 55% full. The ash contents, however, were both in single figures.

My fourth thought is that the car has done 156K miles, and runs perfectly.

My fifth and sixth thoughts follow on from my fourth; I don't think I have a problem, and if there has been a problem in the past, it has been sorted.

My seventh thought is that it is well-known that these engines can have problems sludging up the inlet tracts, but provided that they don't do lots of short runs, they're usually OK. The same holds true, to some degree, for diesels in general.

See my post #13 for the preventive action I take. I'm not particularly concerned.

FWIW......

Just because you have an earlier version diesel without the ura injection after the DPF does not mean it is NOT a "Bluetec" engine

If your engine has Diesel Particulate Filter DPF then your engine is consider a "BlueTec"

The major oil issue is ash content, high ash oil will clog the DPF.

If you physically remove the DPF and delete in the ECU, you can used oil's that are much better for a diesel engine.

On the "sludging up the inlet tracts", this is due to sending exhaust gas {EGR system] back into the intake along with the crank case pressure venting into the turbocharger, both not good for any engine.

Installing a catch can / oil separator system will be beneficial in reducing the "sludging up the inlet tracts".

If interested review the MANN + HUMMEL ProVent System

https://oe-products.mann-hummel.com/fileadmin/user_upload/kataloge/kataloge-wartungsanleitungen-mann+hummel/kurbelgehauseentlueftung/ProVent_en.pdf

Regards

Joseph

 

[ullwn]

The 229.5 is no good for your dual dpf equipment Merc .

FWIW.......................

From Tom Stephens article

"What do you get? Your cylinder walls get what’s known as “Bore Polishing”. Google “Diesel Bore Polishing” if you want to know more. “Bore Glazing” and “Bore Polishing” are not the same. Mercedes knows what they’ve done. Your engine will constantly have blow-by that will get progressively worse. This got so bad a few years ago, that Mercedes had to re-bottle the Mobil One into oil bottles with the Mercedes logo. It’s gotten so bad, some dealers tell owners that they don’t use the 5W/30 ESP. They only use the Mercedes 5W/40 oil with the MB229.5 approval rating. That’s a big help. Does anyone read their owners manual? Mercedes actually tells owners what the correct oil actually is."

Regards

Joseph

 

[E55BOF]

The 229.5 is no good for your dual dpf equipment Merc .

And yet that specific oil is in MB's 2019 Approved list for diesels, so even with the known potential problems with sludging on these engines, (which, by the way, seem to be reported much more in the States, home of conspiracy theories, than over here...) MB are approving an unsuitable oil? I rather doubt it.

The oil has numerous other approvals, including VW 505.00 and 507.00. Are VW also recommending an unsuitable oil?

Mind you, at the next (annual) oil change (at less than 10K miles) and thereafter, I'll supply my own oil, and it will I think be an E9/CK-4 spec with a low NOACK value; I'll do a bit of research before then.

Apropos actual oil consumption, yesterday I did 290 motorway miles, 80-85 most of the way, and the oil level in the sump is recorded as 10.9 litres. I make that about 2000 miles per litre, on a donk that has done over 150K miles.

I think I'm Vicky Pollard; I'm not bovvered...

 

[Bellow]

Mind you, at the next (annual) oil change (at less than 10K miles) and thereafter, I'll supply my own oil, and it will I think be an E9/CK-4 spec with a low NOACK value;I'll do a bit of research before then.
.

You are going to track down that one Mobil oil that (according to Tom Stephenson actually exists)?

The spec you are chasing has been a feature of the engine oils I've been using for the past 25 years.

Worth remembering that meeting a spec is like an MOT certificate. Valid at point of issue but no guarantee of maintaining that spec/standard. It is how it endures in service that matters.

 

[E55BOF]

Not necessarily the Mobil oil Stephenson recommends, but I'm going to look into the subject in a little more depth. I find it surprising that we're all using the wrong oil, and have been for years, without a peep from MB and VW, but as with sensational news stories in tabloids, there's probably at least a grain of truth in there somewhere, and I'd like to know more.

 

[Gazwould]

Maybe just a Mobil issue ?

But the VW 507.00 is both better for protection and less ash for a dpf .

A nice high oil spec to accompany 229.51 / 229.52 .

 

[Bellow]

Not necessarily the Mobil oil Stephenson recommends,

If it exists....
Otherwise, there is only one manufacturer with CK-4 spec.

 

[E55BOF]

And the E9?