Oil Change in 02 VW Jetta

tdi_newbie130

New member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Location
California
TDI
2002 Jetta Wagon
First off, I sincerely do apologize if the answer to this question can be found elsewhere, I did a search and was disappointed in what I found.

I've owned my little Jetta wagon for the past 2 years, and in the 2 years, circulated an oil change in between 7500 to 10K miles. I've been using various brands of 5W40 synthetic oils for diesel engines. (Please comment on this if I'm doing it wrong)

So now, me in my little sheltered world, is stepping out to do her first oil change by herself. I found a video on changing oil in the VW Jetta once, and can NOT, for the life of me, find it again, so any guidance in that direction would be genuinely appreciated.

What oil should i use? I've seen my ex perform the oil change in my vehicle, and it seems easy enough that even little ol' me could perform the oil change well enough, provided I don't spill oil all over the driveway, of course.

PLEASE HELP!!!
 

Joe_Meehan

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 3, 2005
Location
Ohio USA
TDI
NB TDI, 2002.5, Silver
I've been using various brands of 5W40 synthetic oils for diesel engines. (Please comment on this if I'm doing it wrong)

The owner's manual will tell you want oil to use. You need to check there first. Diesels and TDI in particular are rather sensitive to oil. Not all synthetic oil for diesels will do. The good part is I believe your 2002 is less sensitive to oil type than most later models and there is a good chance that the oils you have been using are fine.

The timing 7,500 to 10,000 should be fine. Are you changing the oil filter at the same time? How about air filter? Neither of those are too hard.

Just make sure that any other maintenance items listed in the owner's manual get done as well.
 

2004STARWARSTDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Location
LAKELAND, FL
TDI
2004 Platinum Gray GLS Jetta / 2006 Silver Jetta with DSG
Maintenance

How many miles on your vehicle. Have you had the brake system flushed every 2 years. We need more info on car. Check here enter year, model, engine for:
Maintenance Schedules
 
Last edited:

Lefty

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Location
Lazear,Colorado Population 60
TDI
Jetta, 2000,Green GLS
Walmart sells Rotella T Blue Bottle for about $20 and is fine for your car. 5W40. 10,000 miles is the recommended change interval. If you buy an oil extractor it is a lot easier to do. I bought the Pela 6000 model from Cabela's and it works fine. That way you never have to crawl under the car (I have a bad back) and never have a chance of stripping the bolt on the oil pan. You just put the tube of the pela in the dip stick tube and pump the Pela and it extracts the oil out. Oil filter is easy if you get the 76mm 14 flute? wrench or just use a oil filter wrench on it. I bought a cheap one that works fine. Always make sure to use a good oil filter. I use the Mann from TDIparts.com and it has a top and bottom marked on it, so you can't mess that up.
 

mrGutWrench

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 29, 2002
Location
Carrboro, NC
TDI
'03 Jetta Wagon, 5-speed, 563K Miles (July '23)
Lefty said:
Walmart sells Rotella T Blue Bottle for about $20 and is fine for your car. 5W40. 10,000 miles is the recommended change interval. If you buy an oil extractor it is a lot easier to do. I bought the Pela 6000 model from Cabela's and it works fine. That way you never have to crawl under the car (I have a bad back) and never have a chance of stripping the bolt on the oil pan. You just put the tube of the pela in the dip stick tube and pump the Pela and it extracts the oil out. Oil filter is easy if you get the 76mm 14 flute? wrench or just use a oil filter wrench on it. I bought a cheap one that works fine. Always make sure to use a good oil filter. I use the Mann from TDIparts.com and it has a top and bottom marked on it, so you can't mess that up.
__. All that Lefty says is true. But I'd add a little more if you've never done it before.

__. First open the hood and take off the engine cover. To do this, pop out the three flat plastic plugs (careful, they like to fly up and fall down behind the engine) and remove the three nuts in the holes with a 10mm socket wrench; then unhook the hose at the back corner, pull out the dipstick (use a papertowel so it doesn't drip), and lift off the cover. The oil filter is the canister at the lower right as you face the engine. It says "25 N-m" on the cap. Remove the cap, as Lefty describes. Then vacuum out the oil from the dipstick tube (you may have to pump a bit more and wiggle the tube once most of it is out and you begin to suck air). As the vacuum is working, change the two O-rings (the black rubber sealing rings on the stem part of the cap -- new ones came with the new filter).

__. I have a 2 liter Pela; you have to pump until it's full then dump it into a container and then repeat but it's *much* smaller and takes up less storage space. I like it but the 6 liter is fine, too. I take an ordinary grocery store bag and sick my hand under the bottom and turn it inside out; then I put a paper towel on the oil filter cartridge (your oil should be at running temperature -- just after a drive) and pick up the filter and towel and wrap the bag around it as it comes out. No spills at all. Also, once the filter is out, use the Pela to vacuum out the pools of oil in the bottom of the oil canister. When you've done that, you'll see that one spot on the bottom is a hole, you can stick the Pela into that and get another pint or so of oil out of the oil cooler (the tube should go in 5 - 6 inches or so). That really gets all the old oil out of the engine.

__. Once all the old oil is out (crankcase and filter), I like to put the new filter cartridge in (push it down firmly) and pour a little oil (maybe a quart and a half but just fill it) around the outside of the new filter as it sits in the canister. Once the canister is filled, put the cap on and screw it down to the torque noted (25 Newton-meters). Then pour the rest of the oil in the oil filler on top of the engine.

__. You want the oil to come up about 2/3 of the way up the "cross hatch" mark on the dipstick. Once you're to that point, start the car and let it idle a minute. Then shut it down, put the engine cover back on, clean your Pela and put it away, and tidy up your work area. Once it's all done, go back and check your dipstick again -- if the level has moved slightly, pour in enough oil so that the level is at teh 2/3 mark or maybe a little higher.

__. Aside from the few minutes it takes for the Pela to draw the oil out (and you actually do other things while that's happening - just pump occasionally to keep the suction going), it takes longer to read this than to do it!
 
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