Changing the oil in my 1st TDI

[GreenBayTDI]

Hello All,
I just purchased my first VW diesel, a MK4 Golf, and I am planning on changing the oil.
I am wondering what types/brand of oil you all prefer? Also, is there anything I should know when changing the oil?
Thanks everyone!
-Reed

 

[OlyTDI]

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=158788

 

[fouillard13]

I use shell rotella T6. 15w40 in the summer and 5w30 (I think) im the winter.

find a good engine filter and buy 4 or 5. buy a 5 gallon/20L pail of oil, and youre good for 2-3 years worth of oil changes for about $70.

 

[GreenBayTDI]

Thank you very much.

 

[Rembrant]

find a good engine filter and buy 4 or 5. buy a 5 gallon/20L pail of oil, and youre good for 2-3 years worth of oil changes for about $70.

Depends on how much you're driving the car. Your 2-3 year supply would only last me 12 months.

 

[GreenLantern_TDI]

Also depends on what OCI your running.

 

[fouillard13]

yeah yeah, I realized after I typed it that I was gonna get corrected to the moon and back!!

what I meant was "youll be good for 3-4 oil changes", not years worth of changes.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Use any 5w40 oil that meets VW's 505.00 specification. Lots out there. Castrol was OE, but Total and Liqui-Moly also have good oils that meet that specification.

 

[turbobrick240]

People also seem to have good luck with just about any CJ4 rated 5w-40 oil.

 

[Funguy]

rotella 5w-40 for 241,000 miles. Make sure you put the oil filter in the right way ie. there is one side marked "top"

 

[n1das]

I use shell rotella T6. 15w40 in the summer and 5w30 (I think) im the winter.

find a good engine filter and buy 4 or 5. buy a 5 gallon/20L pail of oil, and youre good for 2-3 years worth of oil changes for about $70.

15W-40 conventional and any 5W-30 are the wrong oils.

Use Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic year round. Note all 5W-40 oils are synthetic. There are several other good 5W-40 oils that can be used (all are synthetic).

The oil change interval is very conservative at 10k miles, so no need to get old school and change it early. The interval has been verified through laboratory oil analysis to be well on the conservative side and changing more frequently than recommended doesn't protect the engine any better and may actually do more harm than good. Also don't worry about the oil appearing totally black immediately after an oil change because it's normal and nothing to worry about. It SHOULD appear black.

Good luck.

 

[minilooker]

Shell rotella T6. 15w40 would be great Another is Mobil 1 15w40.

 

[n1das]

Shell rotella T6. 15w40 would be great Another is Mobil 1 15w40.

<facepalm>

Please read:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=158788

 

[fouillard13]

15W-40 conventional and any 5W-30 are the wrong oils.

Use Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 synthetic year round. Note all 5W-40 oils are synthetic. There are several other good 5W-40 oils that can be used (all are synthetic).

The oil change interval is very conservative at 10k miles, so no need to get old school and change it early. The interval has been verified through laboratory oil analysis to be well on the conservative side and changing more frequently than recommended doesn't protect the engine any better and may actually do more harm than good. Also don't worry about the oil appearing totally black immediately after an oil change because it's normal and nothing to worry about. It SHOULD appear black.

Good luck.

yeah youre right, my bad. it is 5w40. I had my numbers all mixed up.

plain white bottle rotella T is 15w40, which I use in everything else... 5.9L cummins, and crf450r engine AND clutch side, gfs mazda trubute. it works great.

but in the car, it gets rotella t6, the synthetic blue bottle stuff. which I believe only comes in two weights.. 5w40 and 0w40.

5w40 for summer
0w40 for winter.

I would imagine it wouldnt be the end of the world if you used 5w40 all year round though and kept it simple.

T5 is a synthetic blend, and T6 is a full synthetic FYI.
also, another FYI you would be surprised at how many people, and mechanics dont know this... but the "W" stands for WINTER. not WEIGHT!!!

my oil change interval is 10,000 miles. 16,000km. I am going to send my next one in for an analysis, same thing I do with the cummins, to blackstone labs. only problem is that I burn oil... about 50% capacity is burnt after 10,000 miles. so I feel that adding some to top it off will screw with my numbers. oh well.

as for oil being black, yes. this is 15L of rotella T after idiling in a diesel engine for under 10 seconds. the truck idles at 800 RPM. therefore this was in for 80-100 revolutions of the crank. 40-50 combustion cycles. and it was black already.. 4 gallons...


free upload pictures

 

[turbobrick240]

also, another FYI you would be surprised at how many people, and mechanics dont know this... but the "W" stands for WINTER. not WEIGHT!!!

my oil change interval is 10,000 miles. 16,000km. I am going to send my next one in for an analysis, same thing I do with the cummins, to blackstone labs. only problem is that I burn oil... about 50% capacity is burnt after 10,000 miles. so I feel that adding some to top it off will screw with my numbers. oh well.

