2006 VW Touareg V10 TDI - 75k miles - Buyers Guide

Hey TDICLUB,

I've done a lot of reading and STFA - I'm wondering if anyone can answer this question:

I'm looking at a one owner V10 TDI. The owner has been using Motul 8100 X-Cess 5w40 which is VW 502 00 and 505 00 spec. From what I've been reading, 506 01/507 00 is required for the PD V10 TDI? (04/pre dpf uses 506 01 and 06+ with dpf uses 507 00)

Is inspecting the camshafts a ridiculously difficult procedure? I know of the big ticket items on these vehicles (Turbos, air suspension, camshafts if wrong oil is used) - anything else to be aware of? I'll be sending it to a VW Dealer for a full pre-purchase inspection, and I'm currently scouting a warranty company that will cover older vehicles.

Thanks!

The easiest way to begin to get a handle on potential excess camshaft wear is to send a sample of used oil (several thousand kilometers use) in for analysis. I use Blackstone but there are others. The lab will send you a report and if iron from thew camshafts is present in excessive amounts they will report and advise you about where it might have come from.
This test is NOT definitive but you can be sure if there is no excess camshaft wear wear metals will not be in the oil.
The test costs less that $50 US so it is pretty cheap and easy compared to pulling the rocker covers.
Good luck, and make sure the number of kilometers is as accurate as possible.

I had thought about that, but seems unrealistic as part of a prepurchase inspection. I would definitely give it a go if I owned the vehicle, but I’m a little hesitant to buy it knowing it has the wrong oil in it

It takes about an hour to pull and replace a valve cover. That is the only way to check the cams. Hard to tell based on mileage as I have a 2004 with just over 200k and the cams look so good I called the previous owner to ask if they were replaced. Nope, they are the original cams. Others replace at lower mileage. Just depends. No rhyme or reason. Oil doesn’t seem to be a big factor, just the lack of maintenance may be the issue?

zipdoa said:

I had thought about that, but seems unrealistic as part of a prepurchase inspection. I would definitely give it a go if I owned the vehicle, but I’m a little hesitant to buy it knowing it has the wrong oil in it

Click to expand...

I think that's the point - A UOA is an inexpensive way to get an indicator as a part of a prepurchase inspection. If iron/chromium is on the high side, and the price is right, you can then pull the valve covers and see for sure. Even using the wrong oil is immaterial if no damage was done. You can switch to the correct oil if you get the car.

for sure wouldnt buy it without knowing cam wear unless it was cheap.....ive been considering buying a v10 or v8...fully load with air and rear locker to build a off road rig..v10 sounds fun

The Motul isn't spec. for having the right additives lowered for DPF compatibility. BUT, Motul does tend to use some ester in its basestock, which can provide additional anti-wear protection over more conventional (and cheaper) basestocks.

So, as far as protecting the cams goes, I'd expect that Motul 5w40 to do better than most oils that actually meet spec, and definitely do better at protection than 507.00 oils. Whether or not it's negatively impacted the DPFs is the big question.