Oil Change

Dom-300tdi · Nov 24, 2009

Time has come to change the oil on my 300 tdi for the first time, I've been told 15w40 is the correct stuff but I was wondering if someone could advise on the details.

I.e should I go for synthetic or mineral ? Any particular brands I should seek out or avoid ? How much engine oil does a 300tdi need for a complete change and what sort of price should I be paying ?

What is the general consensus on flushing oils? Good ? Bad ? or just not worth bothering with ? I did read somewhere that using a flushing oil can be a bad thing with older engines (mine has done approx 140,000 miles) as they can loosen off baked on oil deposits and then cause seals to leak though I dont know how much truth there is in this ? Other people i've spoken to swear by it and say its near essential to use a flushing oil to get rid of all the crud.

For those in favour of flushing oils, is it ok to re-use a flushing oil for several oil changes on the basis that it only spends a few minutes in the engine rather than several months?

Aidy Harrison · Nov 24, 2009

I'll get in quick before you get shouted at

. There are lots of posts on here with regards oil and what to use, what not to use. My advice is, and its based on many years of running expensive farm machinery and other diesels. FORGET THE BRANDED OIL!!! like castrol etc. They make billions of pounds with gimmicks and big sciencey words. Save yourself pounds by buying a big drum of universal tractor oil. If its good enough for a multi thousand pound John Deere or Massey then its good enough for me. Your can buy a 25L drum of UTO for about £30 whereas 5L of Branded is about £30 -£40. And you'll need two tubs. I've always changed oil and filters as per the manufactuerers recomendations AND a half way oil change only. Frequent oil and filter changes are what keeps machinery alive for longer. People may disagree adn say you get out what you put in but I've had both new and lod tractors run all day and night for months on end at high revs and never miss a beat.
Hope this helps. I'll sit back and wait for the mud slinging to start.

Dom-300tdi · Nov 24, 2009

Thanks for the tip, I'll see whats on offer at my local argicultural supplier.

Out of interest do you know how the oil light works on a 300tdi with no engine ecu? What is the sensor measuring? Is it measuring pressure and if so does it light up to indicate high or low pressure? Or is it measuring the level and again if so does it come on to indicate level too low or too high or both ?

Reason I'm asking is because tonight I made a short journey and stopped off for some fuel along the way. When I turned on my ignition the oil light came on for a while and then went out (first time this has ever happened - the car must have read my thoughts about contemplating an oil change!!!

).

So natrually I paniced a bit and took a look under the bonet; amazing how difficult it is to find the hole to put the dipstick back in when its dark! Anyway the oil was fine, on the full line, if not over .... which lead me onto pondering what the light was trying to tell me, in terms of what the sensor was actually reading.

It might of course be unrelated to oil and actually because of dodgy wiring. I've been messing about in the boot, removing rust and preparing to weld up holes. Tonight, also for the first time, as I left the house I realised my right indicator wasnt working properly so it may be related to that instead.

lerk · Nov 24, 2009

Dom-300tdi said:
Thanks for the tip, I'll see whats on offer at my local argicultural supplier.

Out of interest do you know how the oil light works on a 300tdi with no engine ecu? What is the sensor measuring? Is it measuring pressure and if so does it light up to indicate high or low pressure? Or is it measuring the level and again if so does it come on to indicate level too low or too high or both ?

Reason I'm asking is because tonight I made a short journey and stopped off for some fuel along the way. When I turned on my ignition the oil light came on for a while and then went out (first time this has ever happened - the car must have read my thoughts about contemplating an oil change!!! ).

So natrually I paniced a bit and took a look under the bonet; amazing how difficult it is to find the hole to put the dipstick back in when its dark! Anyway the oil was fine, on the full line, if not over .... which lead me onto pondering what the light was trying to tell me, in terms of what the sensor was actually reading.

It might of course be unrelated to oil and actually because of dodgy wiring. I've been messing about in the boot, removing rust and preparing to weld up holes. Tonight, also for the first time, as I left the house I realised my right indicator wasnt working properly so it may be related to that instead.

Oil pressure light is fed from a switch on the lower offside of the engine, light comes on with low pressure... They can fail, I'm getting ready for my second replacement now f*ckin ****part. Only a couple of quid though and quite easily replaced!

Dom-300tdi · Nov 24, 2009

Oil is due for a change anyway, and i'll sort out the electrical faults with the indicator too. Hopefully the oil light problem will just vanish as quickly as it arose, if not i'll replace the switch.

Richard Martin · Nov 27, 2009

Dom-300tdi said:
... When I turned on my ignition the oil light came on for a while and then went out ...

Do you mean after you started the engine or before?
The light comes on when there is low oil pressure. The expected behaviour is for it to come on when you turn the ignition on then go out a couple of seconds after the engine has been started

Dom-300tdi · Nov 29, 2009

Good question. Might have been before I turned on the engine .. maybe I just never noticed it before but cause I was thinking about oil at the time I noticed the light ? :doh: For the moment however it does seem to be working properly and extinghishes a few seconds after the engine has started.

Oil Change

Dom-300tdi

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Aidy Harrison

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Dom-300tdi

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lerk

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Dom-300tdi

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Richard Martin

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Dom-300tdi

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