It’s in the rinse phase that I observed lots of sludge and gunk in the pleats of my filters when using ARX. I’ve never seen anything in the filter during the cleaning phase. If you are experiencing more power, your ring packs are probably being effectively cleaned. I’m assuming you are going to do multiple treatments, right?
HELP!! Passat 1.8T Sludgebucket
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In my opinion its a bad idea to run a solvent
based engine flush or kero through an engine with
a turbo. Compromising the film of oil on those
Hy-tech (read expensive)turbo bearings is not a
good idea. They run up to 10x engine speed and
ALWAYS need good lube.Cleaning slow is the way to
go, thats what make ARX so good.
based engine flush or kero through an engine with
a turbo. Compromising the film of oil on those
Hy-tech (read expensive)turbo bearings is not a
good idea. They run up to 10x engine speed and
ALWAYS need good lube.Cleaning slow is the way to
go, thats what make ARX so good.
Ohh man i just read this entire thread and can honestly say i will never buy a VW, good luck on the pressure hopefully the RX did its job.
We had a $2,450 VW Type IV Bus with a factory A/C & the 1-Bed Camper Package: no crank-up top. Got T-Boned at a light, and it put a $2,000 dent behind the driver's door.
Check in the savings account...
Sold it (with the dent) for $2,500 to the 1st person that looked at it.
Wish I had kept it. Had a downdraft 2bl. Weber carb, wouldn't pass DEQ but got great gas mileage at 60 mph. A little throttle-lag around town, but ran great when in the sweet spot.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN "...never buy a VW"????
Cheers!
Check in the savings account...
Sold it (with the dent) for $2,500 to the 1st person that looked at it.
Wish I had kept it. Had a downdraft 2bl. Weber carb, wouldn't pass DEQ but got great gas mileage at 60 mph. A little throttle-lag around town, but ran great when in the sweet spot.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN "...never buy a VW"????
Cheers!
I really don't know how much of this is VW fault i mean I would never go 10000 miles OCI on a turbo with a dino oil in fact only would do it with a diesel turbo whit synthtic and a bypass filter and analysis!
good luck on the rinse phase keep us updated.
No, I didn't go 10,000 mi on dino--5-10 k on synthetic. And Norm, VW is a good car--if you can afford to maintain it. VW ain't what it used to be.
I've owned them since 1964. Corporations change over the years. Go by yourself a 4 cyl Passat and find out!
I've owned them since 1964. Corporations change over the years. Go by yourself a 4 cyl Passat and find out!
Most of the cleaning takes place during the rinse phase, so if you chose to perform multiple filter changes, doing it during the rinse phase would be ideal.
If that filter goes into bypass due to clogging and crap starts getting pumped into the bearings you can kiss what's left of your engine's life goodbye.
If that filter goes into bypass due to clogging and crap starts getting pumped into the bearings you can kiss what's left of your engine's life goodbye.
Aero Nut, FWIW, 5w-30 Castrol is a group III, which personally I wouldn't run 10k in a turbo car. I run group IV's in NA cars for 10k with excellent results.
Sparkman,
5w-30 is what VW recommended...I never used it. Reports are coming in of 4 cyl Passats running 5k
OCI's on synthetic that are sludged. This engine is murder on oil. Maybe worse than some of the other sludgers that were on the market. I think that if you treat this engine very carfully,(using the new larger oil filter, frequent OCI's with the best synthetic) you might make it past the warrenty period. Yea for VW. This car is not going to make it on the long run. Between the high revving, hot, hot,
turbocharged engine with a 3 qt sump, from what I've read at least, this engine WILL sludge. Wish me luck on the rest of the rinse phase. At least the way it seems now, things are better. I still hear the cam groaning on startup but hope that will get better when I change to 5w-40 Mobil 1 (I'm using Rotella 15w-40 for the rinse)....Cheers
5w-30 is what VW recommended...I never used it. Reports are coming in of 4 cyl Passats running 5k
OCI's on synthetic that are sludged. This engine is murder on oil. Maybe worse than some of the other sludgers that were on the market. I think that if you treat this engine very carfully,(using the new larger oil filter, frequent OCI's with the best synthetic) you might make it past the warrenty period. Yea for VW. This car is not going to make it on the long run. Between the high revving, hot, hot,
turbocharged engine with a 3 qt sump, from what I've read at least, this engine WILL sludge. Wish me luck on the rest of the rinse phase. At least the way it seems now, things are better. I still hear the cam groaning on startup but hope that will get better when I change to 5w-40 Mobil 1 (I'm using Rotella 15w-40 for the rinse)....Cheers
Man, this is an interesting thread. I have the 1.8T in my Audi TT and I have out M1 T&S in since I have had it. It holds 5 qts. and 5000 mile OCI's. Unfortunately my buddy bought a used Passat with the 4 cyl. engine. I better have him read this thread! He is not the best at maintanance if you know what I mean.
