Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Synthetics

[Larv]

I'm sure this has been discussed at length here but thought I'd ask anyway. I have a 2004. 5 CTD with no problems and am running regular oil. My problem lies with the svc mgr where I get my wife's 2002 VW gasser serviced. They almost insist on using synthetic oil in the car. I almost choked when I saw the extra cost of the oil, $9/qt as opposed to $2/qt for the regular oil. :{ The VW does have a turbo and she says the synthetic is better for the turbo as well as the motor. While I assume the oil is better is it worth the xtra cost? I had a '99 CTD with 95k miles and no turbo troubles and never ran synthetic!



Am I being hustled??



Thanks in advance!!



Larv

 

[DIESELWRKS]

if they wanted you to always use it. the car would have came with it. I use it on my diffs but for alot of reasons other than to cool a turbo down. use reg oil and save the money. tell the service people to show you in writing that you have to. this will shut em up... . besides you can get synthetic cheaper than what they would charge anyway. check out royal purple or amsoil just to name a few there are more out there.

 

[JOdell]

My wife used to have a 2001 VW Bug. That motor needed synthetic oil in it just to cut down on the sludge build up. It was horrible. That might be the reason they are trying to get you to use synthetic oil. I know their are a few motors that have VERY BAD sludge build up. One is a Toyota not sure what motor and the other was my wifes 2. 0 L VW. With yours being a turbo I would assume it is the 1. 8 L. You might do a search and see if their is a sludge build up issue. -Jason

 

[Fordiesel69]

I run Pennzoil Platinum Full Syn in my crown vic because I got it for $2. 84 per qt. However with todays oils a synthetic is not always needed. If you have a diesel with a HEUI injection system, going to a 5w-40 syn will help cold drivablity.



On a gasoline engine with a turbo, it will be water cooled due to the higher EGT's, 1800~2200 F. On a diesel they are just oil cooled due to only having 1300-1500 EGT's. Synthetic oil will absolutly be better for either turbo, but is it really necessary? Probably not.



Try out bobistheoilguy.com for more info than you could ever read.

 

[Larv]

I googled VW sludge build-up and found out there is a problem with 1999 - 2002 VW Passats and sounds like the engines are the same, 1. 8 liter w/turbo.

Looks like I'll be switching to syn oil... ... ...

Thanks for all the input!

Larv

 

[JOdell]

That is the beauty of TDR. Combined we have seen just about everything. -Jason

 

[MAllen1]

First, I do believe that VW uses synthetics, as with most European made cars. My wife had a Mercedes, and they swore up one end and down the other with it. I will make a valid argument for synthetic, as far as the price (this goes for anything else on your car or your truck), THE DEALER IS GOING TO JACK YOU JAW. When I was a mechanic at a local dealer, the parts manager and I talked a lot (obviously), and he swore up one end and down the other that dealers will charge 100% of what they paid for the part, including oil. If VW is like Dodge, GM, and Mercedes when it comes to synthetic, VW probably uses whatever grade your car uses from Mobil 1. And, of course, Wal-Mart sells it for about 5 or 6 dollars a quart. I know its not a big difference, but, $3 a quart is $3 a quart. If your VW was like my Mercedes, it holds a god awful amount of oil for its engine size, and that adds up.