I have my used 1997, E420 about 3+ years ago with about 113,000 miles at the time. I use Synthetic oil during oil change. Hardly do I cover 5000 miles a year since the present mileage is about 128,000 miles.
Can anyboby give me a suggestion if I really need to change the oil every 6 months or every 6,000 miles which ever comes first. I have been changing the oil every 6 months.
Thanks

 

No there is no need for it I use syntheitic blend and i drive about 1000/month and i change the oil every 7-7500miles and its never black. I could get a little more but better safe than sorry.

 

I will not be pleased with that engine oil which is not getting black, as blackness of oil is the sign that the engine oil have good foam detergents, which cleans the engine and take all the carbon deposits and dirt in itself.

However changing the engine oil mainly depends on your driving, meaning in what weather condations one is driving his car. Like if it is very dusty atmospher then one should change the oil a bit earlier. Or if someone is travelling very short distances (Stop and G0) the the oil should be changed bit earlier as more water deposits are accumalited in the engine oil which is on account of the fuel burning chemical reaction.

Well the synentatic oils can be used in the engine for about 5000 Miles if the weather condations are better or normal. These oils can also be used for a longer period as they dont break as copared to the straight base oil or mineral oils.

I do consider my car engine as far more expensive as compared to changing the oil at 5000 miles. Better do it as it enhances the engine life.

Regards

 

My husband, who was a Jeep (ASE certified) mechanic for 20 years, says that time has no effect on the need to change an oil, it is actual mileage on the oil and type of oil used that effects how often you need to change it, as there would be no breakdown of the oil's composition if it is not being driven. I would say that with a good synthetic, you wouldn't need to change it but every 7,500-10,000 miles.

I don't even completely change my oil, just my filters (and top off, as there is obviously some oil loss when changing the filter) every 7,500-10,000 miles. My truck has over 50K miles on the same oil with just filter changes, and I just send an oil sample in for analysis yearly for comparison purposes and to monitor any engine wear. I have been doing this for the five years that I have owned this vehicle, and plan to do the same with my used ML (so far so good).

Good Luck
'96 Ford F250 (diesel)
'00 M-B ML320

 

I used to have the question of should I use synthetic or natural oil until I came across an article from Consumer Digest or Consumer Report several years back. The article put several brands and kinds of engine oil ranging from very expensive synthetic to cheap natural store brand oil in a lot of NY taxi cabs. The article basically stated that it is better to use natural oil and change more frequently than to use synthetic oil and change less frequently. It is true that synthetic oil lasts a lot longer than natural oil in terms of its protective composition. However accroding to the article, the dust/dirt in the oil is what one should worry about the most. A dirty synthetic oil eventhough its protective composition is still good, the dirt/dust in the oil is harming the engine.
One might argue that a dirty synthetic oil is better than dirty natural oil. It is true. But consider the big cost difference of synthetic oil and natural oil. It is better to use the additional cost of synthetic oil to do more frequent oil change with natural oil keeping the oil clean.

However, for thoese who owns extreme high performance car like Ferraris, porches, etc and drives like a race driver. It is advised to use synthetic oil as those car tend to put engine oil in more harsh environment than regular cars.

Another additional point: the article stated that under regular condition (highway, local, regular sunny day) onventional oil can last more than 3month/3000mile. It recommends 6month/6000miles interval oil change

Lastly, according to the article there is no quality difference between the well know brand and store brand engine oil.

I hope this will give people some more insights.

Wawago.

 

I run at least 12,000 miles on mobile 1 and have done so on my last 3 cars. All went well over 200000 miles with no issues on the engine, eventhough the car was showing it's age. Jim

I do change the filter at every change with only Name brand filters.