I didn't check the pressure sensor, but verified that the pressure was VERY low by a high quality separate pressure gauge. Can't see the rocker area because there is a shield below the oil cap so you can't really see in (remember it's a VW, everything is difficult).
Have 1600 mi on the rinse so I change the original filter from the beginning of the rinse. Cut it open and.........Nothing again. No slime, sludge, carbon grit, just dirty oil. Is it possible that the crude has been solublized and is just floating around in solution??? I won't be doing a second treatment. The wife wants a Honda Oddysey (much to my chagrin). Trade in will be soon, but I'm doing another pressure test before then. Will be interesting to see the results.....stay tuned folks.
Have 1600 mi on the rinse so I change the original filter from the beginning of the rinse. Cut it open and.........Nothing again. No slime, sludge, carbon grit, just dirty oil. Is it possible that the crude has been solublized and is just floating around in solution??? I won't be doing a second treatment. The wife wants a Honda Oddysey (much to my chagrin). Trade in will be soon, but I'm doing another pressure test before then. Will be interesting to see the results.....stay tuned folks.
Aeronut:
I have a '98 Passat 1.8T with 113k on it. I purchased it used from the original owner with 70k on it. He had the dealer change the oil, with Castrol GTX of course. Early in '04, at 102k I took it in to a QuickLube place and made the mistake of allowing them to run one of those hot-flushes. Within a week the oil pressure buzzer was on and off. I tried the kerosene in the pan overnight, doing several oil changes, and even tried ARX, but it was too late. The pressure went to 6-8lbs and the turbo spat out its bearings (BTW, it's virtually never the pressure sender that is the problem on the 1.8T. It's low pressure). Let me say that during this I put on several hundred miles trying to work out the sludge.
I ended up pulling the pan myself (I wrote up the instuctions, step-by-step, for anyone that would like to do this. Just contact me.) For most of us mortals without a garage lift this is a 2 day process.
The oil pump intake screen was clogged with sludge that looked like coffee grounds. I replaced the pump ($200). It took me 4 hours to scrape clean the crusty, baked on sludge in the pan.
I got a good used turbo on e-bay for $100, got the gasket kit for $50 and bolted on the new turbo.
Also, I replaced the crankcase breather tube (cracked) and cleaned the PCV (sludged).
I put everything back together and presto - pressure was perfect. After another oil change I put in ARX and ran the full cycle. The filter had lots of coffee grounds in it. Then switched to Valvoline SynPower 5w-40 for 7k, along with a maint dose of ARX and the Big Kahuna Napa 1333 filter. I am now into my second oil change with Mobil 1 and ARX maint dose. The oil now can go 5k before even barely discoloring and has gone from consuming a half quart every 2.5k to maybe 1/4 quart in 5k.
This car now runs so smoothly and powerfully that people riding in it actually go out of their way to mention it. My mileage is up significantly and the difference in driveability and smoothness are night and day now at 113k vs 70k when I bought it. We plan on driving this car for a very, very long time and with ARX and the big filters I have absolutely zero concern with sludging any more. The oil comes out so clean and nice smelling now at 7k that one is tempted to put it in another engine (not that I would
). Despite the abuse of low pressure and the metallic debris from the turbo bearings this engine is so quiet that all you hear is the pssst-whine of the turbo spooling and is smooth as silk now and shows no evidence of wear. The top end looks like new. It took some abuse in stride.
All this is to encourage you to reconsider dumping the car. If you can work through this with ARX and clean up those sludge particles stuck in the oil intake screen with it, and clean out the pan with it, you will have a superb car. From the sounds of the dirty oil at 1600 miles it sounds like you're doing exactly that. If you can validate that you now have good hot oil pressure at various test times, you basically have the problem licked.
For those out there with worries about their 1.8T Passats falling prey to sludge, just do the ARX, switch to the larger filters, use ARX maint or Lube Control with your VW approved synth and drive that engine!
[ April 16, 2005, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: Eric Peterman ]
I have a '98 Passat 1.8T with 113k on it. I purchased it used from the original owner with 70k on it. He had the dealer change the oil, with Castrol GTX of course. Early in '04, at 102k I took it in to a QuickLube place and made the mistake of allowing them to run one of those hot-flushes. Within a week the oil pressure buzzer was on and off. I tried the kerosene in the pan overnight, doing several oil changes, and even tried ARX, but it was too late. The pressure went to 6-8lbs and the turbo spat out its bearings (BTW, it's virtually never the pressure sender that is the problem on the 1.8T. It's low pressure). Let me say that during this I put on several hundred miles trying to work out the sludge.
