TDI Used Oil Lab Analyses Results & Discussions

[ray96disco]

I certainly appreciate the information. My concern stemmed from some comments earlier in this thread that the oil was entirely used up on the CR engines at 10,000.

Again, many thanks,

 

[TornadoRed]

i certainly appreciate the information. My concern stemmed from some comments earlier in this thread that the oil was entirely used up on the CR engines at 10,000.

Again, many thanks,

You should probably not extend the OCI out to 15,000 miles, or even 12,000. But 10,000 miles or a little beyond that should be safe for almost everyone. Testing early won't really help you determine what is a safe OCI -- wait till 30k or 50k for testing.

 

[ray96disco]

Consider it done.

Keep on VWing,

 

[bobthefarmer]

My 13k Miles interval, not planned. Moderatly high Iron and Copper/Tin/Lead. Comments?

 

[bluesmoker]

My 13k Miles interval, not planned. Moderatly high Iron and Copper/Tin/Lead. Comments?

change the oil more often, oil is cheap and engines are expensive

I follow a 6 month/ 8000 km interval and I don't care what the owner's manual says

 

[dandywriter]

First UOA at 147k; 2006 BRM

Fuchs Titan GT1 5W-40; 15,490 km interval:


Happy that the iron isn't higher... surprised the soot is so low. Is the V100 of 12.7 good?

 

[raitchison]

Did a UOA when I did the third oil change in my 2013 A3. I figure most of the break in is done at this point. I was mostly looking for some peace of mind that the 10K OCI that VW calls for is based in reality.

 

[tjsean0308]

Here is one for you guys. I did the cam at 174,800 you can see the high iron relative to the new cam. Not crazy but I was getting timing issues and injector balance issues. I did the 500 mile break in and then ran a ZDDP additive until the change at 177,800. What say you of the lead in this most recent.

 

[kraftwerkturbo]

BEW oil choice - Mobil 1 - TNT or European Formula

First TDI. Have been running M1 European formula 0W-40 in all my VAG turbo cars (and German Castrol 0W-30). For my 2005 Golf BEW, I noticed M1 TNT mentioned. What should I put in? 180k miles. 150 miles daily. Michigan winter coming. Filter? (Type/model and sourcing)?

 

[TornadoRed]

First TDI. Have been running M1 European formula 0W-40 in all my VAG turbo cars (and German Castrol 0W-30). For my 2005 Golf BEW, I noticed M1 TNT mentioned. What should I put in? 180k miles. 150 miles daily. Michigan winter coming. Filter? (Type/model and sourcing)?

First off, it's called Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck, so abbreviated TDT.

Second, people have been running TDT in your generation of TDI engines since about 18 months after that engine was introduced here in the US. So, almost ten years and the results have been good. At first it was just an experiment with a handful of risk takers, but usage spread quickly after the results came in.

If you have used or are using M1 0w40 in other vehicles, and want to keep things simple, you can probably use that in your Golf TDI too.

I would advise against using a 0w30 oil in the TDI. Stick with 40-weight oils and you should be okay.

 

[kraftwerkturbo]

Much appreciated! The GC (German Castrol) OW-30 actually acts (according to 'bob the oil guru') like a 0W-40 (low viscosity break down over time).

Previous owner was running Total INEO MC3 5W-30 (VW 502.00/505.00/505.01).

Checking availability of M1 TDT. OW-40 or 5W-40 recommended?

 

[TornadoRed]

M1 Turbo Diesel Truck has a viscosity of 5w40.

 

[shuswap]

First TDI. Have been running M1 European formula 0W-40 in all my VAG turbo cars (and German Castrol 0W-30). For my 2005 Golf BEW, I noticed M1 TNT mentioned. What should I put in? 180k miles. 150 miles daily. Michigan winter coming. Filter? (Type/model and sourcing)?

I have the same car, you won't go wrong with either the TDT or the Shell T6(blue label) oil. Both are 5w-40. Might want to buy your filters in bundles, cheaper and then you have them on hand. There are many good vendors selling the better brands.
Have you checked your camshaft for wear? (I feel like this is akin to asking about prostate exams!!)

 

[fosjef67]

Fuel for the oil debate

So switched my 04 BEW from pentosynth 5w40 to Rotella T6 5w40. Here is a side by side. the Oct 2013 oil was the Pento and the Oct 2014 was the Rotella. Original cam still installed, and in case you are wondering, I plan to continue to run the "unapproved oil."

 

[wackypete]

Can someone let me know if the differences between my molybdenum & boron readings are due to different oil additives from Castrol to Mobil1?

[/IMG]

 

[fosjef67]

Can someone let me know if the differences between my molybdenum & boron readings are due to different oil additives from Castrol to Mobil1?

If you look at my report just above yours, I have the same thing, as one oil is Pentosynth, and the other is Rotella. Check out the comments Blackstone made about those two particular items. Bottom line is yes its just a different additive package.

