Best Course of Action

[ddown77]

I'm new to the forum so excuse my naivete!

I have an 02 jetta GL with 58K on it. My oil change history has been the following (wrongly assuming that the suggested 10K OCI with conventional oil was ok): 5K, 10K, 20K, 30K, 35K, 40K, 45K, 56K, 58K. After reading these boards I have seen the error of my ways. What kind of engine damage/sludge could be expected with my OCI? I would estimate an approx. 60/40 city/highway usage.

I would like to switch to synthetic at my 60K service to prolong the engine life, or am I screwed already. What protocol should I use? I am a grad student living in an apartment so doing my own changes is not real practical at the moment. I'm sure this has been discussed many times, sorry!

 

[pmwalter]

I know what everyone else will say, so I'll beat them to it!

http://www.auto-rx.com/

I also have 60K miles on my 98'Camry. I'm just wrapping-up my Auto-Rx cycle and also switching to Synthetic for the first time like you are.

Good Luck

 

[Ugly3]

Enough said.

 

[Palut]

If possible, pull your valve cover and take some pictures. That will tell you exactly how dirty your engine is, and we'd all love to see the pics!

If I were you, I'd start running a dual rated fleet oil. These HDEOs (heavy duty engine oil), designed for big diesel engines, clean pretty well in gas engines. Mobil 1 5W-40 and Rotella T 5W-40 are both good values at about $4/qt at Wal-Mart. If you don't want to spend that much, you can get a 15W-40 HDEO like Chevron Delo 400 or Mobil Delvac 1300 for $1.50-$2 a quart. Those are both top notch oils that you can run for 5k miles no problem.

Your weather is pretty much like mine, not that cold, so you can get away with running that thick of an oil through the whole winter.

I don't put much stock into Auto-Rx, but that's just from my personal experience. Others on this board have had good experiences with it. Just try to make the best informed decision you can on whether to use ARX or not.

EDIT: Also, do some searches on this board, there are lots of other people in similar predicaments, and tons of great advice has been given to them. You can learn a lot!

 

[dB]

Don't forget to try to use the larger diesel filter also.

I don't know about newer VW's, but you're rolling the dice when you take the valve cover off and put it back on. It may never seal right again.

 

[FowVay]

If you're driving the 2.slow then you likely have nothing to worry about. It's a stout little engine and can take practically anything you threw at it.

 

[Alan]

The 2.slow is one stout mutha.I bet you have some varnish but really nothing to fret over.

I'd go with Delo 400 and a bigger filter and 5W30 in the winter.That will do some good engine cleaning.Personally I wouldn't waste my money on a syn on the 2.0L engine.

Is there any oil consumption?

 

[ddown77]

Thanks for all the good info! Sorry for being ignorant but I'm not sure if the engine is 2.slow. All I know is that it is the 2.0L, is that the same thing? Also, there is some oil consumption issues (~1qt per 1,500 I'm guessing). I've heard that this is "normal" for jetta's that came out at around that time.

 

[ddown77]

Guys, I'm an idiot. I get it now...."2 slow". Yes, feel free to laugh at me.

 

[Alan]

Yeah,the 2.0 has been known to consume some oil.Hopefully going with a top notch oil like Delo would reduce consumption and clean up the engine.

You also may wanna look at the PCV system.