118k mile BEW with at least 40k on Rotella T = Good Cam!!!

bigsexyTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Location
Kentucky
TDI
'98 NB, '04 Jetta
Well, Ben (vwjettadsl) did the timing belt on my 04 Jetta yesterday, and I stuck around when it came time to pop the valve cover off because I was scared, yet anxious to see what we would find... :confused:

It was kind of like a horror movie... you know around that corner there could be something hideous and grotesque, (Ben added to the drama when he asked me what oil was in it, and I told him, and he said he didn't have much hope :() But in true thriller fashion, it was just the idea of it that got your blood pumping and bile in your mouth.:D NOTHING THERE!!!

Turns out that this BEW with a complete unknown oil history pre 70k, and a steady diet of Rotella T 5w40 since 70k, had a perfectly happy cam and lifter set. :rolleyes: No scoring or sharp edges, etc. I was a happy man.

It is unknown at this time whether I will continue with the Rotella... probably will since it is impossible to find anything else around here, but it's good to know that the stuff seems to be doing the job to this point. I wish I knew what the original owner used for the first 70k...
 

Bob_Fout

Oil Wanker
Joined
Sep 5, 2004
Location
Indiana
TDI
2003 Jetta - Alaska Green (sold) / 2015 GTI 2.0T
No surprising you had good results with RTS / T6. Any of the 5w40 CJ-4 oils should work well in PDs.
 

DanG144

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2007
Location
Chapin, South Carolina, USA
TDI
2005 A4 Jetta 5spd
I recently inspected a 2006 BEW Golf at 104 kmiles. It had been run, after the first factory oil, exclusively on a "fully synthetic Valvoline Diesel Tractor oil". The owner just put the same oil in every diesel device he owned.

The cam was in very good shape.
 

mobicPhobia

Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
TDI
2004 Jetta tdi pd
I also had my timing belt done yesterday on my 2004 Jetta BEW by Bruce (Paramedic) and we pulled the cover to take a look at the cam. I shared your feeling of apprehension! The car has 99250 miles on the clock.

My BEW has never seen the first drop of 505.01, not even when the dealer did the first free change as they used the wrong oil. From that first change the engine saw nothing but Rotella synthetic until around 70,000 when I switched to TDT based on the results posted by Gmark.

When the cover came off Bruce wiped down the cam and said "the cam looks perfect, it looks brand new."

I will continue now to use TDT for the next 100K.:)
 

glitdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2009
Location
West Coast Canada
TDI
Tdi asv motor in a mk3 golf, om642 in a wk jeep
Cam wear on these engines is so hit and miss.
Some say its oil, others say its production date.
Its like winning the lottery only backwards.
Have yet to see any real hard evidence on what actually causes this problem.
I hope my car didn't hear me..
 

velociT

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 10, 2006
Location
Not Austin, TX
TDI
06 Jetta TDI *sold*
Most here know what I think.

I'd be willing to bet a PD run on TDT or T6 since day one would make it to 200k no problem.
 

turbocharged798

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2009
Location
Ellenville, NY
TDI
99.5 black ALH Jetta;09 Gasser Jetta
Cam wear on these engines is so hit and miss.
Some say its oil, others say its production date.
Its like winning the lottery only backwards.
Have yet to see any real hard evidence on what actually causes this problem.
I hope my car didn't hear me..
Ironically, I think most of the cam wear issues came from using 5W-30 505.01 oil.

It's been proven over and over again that xW-30 oil do not not play well with the PD engine.
 

Drivbiwire

Zehntes Jahr der Veteran
Joined
Oct 13, 1998
Location
Boise, Idaho
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Newmar Ventana 8.3L ISC 3945, 2016 E250 BT, 2000 Jetta TDI
No surprise at all, way to go!

Keep that engine on a STEADY DIET of either the Rotella Synthetic or the Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel truck (M1 TDT being my favorite) and that cam will last 500K.

I have a bunch of BEW's floating around running M1 TDT, 260K is the highest mileage one I know of and running strong.

The key point you guys identified is the "sharp" egdes or lack there of, this is a key indicator of excessive cam wear.

Sounds like you have a winner, keep it up.
 

Dimitri16V

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Location
DE
TDI
01 Golf, 04 Golf
what about the bearings ?

if the majority of cam /lifters wear out past 200K , I would blame the design. The failure pattern is indeed inconsistent
 
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Dunno513

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2006
Location
Mirror Lake, NH
TDI
2006 NB PD-TDI DSG
I also had my timing belt done yesterday on my 2004 Jetta BEW by Bruce (Paramedic) and we pulled the cover to take a look at the cam. I shared your feeling of apprehension! The car has 99250 miles on the clock.

My BEW has never seen the first drop of 505.01, not even when the dealer did the first free change as they used the wrong oil. From that first change the engine saw nothing but Rotella synthetic until around 70,000 when I switched to TDT based on the results posted by Gmark.

When the cover came off Bruce wiped down the cam and said "the cam looks perfect, it looks brand new."

I will continue now to use TDT for the next 100K.:)
OMG.. don't let the 505.01 freeks hear this.. they will attempt to sabotage your cam to disprove your claim...:D
 

benIV

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Southeast NC
TDI
2003 PG 5m Jetta GL Sedan, 2003 RS 5m Jetta GLS Wagon (Golf Variant)
I've been using the Rotella T on my 03 jetta for as long as i can remember. I've got 147K and I'm about to start in on the EGR cleaning project. I'm looking forward and somewhat worrisome to seeing what mine looks like.
 

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Location
Central Wisconsin
TDI
Golf 2004
Ok, so this isn't about the timing belt but I am more worried about the fact the belt was changed at 118K miles and not the 100K miles. That is playing more with fire then the cam issue is.
 

bigsexyTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Location
Kentucky
TDI
'98 NB, '04 Jetta
I am not mad, so don't think that I am, but why exactly did you feel the need to make that comment? Don't you think that the "imminent failure of any TDI timing belt if not changed out 20k before the recommended interval" horse has been beat to death for YEARS now?

I have been a member here for 3 years longer than you have... trust me I know when a TB is due.

Everyone who read this thread probably noticed the fact that it was overdue. Well guess what? It's not now. :)

Thanks
 

benIV

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2009
Location
Southeast NC
TDI
2003 PG 5m Jetta GL Sedan, 2003 RS 5m Jetta GLS Wagon (Golf Variant)
so no worries about the cam on a VE?
 
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