I ended up pulling the pan myself (I wrote up the instuctions, step-by-step, for anyone that would like to do this. Just contact me.) For most of us mortals without a garage lift this is a 2 day process.
The oil pump intake screen was clogged with sludge that looked like coffee grounds. I replaced the pump ($200). It took me 4 hours to scrape clean the crusty, baked on sludge in the pan.
I got a good used turbo on e-bay for $100, got the gasket kit for $50 and bolted on the new turbo.
Also, I replaced the crankcase breather tube (cracked) and cleaned the PCV (sludged).
I put everything back together and presto - pressure was perfect. After another oil change I put in ARX and ran the full cycle. The filter had lots of coffee grounds in it. Then switched to Valvoline SynPower 5w-40 for 7k, along with a maint dose of ARX and the Big Kahuna Napa 1333 filter. I am now into my second oil change with Mobil 1 and ARX maint dose. The oil now can go 5k before even barely discoloring and has gone from consuming a half quart every 2.5k to maybe 1/4 quart in 5k.
This car now runs so smoothly and powerfully that people riding in it actually go out of their way to mention it. My mileage is up significantly and the difference in driveability and smoothness are night and day now at 113k vs 70k when I bought it. We plan on driving this car for a very, very long time and with ARX and the big filters I have absolutely zero concern with sludging any more. The oil comes out so clean and nice smelling now at 7k that one is tempted to put it in another engine (not that I would
All this is to encourage you to reconsider dumping the car. If you can work through this with ARX and clean up those sludge particles stuck in the oil intake screen with it, and clean out the pan with it, you will have a superb car. From the sounds of the dirty oil at 1600 miles it sounds like you're doing exactly that. If you can validate that you now have good hot oil pressure at various test times, you basically have the problem licked.
For those out there with worries about their 1.8T Passats falling prey to sludge, just do the ARX, switch to the larger filters, use ARX maint or Lube Control with your VW approved synth and drive that engine!
[ April 16, 2005, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: Eric Peterman ]
aero nut- Just wanted to point out, in case you or anyone does this type of Auto-RX clean phase regimen again, that unless your using top up oil that has the right ratio of Auto-RX in it, each time you change the oil filter during the clean phase, your diluting the amount of Auto-RX left in the engine and it's ability to clean.
Chuck
Chuck
*** Auto-Rx Success **
Oil pressure test today. Here are the numbers:
Engine at full temp with synthetic before ARX treatment
Idle: 0 psi
70 mph: 15 psi
After ARX treatment with Mobil 1 at full temp.
Idle; 15 psi
65-70 mph: 40 psi
It looks good to me. My mechanic said the pressur is now within specs for this car. He also said he wouldn't have given me 2 cents for the engine when he first looked at it. He was also supprised the engine lasted through the 3500 mi clean & rinse phases with the pressure it had. I may now keep the car and run another treatment & another pressure test after that. But the way it looks now, I'm OK and the engine should do fine from here on.
Thanks to everyone here for all of the advice. Seems it has saved me possibly $9,000.
Oil pressure test today. Here are the numbers:
Engine at full temp with synthetic before ARX treatment
Idle: 0 psi
70 mph: 15 psi
After ARX treatment with Mobil 1 at full temp.
Idle; 15 psi
65-70 mph: 40 psi
It looks good to me. My mechanic said the pressur is now within specs for this car. He also said he wouldn't have given me 2 cents for the engine when he first looked at it. He was also supprised the engine lasted through the 3500 mi clean & rinse phases with the pressure it had. I may now keep the car and run another treatment & another pressure test after that. But the way it looks now, I'm OK and the engine should do fine from here on.
Thanks to everyone here for all of the advice. Seems it has saved me possibly $9,000.
I am glad it worked for you!
aeronut:
Boy does that make me happy for you! Well done. If it were me I'd run another pattern of ARX clean/rinse to utterly clean it out, then run a maint dose or Lube Control. You really want to scour that engine now that the pump intake screen is cleared.
Best to you!
Boy does that make me happy for you! Well done. If it were me I'd run another pattern of ARX clean/rinse to utterly clean it out, then run a maint dose or Lube Control. You really want to scour that engine now that the pump intake screen is cleared.
Best to you!
Here's my Passat repair story, I believe the auto-rx is working well with my car as well.
http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180331
http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180331
An interesting side note. The engine light and emissions workshop light had been coming on for a while. Cleared it out once and they came back. When I had the final oil pressure test done, the mechanic said the code was for a knock sensor out of specs on cyl. #4. It's the cylinder next to the timing chain and was making such a racket from lack of lubrication that it was throwing off the knock sensor. I have 500 mi on it since and the lights are still off. Thought it might help someone. It may be the lack of lubrication has been coming on for quite a while.
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