it is my sister 02 passat turbo w/ 86k...there is crud underneath oil cap too, it burns a qt every 5k now...she hasnt changed oil (synpower 5-40) in 9k so i was wondering how long engine will last till it starts acting up from her "maint" schedule?...she goes at least 8k between oil changes and would probably never change if not for me, husband wont even change oil anymore on his 310k camry, just adds from jug of supertech i bought him...i changed the filter on that car awhile back....my dipsticks look very good on a 09 pontiac and 07 focus with 28 and 66k respectively
color of dipstick looks dark brown and cruddy
- Thread starter chet2
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The oil is needed to change now and run 1 or 2 short OCI's to remove to remove the possible sludge in the engine. Turbo engine is very hard on oil, the OCI should be no more than 6-7k/6mo with good syn oil, Synpower 5-40 is one of them the other is M1 TDT 5W40.
Do a couple of 3k changes w/ HDEO and re-assess from there, I don't think the situation calls for drastic measures yet. If you want to put a little MMO 1k before you change i'm sure that will be fine.
You can't necessarily extrapolate much from the colour of dipstick reading. Dirty brown may mean the oil is doing what its supposed to: lube and clean the engine. It doesn't mean its failing to do either, nor that the engine or OCI is beyond what the oil can handle.
Same for crud under the fill cap. Its not uncommon for some to form there, and in and of itself is not meaningful. It doesn't mean there is sludge buildup occurring in the engine.
My advice: get a UOA done, post it, and proceed from there.
-Spyder
Same for crud under the fill cap. Its not uncommon for some to form there, and in and of itself is not meaningful. It doesn't mean there is sludge buildup occurring in the engine.
My advice: get a UOA done, post it, and proceed from there.
-Spyder
dipstick routing is important.
In some vehicles the dipstick goes too close to exhaust manifolds, etc. and the heat bakes a portion of it.
Smelling, looking at, or even tasting the oil may not give you an accurate idea!
In some vehicles the dipstick goes too close to exhaust manifolds, etc. and the heat bakes a portion of it.
Smelling, looking at, or even tasting the oil may not give you an accurate idea!
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
I think how she drives and what type of driving is more important than how long. I drive 7kmi on my turbo subie, but that's done in 5 months or so. If I drove less on the highway or drove like some of the rally racers around here I'd change it more often. If I drove ALL highway I'd probably extend out past 10kmi.
Originally Posted By: chet2
it is my sister 02 passat turbo w/ 86k...there is crud underneath oil cap too, it burns a qt every 5k now...she hasnt changed oil (synpower 5-40) in 9k so i was wondering how long engine will last till it starts acting up from her "maint" schedule?...she goes at least 8k between oil changes and would probably never change if not for me, husband wont even change oil anymore on his 310k camry, just adds from jug of supertech i bought him...i changed the filter on that car awhile back....my dipsticks look very good on a 09 pontiac and 07 focus with 28 and 66k respectively
Sounds like they both need to just sell the cars and just take a bus at this point or just hire a guy to take them around when needed. You should not have to stay on their case to have them do the maintenance on their cars as I am sure you have other things to do.
it is my sister 02 passat turbo w/ 86k...there is crud underneath oil cap too, it burns a qt every 5k now...she hasnt changed oil (synpower 5-40) in 9k so i was wondering how long engine will last till it starts acting up from her "maint" schedule?...she goes at least 8k between oil changes and would probably never change if not for me, husband wont even change oil anymore on his 310k camry, just adds from jug of supertech i bought him...i changed the filter on that car awhile back....my dipsticks look very good on a 09 pontiac and 07 focus with 28 and 66k respectively
Sounds like they both need to just sell the cars and just take a bus at this point or just hire a guy to take them around when needed. You should not have to stay on their case to have them do the maintenance on their cars as I am sure you have other things to do.
A bit OT, but on another forum somebody posted an article from the NY Times about the myth of the 3000-mile OCI, and I was amazed how many of the commenters said they rarely if ever changed their oil. They just sold or traded in the cars every few years and didn't bother with oil changes. A few of them said they never even checked the oil! It does surprise me how often when looking at used cars how the oil on the dipstick looks like crude oil straight from the ground--you'd think they would at least try to make it look like the car was maintained.
That 02 Passat is too nice to abuse like that.
You can help them with information only if they want it.
So make the offer and warn them.
You can help them with information only if they want it.
So make the offer and warn them.
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