[akshay4587]

Hi Everyone,Just picked up a Single owner W124 E220 3 weeks ago with a Fair number of kms on its odo.
She has been fed with Mobil 1 5W 50 all its life(Serviced always at Authorized Mercedes Benz after sales,oil grade mentioned against each service in the service book).

Now for some reason looks like Mobil has stopped importing 5W50 grade for mobil 1.

So is it safe to switch to Mobil 1 0W40 from 5W50 considering that its an old engine with quite a few number of kms on its odo.
Also do we have any other fully synthetic oil in 5W50 grade?


PS:Mods, please let this be a separate thread,and do not move it to W124 owners thread,as this is a generic query which can be answered by everyone.

[AbhiJ]

http://www.snapdeal.com/product/ows-...ne-oil/1147602

Would this work??

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Hi Everyone,Just picked up a Single owner W124 E220 3 weeks ago with a Fair number of kms on its odo.

So is it safe to switch to Mobil 1 0W40 from 5W50 considering that its an old engine with quite a few number of kms on its odo.

First of all Congratulations on getting a W124.

I don't think shifting from 5W50 to 0W40 would hurt the engine. You can go ahead and buy the oil.

Anurag.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

http://www.snapdeal.com/product/ows-...ne-oil/1147602

Would this work??

I guess it should.
OWS is a renown brand as well when it comes to oils

Originally Posted by a4anurag

First of all Congratulations on getting a W124.

I don't think shifting from 5W50 to 0W40 would hurt the engine. You can go ahead and buy the oil.

Anurag.

Yeah,i feel so,but just want to be sure,before going ahead with the change.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I guess it should.
OWS is a renown brand as well when it comes to oils

Yeah,i feel so,but just want to be sure,before going ahead with the change.

OWS, is a known brand so you can try it but IMO you can stick to Mobil 1 0W40 and there is a 5W40 variant too.

Anurag.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

OWS, is a known brand so you can try it but IMO you can stick to Mobil 1 0W40 and there is a 5W40 variant too.

Anurag.

Yeah,either it will be OWS 5W50 or Mobil 1 0W40.

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

So is it safe to switch to Mobil 1 0W40 from 5W50 considering that its an old engine with quite a few number of kms on its odo.
Also do we have any other fully synthetic oil in 5W50 grade?

Dear Akshay4587,

The viscosity of the oils are as per the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). the numbers are 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 or 50 and are low to high viscosity. The W denotes Winter grade oils.

So it is no problem switching from a 5W50 to a 0W40, the 0W40 being a better oil for colder climates.

IMHO, please stick to reputed brands Mobil, Castrol, etc.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Dear Akshay4587,

The viscosity of the oils are as per the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). the numbers are 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40 or 50 and are low to high viscosity. The W denotes Winter grade oils.

So it is no problem switching from a 5W50 to a 0W40, the 0W40 being a better oil for colder climates.

IMHO, please stick to reputed brands Mobil, Castrol, etc.

Yeah;i agree.
But that's my concern,since AFAIK 5W50 being more viscous provides better protection on older engines,isnt it?

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Yeah;i agree.
But that's my concern,since AFAIK 5W50 being more viscous provides better protection on older engines,isnt it?

Dear Akshay,

IMHO a thicker (more viscous) oil is not a better protector for older engines. In order for an oil to lubricate efficiently, it must be picked up by the engine attached lub oil pump asap and coat the liners & bearings and other moving parts asap. It is a well known fact that 90% of the engine damage occurs at start-up. In fact you will get a better performance of the engine with 0W40, as it will be marginally less viscous and therefore will be easier to pump.

Also when the oils are cold, the 0W40 will not thicken as much as the 5W50.

Hope to have clarified your doubts

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Yeah;i agree.
But that's my concern,since AFAIK 5W50 being more viscous provides better protection on older engines,isnt it?

It does not work really that way.
0W40 means 0 at cold and 40 WT viscosity at hot.
So for any engine, 0W will provide better protection at cold start. However, since you are in Chandigarh, 0W and 5W are more than enough.

