500 mile Oil & Filter Change

[powerbookguy]

i changed my oil and filter yesterday at 500 miles. the oil was a dark caramel color with a slight metallic sheen that smelled distinctly like fuel. i dumped the filter oil into a clean white cup for inspection. there were numerous small pieces of metal visible, like chunks of metallic grit. i'm glad i did my oil change early to get that stuff out of the crankcase.

i filled up with AMSOIL 5w-40 european spec, the same oil i use in my other car. had i known the car was delivered with synthetic i would have changed to dino oil on delivery for the 500 mike break in period.

thanks to old smart and to this forum for all the helpful knowledge regarding break in.

[SubSlr88]

Around here Amsoil equals:

[forestacademy]

As long as its not every other post we can avoid the gag

[lebikerboy]

Not wanting to open the proverbial can of worms but since some one did, Amsoil 5W-40
European Formula is no longer on the Mercedes-Benz list of approved 229.5 oils.
Don't ask me why...

[Old smart]

The reality is, we have had just one AMSoil zealot and proselytizing member, who is now long-gone for his efforts. AMSoil is on par (and no more) with all other modern, top-grade, synthetic engine oils. At one point there was an AMSoil on M-B's exaulted 229.51 diesel list (now gone). I'm guessing that the oil then conformed to the EU-4 diesel emissions standards, but not the new EU-5.

N.B. That oil was never on M-B 229.5(0), the one "sheet" that M-B assigns to N.A. 451s (for what it little that is worth).

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by powerbookguy

there were numerous small pieces of metal visible, like chunks of metallic grit. i'm glad i did my oil change early to get that stuff out of the crankcase.

Sounds like the filter did its job. My understanding is that you dumped out the filtered, or "worst" oil of the 3.5 quarts and that's where the metal was. Brand new engines will shed some metal. Correct me if I'm wrong -- As long as the filter isn't being bypassed, the metal should stay in the filter forever, right?

As for the fuel smell in the oil - yes, lots of people including myself have encountered that in the first 1000 miles. You may notice it continuing but tapering off after 1000-1500 miles.

I changed my oil at 6k (one year) and have another 5k on the odometer after 8 more months. Very short commute: 4 miles each way, occasionally a 100 mile round trip to clean things out.

[powerbookguy]

Originally Posted by SuperGeek

Sounds like the filter did its job. My understanding is that you dumped out the filtered, or "worst" oil of the 3.5 quarts and that's where the metal was. Brand new engines will shed some metal. Correct me if I'm wrong -- As long as the filter isn't being bypassed, the metal should stay in the filter forever, right?

As for the fuel smell in the oil - yes, lots of people including myself have encountered that in the first 1000 miles. You may notice it continuing but tapering off after 1000-1500 miles.

I changed my oil at 6k (one year) and have another 5k on the odometer after 8 more months. Very short commute: 4 miles each way, occasionally a 100 mile round trip to clean things out.

yes the metallic bits came out of the filter oil. i also wanted to inspect the oil that came out of the drain but time was short so straight into the recycle container it went.

[jetfuel]

Originally Posted by SuperGeek

. Brand new engines will shed some metal. Correct me if I'm wrong

...all engines make metal...new and old...they all make metal and mainly on start up...Spectrometric Oil Analysis Programs are a good tool for sure but due to the long intervals of sampling by the time you get the results is just a little too late..the damage is already done or worst..the engine stopped working all together...at least that has been my experience with S.O.A.P...

jetfuel...just me

[Old smart]

Even if the filter traps metallic particles, it is good to be rid of them because chemically, they are still in the oiling system. Engines ingest moisture and other atmospheric contaminants that can find their way into the crankcase. Engines also produce combustion by-products that contain carbon and sulphur compounds that blow by or are flushed off cylinder walls and into the crankcase. The contaminant “soup” can make various acids (sulphuric a., carbonic a., phenols) that can react with metallic particles as the oil carries them through the filter medium. The little particles have relatively much more surface area than other engine surfaces and will react with the crud more readily. The formation of the contaminant soup is what makes severe service conditions the problem that it is.

Also, in the non-chemical sense, the particles are a bad thing to carry around. If the bottom-mounted oil filter bypass valve happens to open, the metallic particles on the outer surface of the filter medium can be washed off and again enter the oiling system through the open valve.