Oil Recommendations and update on coolant light

[MedfordBumbleBee]

Hi fellow NB owners:

Just got the Beetle back from the dealership last week as I took it back from the last repair attempt. Got to love this one, I took the car back to the dealership where I bought it (Saturn dealership) and had them fix a laundry list of stuff under their used car warranty (CLE - needed a new dirverter hose, airbag light - needed a new harness, fuel door - needed a new cable) and also asked them to look at Coolant Temp Sensor as many of you here said that is the likely problem. Thank you!

We were still having the flashing blue coolant light problem so I took it back and said I need this fixed under their warranty. They pulled the last service ticket and no where did they see coolant light problem. Well, long story short, I told them to fix it and that I was not going to pay the deductible again, etc. They tested the sensor and it would go from reading fine to -48 cel. when the tech giggled the sensor.

Fixed and working fine now. Thanks to all that told me about the sensor.

Now the real question. I am coming up on my first oil change and was wondering what type of oil most of you are using. Service advisor at VW said I should use synthetic but I have always used regular oil and change it religiously.

Any suggestions would be welcomed as I know this topic generates as much debate as political discussions can! Our car is a 2001 NB 1.8T with 57,000 miles on it. Driven mostly on the freeway at 75 mph.

Thanks, Ed

[yelojkt]

Mobil I Synthetic is what I put in Yelojkt, and he is always driven at full throttle. 110,000 miles on the clock right now.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

I have used Redline full synthetic in my vehicles for a great number of years now and I feel it's the finest oil out there, I recommend Redline 5W-30 for the 1.8t unless you live somewhere very cold like Alasks, cold places like this may require 0W-30.

For most people the decision on what oil to use is based largely on cost, I base my decision soley on quality and results.

Whatever oil brand you choose, I'd recommend that you make sure it is Full Synthetic, the lubricating capabilities, protection properties and strength of a synthetic oil far exceed that of any organic oil, this is very necessary for an engines longevity, especially forced induction engines.

[detailstation]

I use Mobile 1 fully synthetic in all my cars and even the bikes.Just a good oil and use fram oil filters and K&N air filters.

[oneighturbo]

German Castrol 0W-30! (made in germany) autozone only

manual recommends a 5W-40 but it does depend on climate.

your perfectly fine with the OEM filter

nice kit here
http://www.performance-cafe.com/prod...roducts_id=870

[Kestas]

I normally don't recommend synthetic oil - I don't use it - but I strongly recommend synthetic for turbo applications. I use 5W-40.

[number9]

Originally Posted by oneighturbo

your perfectly fine with the OEM filter

nice kit here
http://www.performance-cafe.com/prod...roducts_id=870

I 100% agree on the filter... I used MANN filters in my MB
300TD and put over 500,000 miles on it with no problems...
was it the oil filter? I doubt it did it alone, but
when I sold the car (running mind you) the oil was clean as
a bean change after change. Granted I changed my oil every
3000 miles or 3 months _every last time_, and I gave it _every_
15k mi checkup and valve adjustment too. What a testament
to german engineering...

I hope my VW shows the same pedigree.

[XCman]

Adding my 2 cents. (Stop right here if your not Nuts about taking care of your car lol. Cuz this stuff is overkill, but if you are )
did a loong research on oils and found Amsoil the best oil there is and Mobil 1 shortly after as far as Synthetics are concerned. Amsoil is not available in my area so I use Mobil 1 0w40 year round. It's thin enough to quickly lubricate your turbo and keeps it weight well enough in high temperatures to keep things well lubricated without getting too thin. Never had problems. Used mobil 1 0w40 in my '87 Carpice and it lasted 300,000+ miles and was still going before it got stolen and wrecked! Pushed front end back a whole foot and a half into concrete wall. Why do I add this?
Because when I visited it at the junkyard to confirm it's death, when found. Just for kicks I used the key to start the car. It started up beautifully!! It was in such bad shape it wasn't going anywhere but the fact was it started. No coolant but it worked! Thats why I believe in mobil
Information gotten from http://themotoroilsite.com/forums/
And the complete info on everything you could ever want to know about Motor Oil here. http://www.themotoroilsite.com/forum...=ST&f=29&t=365

Now I myself chose K&N oil filter for 3 reasons.
1. It contains the most filtration out of all motor oil filters
2. It contains a back flow valve to keep the old dirty filtered oil in filter from seeping back into the engine when car is resting.
3. It has a 1/2in nut welded to the bottom of the filter that makes taking these NB filters off a BREEZE! in the tight space you have to do it in! OMG you'll thank me if you change your own oil!

Those are the Nutty overkill rules I go by in taking care of my car. Your mileage will vary... *Pun intended*

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

1. Not to burst your bubble but there is no such thing as "overkill" when it comes to engine oil, especially when it's going into a forced induction engine, anyone who understands the extreme torture theses engines are under would realize this fact.

2. The point that you make about your car being stolen, wrecked badly, sent to a salvage yard and still starting is not a testiment to the quality of oil you choose to use, as a matter of fact, that story has absolutely NOTHING at all to do with representing the quality of the oil that was used, this only shows that there was enough metal and girth around the engine to protect it from serious harm.