Yes and no. The w in 5w-40 does indeed mean winter. But the w in 30w (or any single weight) oil stands for weight. Sounds like your cummins burns a couple gallons in 10k. Might need a new turbo or rebuild soon.

 

[KLXD]

Note all 5W-40 oils are synthetic. There are several other good 5W-40 oils that can be used (all are synthetic).

Well, that's what the Judge said.

 

[belome]

my oil change interval is 10,000 miles. 16,000km. I am going to send my next one in for an analysis, same thing I do with the cummins, to blackstone labs. only problem is that I burn oil... about 50% capacity is burnt after 10,000 miles. so I feel that adding some to top it off will screw with my numbers. oh well.

Hell, I'd change the filter every 10k and change the oil every 50k or so. You will always have sufficient additive package, just need to get the crud out every now and again.

 

[fouillard13]

Yes and no. The w in 5w-40 does indeed mean winter. But the w in 30w (or any single weight) oil stands for weight. Sounds like your cummins burns a couple gallons in 10k. Might need a new turbo or rebuild soon.

its my car that burns that much oil!!!!

last time I didnt check my oil for 10,000 miles.

marked 4L on a bucket. drained the oil from my car, and only 2.2L came out! ouch.

 

[UhOh]

its my car that burns that much oil!!!!

last time I didnt check my oil for 10,000 miles.

marked 4L on a bucket. drained the oil from my car, and only 2.2L came out! ouch.

Make sure it's not pooling up in your IC!

 

[fouillard13]

its not. I popped the loser hose off (the one by the passenger front tire) and there was no fluids in there.

pretty sure its getting burnt. car lets out a nice puff of white/grey smoke in the mornings.

 

[belome]

Burning a couple of quarts every 10k isn't horrible... not checking it regularly is though.

 

[Kevinski4]

My TDI currently has 15w40 in the crankcase. Livin' on the edge.

 

[UhOh]

My TDI currently has 15w40 in the crankcase. Livin' on the edge.

Why 15w40?

 

[fouillard13]

My TDI currently has 15w40 in the crankcase. Livin' on the edge.

 

[Drivbiwire]

15w40 doesn't belong in any TDI ever built.... EVER, 15w40 was obsolete over 20 years ago and no engine maker today lists it as a preferred viscosity.

5w40 remains the best oil viscosity providing engine protection down to -46F and protection against sustained oil sump temperatures of up to +400F (Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40).


If you want to be a fool and grind your bearings due to oil starvation running a 15w40, knock yourself out...

 

[fouillard13]

when you say TDI.. do you mean VWs TDIs only? or any direct injected turbo diesel?

5w40 is normally synthetic isnt it?
and 15w40 is normally non synthetic isnt it?

what about guys in warmer climates, there its +30 all year long and the W number no longer matters?

I use plain ol rotella T 15w40 in my 5.9L cummins. are you saying I should switch to the rotella t6 5w40 synthetic oil now? which is what I use in my car.

 

[turbobrick240]

Yeah, all 5w-40 is synthetic (by American standards). And most 15w-40 is not. I don't see any advantage to the 15w-40 other than being slightly cheaper.

 

[fouillard13]

hmm interesting. maybe I should just start buying 20L/5 gallon pails of T6 then an use it in both vehicles.

ive put 100,000 miles on my truck in the last 5 years with 15w40, with oil analysis done by blackstone with excellent results every time.

guess ill have to see that the price difference it between the T6 and normal ol rotella.

the car still gets T6 though as its fussy.
the truck doesnt seem to be so fussy. I could be wrong though.

 

[turbobrick240]

I really notice the difference between 5w-40 and 15w-40 in my truck and tractors during the cold winter months. With the 5w-40, I don't need to plug the truck in on subzero nights to get it to start. Plus it doesn't sound like a bunch of rocks banging around in there til it warms up.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Mobil European Formula comes in 5 quart jugs at Wally World, at a good price. Make sure you replace the o-rings with the new ones that come with the oil filter. Use Bosch, or Wix, but never use a Fram. The Frams don't keep the oil in the filter causing dry starts and eating things can occur very quickly.
Once upon a time I let a trusted garage change my oil and filter, and a Fram filter was used and 4 times starting the engine later, it ate a lifter.