 

[bobt2382]

Rico,

The link takes you to their login site.

 

[bobt2382]

I convert the pdf to an image and then I can post it.

 

[Rico567]

I convert the pdf to an image and then I can post it.

So- I can just do some kind of a simple conversion/upload, without going through the procedure in the "Photos" link? I looked through that, and I'm not going 15 years back through the WA-BAC Machine just to post some document on this forum. That whole procedure is so cranky I can't believe anyone uses it.

 

[2.2TDI]

Here's my latest one with 14,000km interval, thoughts?

 

[bobt2382]

So- I can just do some kind of a simple conversion/upload, without going through the procedure in the "Photos" link? I looked through that, and I'm not going 15 years back through the WA-BAC Machine just to post some document on this forum. That whole procedure is so cranky I can't believe anyone uses it.

Rico,

Unfortunately after you convert the pdf to an image you'll still need to "host" the image somewhere. You can do it on the TDI club site or you can use another site, for example, 'photobucket'. After uploading the image onto a hosting site computer, then you copy the link to the photo into your post here which will display the photo....YES a little cumbersome, but what can we do.

Bob

 

[Rico567]

Rico,
Unfortunately after you convert the pdf to an image you'll still need to "host" the image somewhere. You can do it on the TDI club site or you can use another site, for example, 'photobucket'. After uploading the image onto a hosting site computer, then you copy the link to the photo into your post here which will display the photo....YES a little cumbersome, but what can we do.
Bob

Yeah, thanks, Bob. I now remember that I did that (I use Flickr) to post pix when we bought this new Passat. I may work on that today. Photos are lot easier than doing a .pdf conversion, because iPhoto lets me post directly to Flickr.

 

[Rico567]

So, OK, here's the .pdf -> .jpg -> upload to Flickr -> post link of the first UOA on the Passat. As Mr. Blackstone points out, metals are high, but he sort of discounts it as due to a young engine. Since everything else looks good, I'm not too concerned either.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jajpix/15154260654/

 

[jhinsc]

I have a general question about oil analysis, because when I used to own hybrids, I saw owners having their used oil checked too.

What, if anything, has an oil analysis done for anyone, other than to give reassurances to an owner that everything is within spec's and it's okay to use the auto makers recommended OCI? I can understand if an owner is using an oil NOT recommended for their vehicle and wanting to know if it's use has been beneficial or detrimental, but from what I've read and scanned through various threads and discussions, there have never been any news of consequence.

 

[dandywriter]

@jhinsc: If you have a TDI with a known weakness - for example, the BRM engine's cam, which is known to wear, a UOA can indicate whether wear metals are high or not. I was considering doing a pre-emptive cam change, but the low wear metals reassure me that I can hold off until my next timing belt change. Alternately, higher wear metals - particularly iron - may tell someone that their cam's time has come. It allows some (me) to sleep more soundly at night.

It also tells you whether your oil change interval can be extended - which, at the cost of some synthetic oils, will save you money in the long run.

Some people want to know more - and thus, sample new oils to see what's in them... more power to them.

 

[jhinsc]

@jhinsc: If you have a TDI with a known weakness - for example, the BRM engine's cam, which is known to wear, a UOA can indicate whether wear metals are high or not. I was considering doing a pre-emptive cam change, but the low wear metals reassure me that I can hold off until my next timing belt change. Alternately, higher wear metals - particularly iron - may tell someone that their cam's time has come. It allows some (me) to sleep more soundly at night.

It also tells you whether your oil change interval can be extended - which, at the cost of some synthetic oils, will save you money in the long run.

Some people want to know more - and thus, sample new oils to see what's in them... more power to them.

I understand your point, but the general consensus I'm reading is nothing of consequence, but just reassurance, just like you found out. The point I was trying to make; the auto manufacturers have already done their homework - why not follow their recommended OCI using the proper oil instead of questioning whether it's right or wrong?

Just like a dentist's telling you to brush 2x day and floss daily, do we need to test what happens if you do it more or less frequently? Yes I know, some people DO test for that, but really, what does it tell you? The dentist is right!

 

[2.2TDI]

Here's my latest one with 14,000km interval, thoughts?

Anyone?

 

[jhinsc]

Anyone?

Doesn't the comment in the form say what you need to know? No problems with the caveat there is not enough history to establish a pattern. If you wish, keep having it checked but I doubt you'll find much information that is helpful - unless something is wrong with your car. But many times that's usually indicated with it not running properly.

 

[2.2TDI]

Was just wondering how the values compared... Sorry I shouldve noted this is my second uoa... First one is somewhere on the previous pages

 

[jhinsc]

Was just wondering how the values compared... Sorry I shouldve noted this is my second uoa... First one is somewhere on the previous pages

I would think the lab running the analysis would know what's norm and what's not. I seem other oil analysis results from another company (Blackstone?) with more detailed comments, but even if something was slightly off, they still would state to either keep an eye on it and or it's within norm's.