Oil - Choosing the right oil

[David S]

There as been a bit of discussion about oil on this forum and recently with the mention of an oil evacuation pump, I began to consider whether or not Mobil 1 makes sense (given my E280 as done 125K).

It would be nice to get some views on this, cough up the dough for mobil 1, or stick to the normal GTX?

I have mentioned in the past that KwikFit (wait for it), offer a mobil 1 service for about £40.00. However with the exception of caravanners, nothing gets people more angry than the mention of kwikfit.

By the way, whilst in France I noticed mobil 1 in the supermarkets for around £20.00 (4 or 5 litres), how does this compare to UK prices. I know the one litre containers from the local garage cost a fortune!

Regards

David

 

[dave elcome]

Oil

Whilst in France last week, i had a quick peek at oil prices, i saw 4 ltr Magnatec for the equivalent of £15, the cheapest it is round here is £22 for the same amount, i suppose given that their petrol is not as expensive as ours, then oil prices must follow.

 

[fuzzer]

Oil

Ok , so, whats the diference with spending all that extra money on Ow40 mobil 1 ?

Will it damage the engine to run fully synthetic in it?

One of the many questions flying about in my head..

 

[Matt Crooke]

Oil

Whilst on the subject of Kwik Fit, i have just remembered something. A few years ago, my dad spotted one of those oil change offers in the local paper, so, thinking he was taking the easy route he decided to whip his prized Scorpio in for the said change.

On arrival the standard spotty youth came out to greet him and dad took a seat in the waiting room. Bearing in mind he is a person who hates anyone else driving his cars, the spotty youth preceeded to drive the car onto the ramps. However these werent the normal ramps, it was a contraption that has 4 arms that swing out under the jacking points on the car and lifts it up (someone out there knows what i mean!) Anyway after the car was positioned the ramps were raised. At about 2 feet off the floor there is an almighty BANG!! and the car drops down one side. It turned out that the spooty youth handnt positioned the arm correctly, and it had gone through the floor of the car.

I will leave the rest of the scene / episode to your imaginations....as you can imagine though, poor dad was almost arrested as for some strange reason the temper flared up a bit!!!!!!!

 

[mrgeoff]

Oil

Yes what is a good oil. Mine is due for its first oil change in my possession. I am going to do the oil change services myself, and then take it to brum, for the biggys.

What do you use Andy? It would bbe nice to use the same oil consistantly.

 

[Anonymous]

Oil

I run my 20 year old 500SE on Red Line 10W40 fully
synthetic and it goes like a dream.It is an all year oil
as well.I also have Red Line fully synthetic auto trans
oil in the gearbox and it is sooo much better.
OK so it costs a bit more but you can leave it for 10,000
miles in the engine without any problem and you have
all that protection.
It is good for the chain tensioner too as it gets there quicker.
Red Line is better than most synthetics as it has better
base stocks.
I sell it for £28 a US Gallon and my engine takes 2 to
fill it.

 

[Andy]

Oil

Hi Geoff

We use Mobil super S 10/40. I am not going into the ins and outs of oil. But personally, most good 15/40's do the job adequately. Semi Syn, no problems whatsoever. Full syn if you got loads of money.

I have customers to rant and rave about Mobil 1, but I am not convinced. I had the mobil rep in and he told me all about how they made it. And it is how they say. Probably the best motor oil in the world. Whether you need a Maclaren grade oil(nearly said Ferrari) For your average 250d is another matter. (Nothing against 250's just usuing it as an analogy). That said. If you got the money and your happy spending it. Then you won't find me stopping you.

Regards

Andy @ www.mercedesservicing.com

 

[Tony]

Oil

I'm interested in MHannaford's posting about fully synthetic transmission oil. Would this also be OK for manual transmission. I believe Mercedes use the same oil in manuals and autos. Anybody know if I'm right about this, or alternatively what the specs for the oil in a manual gearbox are, or where I can find out. Mercedes just say the box is filled for life and that's it.

I noticed a posting on the mbnz.org forum recommending Redline MTL for manual transmissions.  

(Edited by Tony at 1:26 pm on April 15, 2002)

 

[white190]

Oil

You are correct
Most Merc Manuals run on dextron Auto fluid.

 

[white190]

Oil

One thing I found out whilst owning my Diesel (vege oil) Renault was that Renault (ELF) Fully synthetic oil is quite cheep , up to 3 months ago I used to buy it for 21 quid a can (5 liters) from my Renault Dealer!!.

