02 Beetle Diesel - alt. to Amsoil?

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: scurvy
Originally Posted By: skyship
If you can get a top quality oil filter (M1 or Bosch EP)


Mobil 1 does not make an oil filter for these cars. Bosch claims to make a premium filter but it's obviously wrong as the part number shows up as a spin-on filter but all ALH & PD TDIs take cartridge filters.

In any case the stock filters are of excellent quality and truly enormous.


The used to be quite enormous, until it was modified for a solid wall approximately half way up the filter, so that when you shut off the engine, all the oil won't drain back to the pan. So, essentially, the oil flow became slightly restricted, and this also meant orientation is now crticial.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
The used to be quite enormous, until it was modified for a solid wall approximately half way up the filter, so that when you shut off the engine, all the oil won't drain back to the pan. So, essentially, the oil flow became slightly restricted, and this also meant orientation is now crticial.


They are still quite enormous - oil will gladly flow through the entire length of the media and then up and over the top of the standpipe.

All the Mann, Bosch or Hengst filters I've used for this application clearly have OBEN / TOP printed on the top endcap making it bonehead simple to get orientation correct ("oben" = "top" in German). Even with the small number of Mexican-made Mann filters out there that had it mistakenly printed on the bottom of the filter, the standpipe makes it silly simple to orient correctly... plus they won't go together correctly upside down. A troglodyte with a hammer could get it to 'fit' but not without severely tweaking the center support.

None of the no-name filters I've seen in STP or Fram boxes from Korea, India, China or Bulgaria have had the top marked at all. Some haven't had the two o-rings included or the standpipe feature.

I used to find Hengst Energetic filters in STP boxes at AutoZone all the time but I must've bled the ones around me dry, they're all no-name filters now...

 

[addyguy]

If you like using Amsoil, you could try their new OE 10w30 Diesel oil.

On an older VW diesel, should work just fine.