Hi;
I will nead to change oil in my car,
I would like to use syntetic oil(valvoline)
but I'm not sure on what oil car have previous,
I talk wih previous owner and he do not knwon, he say that he go to mechanic and tell him to change to oil what mercedes should have,
so pleas tell my could I may use syntetic oil, or better to use mineral oil?
the car have 112k miles,
Daniel
Daniel,
You will see opinions vary on this significantly and in the end, it's up to you. Trying one for a few thousand miles is usually enough to determine if it works out and you don't develop unexpected leaks, most of which will stop on their own if minor. Since it's getting colder in most of the Northern hemisphere, you may want to plan a drop in viscosity through the Winter months.
I think you are unlikely to have any issues with synthetics as long as you pick a viscosity range within reason for your temperature range and the time of year you are driving it. Any leaks that develop often cure themselves (unless they were already major) after the first thousand or so miles. Mineral oil and semi-sythetic blends are also options, cost a bit less then full synthetics and have been used on these cars since they were designed, you can't go wrong with these either.
I'll deviate a bit from my fellow responders by recommending diesel oils with the top API rating rather than a conventional gasoline oil on any engine with more than 100K miles on it. Diesel oils have superior additive packages, particularly detergents, anti-soot and anti-ash, acid neutralization and so on which form in high compression engines, particularly when cold. Read upon use of diesel oils in gas engines to learn about API ratings and their meaning. As for the specific additives, those aren't explicitly part of the spec and are manufacturer specific, the main additives that are of interest are ZDDP (1000-1200 ppm is very desirable, most diesel oils have 1100-1500 ppm ZDDP) and boron, though I can't recall the part count. Mobil Delvac, Shell Rotella T, Chevron Delo and Amsoil Heavy Duty Diesel all fit the bill. This list is a mixed bag of synthetics, semi-syth and full synthetics - for the most part, it doesn't really matter much. The qualities of high rated modern diesel oil from the above list and their proprietary additive packages are what really matter. General purpose oil for temperate climates or warmer times of the year are the 15w-40/15w-50 viscosities. You can also find 5w-50 in the full synthetics, a good Winter choice.
There is also diesel oil with a marine rating that adds additional corrosion protection to the overall package, a nice thing to have on older motor (and a specific additive that doesn't get discussed much). The Amsoil has a combined marine/road going rating that covers this, you'd have to check if the others have added the marine rating and a new additive package for it in at least one of their products.
Also, stay away from most of the aftermarket oil filters - a lot of them have poor filtering, reduced flow and bad sealing surfaces. Stick with OE whenever possible, they aren't that much more expensive.
Good luck,
-BH