Always seemed to make the engine quiter on cold morning statups .......... although it could have been my ears trying to justfy the extra cost....as I get STD ELF multigrade diesel oil FREE......

No I don't use it in my 190 although My brother uses it all the while in his S plate Mini Cooper....

makes me wonder if it would be alright.

 

[Anonymous]

Oil

Tony, there is a Red Line MTL available and I used to use
it in my Volvo Turbo. It certainly made the box nicer.
I'll post the prices for both the ATF and the MTL.

White 190, your ears did not delude you! it gets around
quicker so does quieten the engine quickly but the most
important thing about it is that it coats the moving
parts and does not drain down when the engine is
turned off so you get better protection from cold.

Anybody want a Red Line brochure?

 

[Tony]

Oil

I looked up the details on redlineoil.com, which is quite an interesting web-site. Since Mercedes recommend only ATF oils (for both manual and auto boxes) it's probably better to stick to ATF, but they do several ATF gear oils. The ATF synthetic is Mercedes approved, but they also do what they call ATF D4 (also synthetic) which is recommended for manual transmissions where the manufacturers specify ATF oil. It's said to improve the gear change. From my experiences on other cars when changing to fully synthetic oil I can quite believe this. They also make further claims about greater efficiency (mpg/acceleration) and reliability of components, which also seem entirely credible.

Considering that, on Mercedes, this oil is left in for life it seems to me a no-brainer that this oil is worth using, regardless of much it costs - instead of the peanut oil that Merc put in. I'll have to find where I can buy it.

I still don't understand why Mercedes specify the same oil in their manual and auto transmissions. I would have thought that different compromises were needed, considering that the gears are cut differently and that the auto box has clutches and such like in the torque convertor.    

 

[Anonymous]

Oil

Tony, if you want anything from Red Line you can get it
from me at a discount. I have the D4 in my auto box and
it's great! I know what you mean about manual vs auto
boxes but they said the mini could never work with
engine oil in the gearbox! The rest,as they,say is history.
You can reach me on 01276 65554
It's OK to ship this stuff by normal carrier.

 

[Tony]

Oil

Thanks for the offer. I'm still trying to work out exactly what spec of oil is required in the manual box. I checked some of the US web-sites and almost every option has been covered - there are those using 10W/40 motor oil (!) in older manuals, those using a more usual manual transmission oil (70W-80W) and those using various types of ATF. All claim high mileages with no problems. I've tried the dealers and they haven't got a clue - or possibly they aren't particularly interested. I've also tried the technical help-line advertised on mercedes-benz.co.uk. The first time I tried them I was told that only ATF oil was approved, in both manual and automatic boxes. I then phoned again to find if ATF or D4ATF would be best and I was then told that the only oil approved was Daimler-Chrysler 75W-80W manual transmission fluid. I have queried this and am awaiting a written reply.

I find the situation fairly incredible. Couple this with the fact that most of the new 6-speed manual boxes have been over-filled by the factory - which causes a very, very stiff change - and you get the impression that Mercedes are not interested in manual boxes. Most manual boxes need returning to the dealer to have 300 ml of oil drained from the box. Merecedes have issued a technical note about it but I don't think you'll find more than one dealer in 10 who knows. As you can tell I'm not impressed.

 

[Anonymous]

Oil

RedLine Oils pricing.
Manual Transmission Oil (MTL)
Retail £13.30 Trade £10.61

Automatic Transmission Oil (ATF)
Retail £10.56 Trade £8.54

Trade price available to all members.

Bottle size is 1 US Quart (0.946 litre)

Brochures available on request

 

[Anonymous]

Oil

Tony
Buy some Synthetic ATF from MHannaford
for your manual Transmition , Most new Ford motor cars use  'Dextron' (D4) ATF Fluid in the manual transmitions as well.. I used to work for a Ford main Dealer , It dose make a difference.

It will deninatley make the gear change easier . Also If your Buget will streatch far enough buy some "greesed lightening Manual gearbox treatment" and substitue it for 500ml of the gearbox fliud. I can tell you from Ford racing experience it works well....

The "greesed lightening" also works Very well In rear diffs..... Stops virtualy all Rear diff noise.....
(Another area people forget when changing gear box oil)