Now lets come to the 50W vs 40W part.
In performance cars, where for short intervals engine temperature rises to high values (eg 115 degree C) having 50W instead of 40W may provide some benefit.

But this is a normal car and I doubt the water temp will exceed 100 degree C ever(Check with OBD if your car has one).

So 40W will also suffice.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Dear Akshay,

IMHO a thicker (more viscous) oil is not a better protector for older engines. In order for an oil to lubricate efficiently, it must be picked up by the engine attached lub oil pump asap and coat the liners & bearings and other moving parts asap. It is a well known fact that 90% of the engine damage occurs at start-up. In fact you will get a better performance of the engine with 0W40, as it will be marginally less viscous and therefore will be easier to pump.

Also when the oils are cold, the 0W40 will not thicken as much as the 5W50.

Hope to have clarified your doubts

Originally Posted by tsk1979

It does not work really that way.
0W40 means 0 at cold and 40 WT viscosity at hot.
So for any engine, 0W will provide better protection at cold start. However, since you are in Chandigarh, 0W and 5W are more than enough.

Now lets come to the 50W vs 40W part.
In performance cars, where for short intervals engine temperature rises to high values (eg 115 degree C) having 50W instead of 40W may provide some benefit.

But this is a normal car and I doubt the water temp will exceed 100 degree C ever(Check with OBD if your car has one).

So 40W will also suffice.

Thanks a lot.
Makes a lot of sense,so the search for 5W50 Mobil 1 ends here.
0W40,here i come

Originally Posted by majumon

My friend has been looking for quite some time to buy a 1996 W124 diesel but has not been lucky, most cars that we saw were ill maintained. Any help with any contacts of any reliable car for sale would be of immense help preferably a Karnataka registered.

I am afraid,have no leads for 124's down south.
You may check the 124 support group thread for details.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Thanks a lot.
0W40,here i come

Why don't you try 5W40 oil for the car first and see how it feels now that 0W40 will be of any problem.

Anurag.

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Why don't you try 5W40 oil for the car first and see how it feels now that 0W40 will be of any problem.

Anurag.

Anurag,i plan to stick to Mobil 1 which is available in 0W40 only.

[CLYDE]

Hello everybody,

I have a 1996 W124 (one of the early made-in-India cars), now in Mysore, Karnataka, which I bought from a person in Bombay on Christmas Day 2016. When I got the car here, she was idle for two months while I got the bodywork done, and then in March 2017, I changed the engine oil, the oil filter and the diesel filter since no records had been kept regarding the maintenance of the car.

The car runs around 2,000 km. a year max., just on weekends, just to keep the fluids moving and the systems running.

INDIANOIL says that the engine oil is good for 10,000 km. That will be around 5 years of running time for me.

I need to know how often I should change the engine oil, the filter and the fuel filter. Should everything be replaced every 2 years? Waste of oil...

Would it be OK to simply replace the oil and fuel filters at say, a 2-year interval? Retain the oil till 10,000 km. rolls around?

Hope to hear some thoughts about this... Thanks in advance.

CLYDE

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by CLYDE

I have a 1996 W124 (one of the early made-in-India cars)

The car runs around 2,000 km. a year max., just on weekends, just to keep the fluids moving and the systems running.

Would it be OK to simply replace the oil and fuel filters at say, a 2-year interval? Retain the oil till 10,000 km. rolls around?

I'd replace oil every 18-24 months given the age of your car and your usage; and would replace the oil filter at every oil change.

Manufacturers recommend a once a year oil change irrespective of kms but that, in my view, was applicable to yesteryear gasoline engine oils of API SF/SG grade which had a tendency to contribute to sludge in the oil sump.

Today, most gasoline engine oils are API SM or SN so are superior in not forming sludge; hence the enhanced drain interval that I am suggesting.

More than the duration, my driver for replacement of oil would be the feel of oil for its lubricity.

The fuel filter can remain for 5 years without fuss.