First (for me) Maintenance on 2006 New Beetle

JeffUIT

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Location
Dallas Metroplex
TDI
2006 VW New Beetle
Hi!

So I am new to the VW/TDI/diesel in general club. I do quite a bit of my own stuff on the other family cars, but this is a whole new beast on the farm. Seeing how I'm a newbie to this, asking questions seems to be a great way to figure out what's going on, Here goes...

I replaced the oil filter after sucking the old oil out of the system. I used Castrol's Turbo Diesel Edge (in the gold bottle) primarily because it seemed to be recommended as a safe oil. It also has the VW standards on it, so that's a win. FWIW: I am using 5W40. But it seems that after running the engine for about 30 minutes, the oil is as black as the old stuff I took out. Is that normal?

I also learned that you can't add oil to a running engine - there was so much ?air?exhaust? coming out of the oil filler neck that I managed to get the 25cc of oil that I poured in all over my arms. I had to shut it down to add oil. Again, is that normal?

I replaced the fuel filter/water separator. It was probably the original one, as there looked to be the number 2006 on it. How long is a fuel filter good for? And how often should I unscrew the bottom to drain out water? I was smart enough to prime the new filter so that there were no issues starting it up.

I'm debating the value of a coolant flush. Is there any voodoo/magic that's required more than a standard engine? Is this one where you need special vacuum gauges and the like? Is there a preferred brand of coolant (or a suggested color to use)?

What's the opinion on getting the transmission serviced? It runs fine - no slipping or hesitations - and I don't want to open a can of disaster if I don't need to. As I said, there's 113K miles on it, and it probably has never had anything done to it.

Thanks so much for helping me. Once I make sure that she's road worthy, I'll probably start trying to mod it up a bit.

j
 

pedroYUL

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2012 wagon CJAA; 2004 wagon BEW
1. Yes, oil goes pitch black right away
2. Yes, oil does spew out of these engines while running, pretty typical
3. Filters I believe are good for 30k miles, I do mine every other oil change to keep track simply. I just don't bother draining anything from the bottom, just fuel at a busy station to avoid stale diesel
4. I don't typically flush/change coolant but mostly during a timing belt job. Don't mess with it, you shouldn't change the "color", better stick with G13 directly from dealer, the cost is now much better than years ago. Otherwise you can do G13 from Pentosin
5. Never own an auto trans, someone else needs to chime in there
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Hi!

So I am new to the VW/TDI/diesel in general club. I do quite a bit of my own stuff on the other family cars, but this is a whole new beast on the farm. Seeing how I'm a newbie to this, asking questions seems to be a great way to figure out what's going on, Here goes...

I replaced the oil filter after sucking the old oil out of the system. I used Castrol's Turbo Diesel Edge (in the gold bottle) primarily because it seemed to be recommended as a safe oil. It also has the VW standards on it, so that's a win. FWIW: I am using 5W40. But it seems that after running the engine for about 30 minutes, the oil is as black as the old stuff I took out. Is that normal?

I also learned that you can't add oil to a running engine - there was so much ?air?exhaust? coming out of the oil filler neck that I managed to get the 25cc of oil that I poured in all over my arms. I had to shut it down to add oil. Again, is that normal?

I replaced the fuel filter/water separator. It was probably the original one, as there looked to be the number 2006 on it. How long is a fuel filter good for? And how often should I unscrew the bottom to drain out water? I was smart enough to prime the new filter so that there were no issues starting it up.

I'm debating the value of a coolant flush. Is there any voodoo/magic that's required more than a standard engine? Is this one where you need special vacuum gauges and the like? Is there a preferred brand of coolant (or a suggested color to use)?

What's the opinion on getting the transmission serviced? It runs fine - no slipping or hesitations - and I don't want to open a can of disaster if I don't need to. As I said, there's 113K miles on it, and it probably has never had anything done to it.

