Sprinter Gen1 oil

[Ranger83]

Gen 1 Sprinters in US are designated T1N and ended with 2006. They have the 5 cylinder, 2.7L turbodiesel that is famous for 100's of thousands of miles life. Notably, they do not have a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) or require DEF (Urea AKA Diesel Exhaust Fluid).

Mercedes has made oil selection complex, because German*. They have a list of applicable standards by engine in one list.Then each standard has a list of approved oils.

This motor has five different standards applicable. In the owner's manual they reference 128.3, which includes Rotella T6 Synthetic. But there is also a 128.1, then several 129.nn standards. The 129 standards added requirements for the later DPF/DEF equipped vehicles, but state they are backwards-compatible.

Cutting to the chase, Rotella T6 was one of the oils specified in the original spec, many people have used it, but now it's no longer on the list. Should I care, at all? My van is a 2006 with 146,000 miles and runs great.

* What is the difference between Heaven and Hades?

In Heaven, the Chefs are French, the Waiters are German and the Police are British.

In Hades, the Chefs are British, the Waiters are French and the Police are German.

 

[bullwinkle]

No DPF, right? Wouldn't 228.31 (CJ-4/CK-4) be OK? We had one 2.7 Sprinter, and it always got plain old 15W40 HDEO, nothing special.

 

[walterjay]

I have always used Rotella T-6 5-40 with great results in the 06 Sprinter that I have. Currently have about 260,000 miles on it.

 

[Audios]

Stick with what youre doing, get it analyzed if youre wondering whats going on in there. Im switching away from the low SAPS 0/30 M1 and going to T6 on the next change, iron was pretty high on my last report.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Ranger83
Gen 1 Sprinters in US are designated T1N and ended with 2006. They have the 5 cylinder, 2.7L turbodiesel that is famous for 100's of thousands of miles life.
Most rust prone vehicle I have ever seen. Sometimes I see mint first gen Mazda 3s somehow, but every old sprinter I see is a rust bucket covered in primer.

 

[Tikka]

Hi
The vast majority of all Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ, or WG as it was called in Europe, had this Merc' 2.7 unit in it.
Jeep owners seem to use a 10w/40 semi synth' or a 5w/40 fully synth' depending on climate and drain intervals. MB229.3 seems a common spec.

Very common Engine in Europe so maybe worth trawling a few Euro sites.

The T6 does seem to be a very good oil.

 

[Tracker]

I used Amsoil in mt Sprinter for 10 years and it ran beteer at 150k than when it was new.
Used dealer Mobil 1 once an dumped it out after 1,000 miles it ran liks doo doo

 

[loneryder]

Originally Posted by Audios
Stick with what youre doing, get it analyzed if youre wondering whats going on in there. Im switching away from the low SAPS 0/30 M1 and going to T6 on the next change, iron was pretty high on my last report.

Audios, I too am going to a HDEO in my 08 320 cdi. When I ran Mobil 1 5-40esp my iron was high. When I ran their 5-30 esp I had to add a qt for the first time ever. I'm also looking for an oil with at least 1000ppm zinc for the timing chains. Have you read the Stephens Service site? I have 105k miles on the ML

 

[Ignatius]

I have a 2005 Sprinter 3500 that currently has 160,000 miles and I just changed the oil with Valvoline 0W-40. I have also used Mobil 1 0W-40. Valvoline is just so much cheaper at this time and I have also used their MST 5W-30/40 in my 2003 Audi with good results. I would be happy using any of the four aforementioned oils in my Sprinter in the future. For me it comes down to cost and Valvoline is the best oil for money at this moment IMHO (Walmart prices). Their MST oils in particular have very high level certifications from Mercedes-Benz and VW/Audi which I like.

 

[Ranger83]

Necrothread!

We have a 2006 Sprinter purchased with 142,000 miles three years ago. Now has 187,000. We used Rotella T6 for previous oil changes, but it was not available locally. So purchased Castrol Edge Euro Car 5W-40. It was $38 locally for five quart jug so $76 for the change. It meets MB-Approval 226.5/ 229.3/ 229.5.

Castrol has a Turbo Diesel grade that meets MB-Approval 226.5/ 229.31/ 229.51. But they only had a few quarts in stock.