1.8T engine sludge and particles?

[rekced]

I went to Jiffy Lube today for a quick change and brought in my own 0W-40 Mobile 1 and a M1 filter. They said my oil didn't drain immediately when they pulled the plug and they had to literally had to poke the drain hole to make it drain. Whoa! They went on and on about how they wanted to do an engine flush for $50, but I declined. The car has about 95,000 (I am the original owner) and it has been serviced mostly with M1 0W-40, German Castrol, but lately I've been letting them use 5W-40 Pennzoil Platinum and their filter for about the last three or four changes. The engine gets new oil and filter every 4-6k, whether I have time to do it myself or not.

My current plan is to switch to M1 oil and filters and do it myself from now on, but what would you say I should do to verify their claim of the incredibly dirty condition of the engine?

 

[Pablo]

I would call bunk on this ploy. It's an old scheme....

Just to give yourself peace of mind, run a 3K oci and a UOA.

 

[wallyuwl]

It sounds like you have changed the oil yourself until somewhat recently (last couple years). How was the oil when you last did it? Only way to check for sure would be to drain the oil yourself. You could always catch it and dump it back in right away so you don't waste it.

With that OCI over the life of the vehicle, and the type of oils you say you've been using, it seems highly probable they were just trying to sell you an extra service to help their numbers.

If time is the issue, why do you even take it to JL, or any place for that matter? Oil changes can be done in 30 minutes start to finish, sometimes less, and that is the same amount of time or less as driving somewhere and having them do it and driving back.

 

[chubbs1]

Run your usual OCI and Add some MMO about 300miles before you change it. See how the oil looks and cut open the filter, you will usually see junk in the filter. The engine has 95k it is possible to be dirty but I doubt it with your service schedule and oil used but sludge happens.

Cut open the filter next change.

 

[ARB1977]

Their eyes lit up when they saw a 1.8T. Change it yourself.

 

[rekced]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1

Cut open the filter next change.


What should I look for in the filter and what steps should I take if I find signs of sludge or metal particles? Is AutoRX worth considering?

 

[rekced]

Oh, I forgot to mention that sometimes I top off the oil with 15W-50 between changes because the oil pan does leak a little bit and I assume some of it burns through the vales and rings.

It's funny that the guy was so insistant on the flush, because before this last change I changed the filter and added two quarts of oil. There is NO WAY the oil could have been that dirty because half of the oil and filter was only used 2,000 miles.

Btw- If you're wondering why I added two quarts between changes, it's because it was a half quart low when it was changed, I burt about a quart over 3,000 miles, and lost about a half quart changing the filter.

 

[ARB1977]

What does it look like under the oil cap?

 

[bruno]

First mistake - going to Jiffy Lube

second mistake - using the heavy oil to top it up - there is no VW 502 approved oil in that weight

Third - if you're worried put a shop gage on and check the oil pressure

Fourth go over to Club B5 and get the straight info on VW

 

[JR402]

Not sure what year car the OP has, but I have a 1.8T in a 99 A4. The original owner told me he used syn since new (not sure what brand or weight) but I could tell he was very serious about taking care of cars so I believe him. I bought the car with about 95k miles and currently have 142k miles. I've used M1 0w-40 at 5k to 6k changes and the engine is very clean. I had the valve cover off a while back to change the chain tensioner gasket and it was like new under there.
I would guess your ok and like other people said they were trying to get more of your money. These engines really only have oil and sludge problems with cheap oil, small filters, too long OCI, and not giving it some cool down time after hard running.

 

[dbrowne1]

Originally Posted By: rekced
I went to Jiffy Lube today for a quick change and brought in my own 0W-40 Mobile 1 and a M1 filter. They said my oil didn't drain immediately when they pulled the plug and they had to literally had to poke the drain hole to make it drain. Whoa! They went on and on about how they wanted to do an engine flush for $50, but I declined. The car has about 95,000 (I am the original owner) and it has been serviced mostly with M1 0W-40, German Castrol, but lately I've been letting them use 5W-40 Pennzoil Platinum and their filter for about the last three or four changes. The engine gets new oil and filter every 4-6k, whether I have time to do it myself or not.


The is complete, highly enriched, weapons grade [censored] on their part. Even if your 1.8T had been horribly neglected for years, this is not what you would see as a result.

In addition, if it has had oil changes with those oils you list, at that 4-6K interval, it should be spotless inside based on my observations of the two 1.8t engines I've owned. I just had the valve cover off mine a couple weeks ago at 117K miles, and it was spotless. I've used the same oils on the same intervals as you.

 

[bruno]

And BTW my '99 Passat with 146,000 miles of M1 0-40 is squeaky clean inside !

 

[rekced]

Call me crazy but I think it looks pretty good.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I would call bunk on this ploy. It's an old scheme....

Just to give yourself peace of mind, run a 3K oci and a UOA.


X2

 

[glxpassat]

They could have been giving you cheap oil while keeping yours if you were not watching them.

 

[antonmnster]

If it were my 1.8T, I'd drop the pan and have a look around. I'm not always convinced that what's happening in the head is what's happening in the pan.

 

[dbrowne1]

If the head is clean and the car has had GC or M1 0W-40 on 4-6K OCIs, I would be utterly shocked and baffled if the bottom end had any issues.