Oil change and oil filter questions

[rramirez26]

Hi everyone! I always value your help more than anywhere else and now my boyfriend is going to start doing my oil changes for me so I need to get all the information together for him. What kind of oil and oil filter to use? Where is the oil filter located?

I did a search and found absolutely nothing, amazingly. I appreciate your help and any links/how-tos.

Another question while I am on the subject. I know this is terrible of me, but I never received synthetic oil changes and have had the car about four years. Eek! Well, I never knew I needed it and didn't know I wasn't getting it when I would take it to the local shop. I assumed they knew what needed to go in there. How bad would it be if I started to use synthetic now? I do understand something could go terribly wrong and ruin the engine with the swap. You opinions and advise are appreciated.

[noR]

Mobil1 0w40 oil. (you'll use about 4.5qts.)
Mobil1 M1-205 filter.

Need a torx bit (T20 I think) to remove the paneling under the beetle. Filter's right up front, easy to find.

It won't be bad to start synthetic now.

[Turbomania]

Synthetic oil is recommended for all turbo charged engines. The reason is that regular petroleum based oils can break down under the increased heat that the turbo charger produces. One process of that breaking down is something called coking. When an oil breaks down, semi-solid particles can form and block critical oil passages causing hot spots and areas of no lubrication. I and many other forum members use Mobil 1, 0W40 weight oil. For very cold winter weather Mobil also makes a 0W30 weight. I use the 0W40 all year round here in Texas and have driven my car up to Montana in the winter when temps were below zero with this weight oil in it without any problems at all. Oil filters are all similar except very cheap ones but I use one from VW. It runs about $7.95. There is also a "crush ring" that needs to be replaced every time the oil drain plug is removed. It's just a softer metal washer that crushes when the plug is tightened sealing that drain from leaks. My VW parts counter usually just throws the crush ring in at N/C. The oil filter is located on the left side of the engine which in our cars is in front. The under engine protection shroud should be removed for access to everything. The 1.8 turbo holds 4.5 quarts of oil... No more!!! Don't over fill it. Just save that half quart until you need to top off the crankcase in between oil changes. I also prefer that the oil filter be filled with the new oil before it is screwed on to the oil filter holder. I've been told this lessons the time during the first start up after a change when oil pressure is first building up pressure. I also coat the rubber gasket on the top of the filter so a good seal is made for the oil filter...
I hope this has helped get your boyfriend started. Although synthetic oil is more expensive, I have used it in all my new cars since it came out and have had very long leak free engine life. My 99 GLS 1.8 T has 74,000 miles on it and I never have to add a drop of oil in between changes. Good Luck, JK

[cep]

Originally Posted by Turbomania

Synthetic oil is recommended for all turbo charged engines.

That may be true of all VW gas turbocharged engines, I don't know. And since this is the 1.8 VW forum, maybe that's all that matters. But the pre-PD diesels were turbo'd and they were fine with conventional oil.

There are probably far more turbo engines running, per the manufacturer's recommendation, on conventional oil than synthetic. I've had quite a few, and only one ('06 TDI) carries the synthetic oil recommendation.

[Turbomania]

Yes, many makers of American Diesel engines call for petroleum based oils in their engines. These petroleum based oils have many special additive packages added to the stock oil to prevent many of the problems Diesel engines can create. One problem in using synthetic oil in large Diesels is the cost factor. Many large industrial Diesel engines carry much more oil than our smaller gas engined cars carry. Gallons and gallons in many applications so cost maybe a factor for those engines. Having never studied the reasons why some makers prefer a petroleum based oil I can't really speak about the real pros and cons but I do know that for our 1.8 Turbos and many other high performance engines, non-Turbo and Turbo charged a like, a synthetic oil is preferable for a long Turbo bearing life and for a long wearing engine too. Looks like I will be on-line tonight trying to educate myself in this area of our cars... JK

[rramirez26]

Thank you!