Thanks so much for helping me. Once I make sure that she's road worthy, I'll probably start trying to mod it up a bit.

j
Whatever oil you use, make sure it meets VW 505.01 standards. I believe the castrol edge one does, but don't recall. I use liqui-moly 4100 there are a lot of other ones that are good as well.
Oil being black right away is fairly normal on a diesel.
It's also normal for there to be some air coming out, since the vacuum pump vents to the inside of the crankcase. You can't really add oil while they're running, as you've found out.
With the fuel filter being original, do you know if the timing belt has been changed? The timing belt on the PD engines (2004-2006) has an 80k mile interval, and breaking the timing belt can cause catastrophic engine damage. And, I also know, never trust someone saying that they changed it, since I recently did a timing belt on a 2006 beetle that had supposedly been changed, but I heard the idler bearings making noise. Well, the timing belt had been changed, but not the idlers or water pump... Those need to be changed at the same time.
Then, you also can change the coolant. Vw takes g13 coolant, which is available from many of the vendors on here.
I suppose you have an automatic transmission? That would be a DSG transmission, which is a pretty good one. I don't recall what the flush schedule is on those, so I'm not any help on that.
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,

tactdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Location
North Carolina
TDI
2005.5 Jetta
If a DSG Transmission, the fluid and filter replacement interval is every 40K. Search for the technique of filling using the filter opening, and how to check the level after filling (no dip stick).
 

JeffUIT

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Location
Dallas Metroplex
TDI
2006 VW New Beetle
With the fuel filter being original, do you know if the timing belt has been changed? The timing belt on the PD engines (2004-2006) has an 80k mile interval, and breaking the timing belt can cause catastrophic engine damage.
The CARFAX report on the car shows that there was a dealer service back at 78K, and the timing belt is reported as being replaced.

I've done timing chains before, so I know I *can* do a timing belt. But with the cramped space, the real question is - is it *worth* it?
 

Rob Mayercik

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2001
Location
NJ, U.S.A.
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS, Baltic Green/Beige
How long ago was that 78K? per manual, belts are 5 yrs or (in your case) 80 K miles. Age is as important as mileage.

The CARFAX won't show whether the job was done "properly" (all components in timing belt path replaced) or not, or whether whoever did it was competent (you'll find around the folks 'round here don't usually have a high opinion of dealer service departments).

If you actually had the dealer invoice from that service in-hand and it showed all the "right" parts being replaced, I'd feel differently, but I'd lean toward doing the job (and doing it right) so you know absolutely the age/condition of everything that touches that belt.

There are highly-detailed writeups posted here on this job, so you can get a very good idea of what a proper job entails. I don't have the links handy myself, but they're around the forums and should be fairly easy to turn up.
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
The CARFAX report on the car shows that there was a dealer service back at 78K, and the timing belt is reported as being replaced.

I've done timing chains before, so I know I *can* do a timing belt. But with the cramped space, the real question is - is it *worth* it?
I would replace it. The dealers often only replaced the belt, and not the supporting components. The bew engine (which is what your beetle has) isn't extremely hard to do, there's a couple of good write ups on here. As far as whether it's worth replacing. I would say a hearty yes. A whole kit costs about $200-300, and includes the pulleys water pump and all the bolts needed. You also need a PD cam and crank lock kit. If you don't want to do it yourself, look up the local trusted tdi mechanic closest to you.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
5W40 Castrol Edge is not a 505.01 oil. Castrol's 505.01 oils are 5W30. So you've got the wrong oil.

DSG service is important to complete every 40K miles. It's most easily completed with a pump to add the fluid, and you should have a VCDS scanner to check fluid level after the change.

Maintenance schedules for these cars are availble online. I don't recall exactly where but do a little searching and you'll find one. Basics are oil and filter every 10K, Fuel and cabin filter every 20K, air filter and DSG service every 40K.
 

JeffUIT

Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2021
Location
Dallas Metroplex
TDI
2006 VW New Beetle
5W40 Castrol Edge is not a 505.01 oil. Castrol's 505.01 oils are 5W30. So you've got the wrong oil.
This is the Castrol Edge Turbo Diesel oil. It clearly lists 3 VW specs: 502.00 / 505.00 / 505.01. I figured that this was OK. Either the packaging is wrong or your information needs updating...

j
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
This is the Castrol Edge Turbo Diesel oil. It clearly lists 3 VW specs: 502.00 / 505.00 / 505.01. I figured that this was OK. Either the packaging is wrong or your information needs updating...
Then I stand corrected. I didn't think Castrol had a 5w40 that had a 505.01 certification. They have so many products with the name Edge it's hard to keep track.

507.00 (not .01) is always a 5w30. It includes a fuel economy specification that requires a 30 top number. A lot of 505.01 oils moved to 5w30s after VW updated the specification a number of years ago. However, lots of PD drivers prefer a 5w40 like Pentosin HPII.
 

pedroYUL

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2012 wagon CJAA; 2004 wagon BEW
Pento HP2...makes my mouth water :LOL:
 
Top