Oil Viscosity 0w40 or 5w40 or other? -Poll-

type/viscosity oil used in t1n

  • 0w40 mobil 1

    Votes: 105 59.0%
  • 5w40 valvoline

    Votes: 19 10.7%
  • other sythetic

    Votes: 47 26.4%
  • other conventional

    Votes: 7 3.9%

  • Total voters
    178

220629

Well-known member
Anecdotal evidence, and all, but I just lost my engine... 150 miles or so after changing to Castrol Edge 0w40 European Formula. I had used the Mobil1 exclusively up to this point, but the local places were out of stock (it went on sale, so there was a run on oil). The Castrol has the MB 29.3/229.5 spec on it.

The engine was performing flawlessly last week, for what it's worth.
The anecdotal evidence changed.

What brand oil filter did you install? That could be the more likely suspect... but :idunno:
Premium Guard, made in Korea. They are actually pretty good filters for cheap, and I changed them out every 5,000 miles to ensure proper protection. They appear to be the exact same construction and materials as the MOPAR 5086301AA, perhaps they are the manufacturer contracted for them? Once I get through the rest of the batch, though, I am going to switch over to MAHLE/CLEVITE OX153D3ECO, as the images of the filter seem to have better end caps than all of the others. I think I have 7 or 8 filters left in the garage (I ordered them on discount a couple years ago for a batch of 24... something like $70 for all of them, plus freight).

More research has shown me that it [engine failure] was likely just time. The turbo failure was the premonition, although it happened about 60,000 miles ago. I just never really worked the van that hard, as most of the miles I put on it were loaded with 400-1,000 lbs inside (occasionally as high as 2500 lbs), or empty return trips, all highway, never towing. This was loaded by a car hauler and little old 2wd Chevy truck, pushing against that max tow rating of 5,000 lbs, climbing a grade leaving town. I was 90% up the hill when it happened. Perhaps the bearings were already worn to the point that the additional load and heat from climbing were just too much for the tired engine. Its kind of a blessing that it happened when it did, because if it made the trip, the next one would have been towing my 7x16 enclosed with a Harley, furnishings and tools inside (probably around 4,500 lbs) and an Ashley bedroom set with clothes and other goods inside the van itself (another 1,000 lbs) across the country. Had it failed on that trip, I'd be up a creek.
 

Ignatius

On the Forgotten Highway
I have been deliberating about this myself, I am about to do an oil change on my 2005 T1N using half Valvoline 0W-40 and half Mobil 1 0W-40. Why? Because Walmart had a special on 5 quarts of Valvoline 0W-40 for $18 and also have a special on the exact K&N oil filter for my vehicle purchased in combination with 5 quarts of Mobil 0W-40 for $26. I thought both were a great deal so I pulled the trigger.

That being said I was going through Walmart today to get some 75W-140 for my rear differential and noticed that they have Valvoline 5W-40 MST for $2 less per quart than any Mobil 1 product. Valvoline MST not only meets/exceeds requirements for my 2005 T1N but also for my 2003 Audi Allroad which has the notoriously high VW 505 01 oil standard. So I can buy this stuff for less than Mobil 1 and at least to date it has been able to meet and exceed the standards for both my Sprinter and Audi.

Research on reports from BITOG indicates that the VOA for Valvoline 5W-40 MST are pretty vanilla but their UOA samples are excellent, so this is the only I will be using in the future unless I can snag a deal from my local supplier Blauparts LLC on some Ravenol 0W-40 SSL or 5W-40 VMO.
 

ECU

2006 T1n 118 Sprinter
You love your van enough to purchase it. Love it enough to never use K&N.
 

Oilburner

2004 2500 140"cargo l/r x 2
Rotella T6- $21 at Home Depot :) 7 years, 100k made, 245k now, runs excellent, no oil between oil and filter change (8k). Same oil on my motorcycles (BMW).
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
You love your van enough to purchase it.
Love it enough to never use K&N.
Or Fram. This XG9911 “Ultra Synthetic” came out of my Jetta’s 2.5 after 15,000 km of service.
Web site has it rated for “Up to 20,000miles/32,000km”... the failed crimp and daylight showing through the ends refutes that claim! I’m expecting better from the MANN that replaced it.

-dave
 

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220629

Well-known member
... the failed crimp and daylight showing through the ends refutes that claim! I’m expecting better from the MANN that replaced it.

-dave
I've never noticed a "crimp" on MB boxed, Mann, or Hengst oil filters.

That disk and media fastening design is critical. Some other OEM filters have a similar disk style as you show (Hengst, not Mann), but no crimp. Maybe the crimp is the Achilles Heel?

Altered Sprinter Richard posted this pic for a Mann filter.

T1NoilFilterEnds.jpg

Oil Filter Comparison Hengst (german), STP & Mobile 1 brands
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?p=200188#post200188

:2cents: vic
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
I admit to being a fan of the (epoxy?) foam adhesive MANN uses to secure their filter media to the end ring. I’ve never seen one show the slightest amount of degradation... The metal crimp strip on that Fram was loose, and the media had opened and torn away from the ring. Shameful. It makes me wonder what horrors are hidden within their spin-on filters?
Back to topic...

-dave
 

VAMANOS

2006 t1n 205k
need help - since the 5w40 mobil 1 is no longer available... MB now recommends 0w40 mobil 1... thinking of going with the valvoline 5w40 syn mst.

how important is the sulfated ash content??
mobil1 0w40 = 1.3
valvoline 5w40 mst= 0.78


could somone also answer me this

is the oil stick suppose to be at the mid point, or at the max. when at operating temp and red dip stick?
 

220629

Well-known member
Since this has been dragged up...

This question is in the T1N section. All NAS aka NAFTA Sprinters 2001 - 2006 have 5 cylinder diesel engines that don't have DPF's. "High" ash oil is what was always recommended by Mercedes until it became more convenient for MB to have less oils in stock at their dealerships. Eg. - MB228.31 spec "low" ash oil was no good for 5 cylinder engines.

need help - since the 5w40 mobil 1 is no longer available... MB now recommends 0w40 mobil 1... thinking of going with the Valvoline 5w40 syn mst.

how important is the sulfated ash content??
mobil1 0w40 = 1.3
valvoline 5w40 mst= 0.78
I don't use MB229.51 or .52 oil low ash oil in my T1N's. Low ash isn't needed. "High" ash oil was originally recommended. Some of the additives that were deleted for DPF operation did actually provide better wear characteristics for internal combustion engines. :2cents:

could someone also answer me this

is the oil stick suppose to be at the mid point, or at the max. when at operating temp and red dip stick?
My opinion.

There is no optimum level within the proper range on the dipstick. If everything within the range isn't acceptable, why do they provide a range on the dipstick?

That said, be careful if you tend to be obsessed with keeping the oil level at the tip top of the range. There is a high oil monitor within the engine software. It can be sensitive to slight overfill.

:cheers: vic
 

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