which type of oil for a 2005 C230?

Can I use semi synthetic to top up or synthetic? I have no idea what's in it now as the oil change was done by the merc garage.

Sorry if this has been asked a hundred times before

Cheers

Peter

Reply to
PeterW
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Call them up and ask them what they used... it is pretty simple... if you paid like $70+ for oil change, it is most likely synthetic.

If you paid like $30, then it is dino oil.

You can mix anyway you like... but synthetic is best for all cars... I prefer thinner oil... 0W20 or 0W30.

Reply to
Tiger

Hello again Tiger :-)

I was under the impression that the synthetic oils could erode and destroy the older seals or gaskets. Is this true still?

At present I still use the 20-50 grade of the old oil. 1984 Mercedes Benz 240 D with 91,600 miles and still running very well.

Right now though I am in a bit of a hole with headlamps. I have moved from a RHD country to a LHD one, so my steering wheel is on the left side of the car - looking forward - and I drive on the left side of the road too. So the lights must dip to the left side. I have some great lamps - 2D1 Sylvania Halogen, but they have to go. Now I am looking for the equivalent for Halogen left dippers.

TIA

Reply to
Seum

... and if you add regular mineral oil to synthetic you will, of course, lose some of the properties of the synthetic, such as longevity.

DAS

Reply to
DAS

Eventually got to my local Merc garage and they recommended fully synthetic

5w40 oil

Thanks for the replies

Peter

Reply to
PeterW

I don't find that the case anymore... I have converted my diesel with 196000 miles into synthetic 5W40 oil. No problem at all.

Chevron Delo 400 regular oil is so higholy rated that I would recommends it instead of synthetic.

One hing changes is that you should use thinner oil... 15w40 or even 5w40. You will find the car runs smoother and more power while conserving fuel.

For gasoline engine, I would go as thin as possible in synthetic.

Reply to
Tiger

Thanks to all :-)

Good news! I'll use up my "old" oil and then go over to synthetic. How often does the synthetic oil need to be changed?

Reply to
Seum

You can go synthetic or you can stick with Chevron Delo 400 15w40... I used Shell Rotella Synthetic 5w40... great price at WalMart. Both available at Walmart.

With synthetic, with your older diesel engine, I'd go as much as 7500 miles or 1 year... whichever comes first.

With newer diesel... like 1995 or newer, I'd go up to 10.000 miles or 1 year... whichever comes first. If factory manual say longer, then go longer.

Today's oil is not like the old oil... they last much longer and protect engine much longer. It is a total waste of money and our time to change oil every 3000 miles. I would say 5000 miles is minimum.

If you are skeptical about 5000 miles, then do an oil analysis test at say

3000 miles and see what the report say... how much longer you can drive with that oil. It's a good lesson.
Reply to
Tiger

My thanks to all for your posts.

My average mileage over 27 years was just under 3,500 miles and I have been changing the oil regularly every year.

That's a great suggestion about having the oil analyses. Where does one go for that?

In winter, where I live, the temperature rarely goes down to below zero,

-5 C or 45F minimum, if my memory is correct. In summer the temp rarely goes above 35C or 86F. Which oils would be appropriate for this situation?

I have never noticed any ash problems with the oils I have used.

Reply to
Seum

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