As far as oil filters go, that too is a personal choice but I'd suggest sticking with the OEM filter.

Check here]>> Royal Purple Oil

[XCman]

I'll take your criticism, but the one thing I'll confront you about is the oil filter. Well there is nothing wrong with the filter, it's just missing a feature.

OEM filters do not have a backflow valve to keep dirty oil from draining back into the engine when the car is off. Making your filter do twice the work at startup when it filters out dirty oil that it just got done filtering. It just keeps the containements that form in the oil from use out of the engine better. There are other filters out there with the same valve, doesn't have to be K&N, but OEM filter is pretty basic, but adequate and gets the job done.

And your right my preference for the welded nut determines most of my choice. But you have to admit how much easier it would be to take out a filter if you could grab the filter from the end and not around the filter. doesn't make changing oil any cleaner as it still drips all over the A/C hoses, but there is alot less struggling.

[paultakeda]

Originally Posted by XCman

OEM filters do not have a backflow valve

VW OEM oil filters have an anti-backflow check valve and a bypass valve.

[XCman]

Originally Posted by paultakeda

VW OEM oil filters have an anti-backflow check valve and a bypass valve.

Well then I'm confused then because the German oil filter thant my VW dealership puts on my car did not have one. It was a pretty cheap looking filter, with nothing in the center hole dirty oil and paper.

Maybe my dealership is cheap, don't know, but I like the quality of the way I change oil vs. what the dealership does. That and they put the oil plug and filter on so darn tight that you almost need power tools to take it back off. And that was scaring me last oil change with that aluminum pan.

[paultakeda]

I have no idea what you were looking at but OEM oil filters are quite heavy, full of metal and come with two spring-loaded valves.

[oneighturbo]

Originally Posted by XCman

did a loong research on oils and found Amsoil the best oil there is and Mobil 1 shortly after as far as Synthetics are concerned. Amsoil is not available in my area so I use Mobil 1 0w40 year round.

funny cuz the site you send us to , http://www.themotoroilsite.com, has a 25,000 blah blah blah link which goes to http://bestsyntheticoil.com/ which then goes on to state Mobil 1 STILL doesn't hold a candle to AMSOIL (even with their new Extended Performance product)

and that site seems to be littered with Amsoil content

ill stick to http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ for my reading/findings

BTW, i dont disagree that Amsoil is a good oil. I've never used it. However I have used Mobil 1 0W-40 along with their filter and was super happy but the car started makin alot of noise at startup etc.. read a great deal on the German Castrol 0W-30 and we have been smooth ever since.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Even "IF" the OEM filter allowed dirty oil to drain back into the pan when the engine was shut off, that wouldn't force the filter to perform double duty upon start up because this means the oil was never filtered in the first place and would have to be filtered regardless.

"IF the OEM filter allowed filtered (clean oil) oil to drain back into the dirty oil, this still wouldn't constitute double duty for the oil filter because the ratio of dirty oil to clean oil remains the same, the filter doesn't bypass the already cleaned oil and accept only the dirty oil, it flows ALL oil and contains (filters) the particles that are larger than the micron size it is designed to trap.

paultakeda is on the money, the genuine OEM filter is a real deal oil filter and once again, it's the only one I personally use/recommend.

My last response as well as this one were/are not meant to criticize you, they were/are only intended to inform you.

[bobbittle]

My 2000 1.8T has (almost) 125k on it....is switching to synthetic going to help me any or will it cause more problems than it's worth.

I believe I've read that once you go syn you can't go back to dino, correct?

Do the oil change intervals get farther apart (I would assume so) or is it still 3,000/3 months?

Thanks.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

With that amount of mileage on the car, I don't know that you would gain anything bt switching to synthetic oil now. The area where synthetic would present it's greatest benefits would be when used starting at an early (low) mileage, at this point, I'd suggest that you continue to use the organic oil with regular oil & filter changes.

Synthetic? Organic?
Oil and filter changes should be done at the same intervals regardless of which one you choose to use.

[No Slug]

No worries. Use any synth you can afford. I've used Amsoil, Havoline, Mobil1 in the 1.8T hot rod and there may be some differences but I'm not worried.

I put the Wal-Mart Super Tech Synth (which is Quaker State) in my other non-turbo cars and it's slippery as hell.

I've changed the synth at 7,500 - 10,000 and it's just as slippery as when it went in. I should change the filter at 5,000 or less but I always forget to. Anyway, doesn't VW/Audi recommend 7,500 mile intervals with dino oil on the 1.8T?

Later, Rich

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

[bobbittle]

Originally Posted by Too Cold NB1.8T

With that amount of mileage on the car, I don't know that you would gain anything bt switching to synthetic oil now. The area where synthetic would present it's greatest benefits would be when used starting at an early (low) mileage, at this point, I'd suggest that you continue to use the organic oil with regular oil & filter changes.

Synthetic? Organic?
Oil and filter changes should be done at the same intervals regardless of which one you choose to use.

Thats kinda what I was thinking, thanks.