Infamous VW 1.8T Sludge!!

[JasonVW]

I have a 2002 VW Passat with the 1.8T that seems to sludge up. I use M1 0w40 and a "big" OEM Mann filter and change every 5k. I recently used Blackstone for my first test at 32k on the car. Everything came back fine except the viscosity was on the low side (just under the acceptable range).

My question is, if my engine was sludging up would I see it in the report??

 

[Audi Junkie]

afaik, no. Chances you will be fine with this oil/interval combo. How short are your typical drives? With only 32k on a 2002, I'm concerned...unless the car sits a lot.

 

[JasonVW]

My drives are typically 10-30 miles around town and 300 mile one ways a few times a year. The car sits alot in a garage. I dont use it for errands.

 

[bar1]

Just pop the camshaft cover. It will tell you everything you need to know

 

[wavinwayne]

I don't believe that sludge will show up in a UOA. But, if you read a UOA very carefully, there could be "signs" of sludge. For example, if the oil had thickened to a 50wt, & wear metals were unusually high, I would definitely suspect sludge.

If you've been running synthetic oil & changing it at 5k miles for the life of that VW, it is very unlikely that there is any sludge in the engine.

Also, what bar1 wrote is exactly right.

 

[ekpolk]

In the 350Z/G35 world, there are a bunch of aftermarket outfits offering turbo and twin-turbo setups for the VQ35. Most of the kits come with enlarged, cast aluminum oil pans, which you can also purchase as a stand-alone item. They bring the capacity up from the stock 5 qts to about 7.5 qts. Anyone make such a thing for the infamous 1.8T?

 

[Quattro Pete]

JasonVW, I wouldn't worry. That's a pretty safe oil/filter/OCI combo, unless you don't let the turbo cool off after a spirited run, in which case you might run into problems regardless of oil and OCI.

M1 0w-40 is known for thinning out of grade, so that's not surprising there. But otherwise, there don't seem to be any ill effects of that.

 

[ruking77]

quote:

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Originally posted by ekpolk:
In the 350Z/G35 world, there are a bunch of aftermarket outfits offering turbo and twin-turbo setups for the VQ35. Most of the kits come with enlarged, cast aluminum oil pans, which you can also purchase as a stand-alone item. They bring the capacity up from the stock 5 qts to about 7.5 qts. Anyone make such a thing for the infamous 1.8T?

---

Actually in the VW engine world one can add 1-1.5 quarts to the system by the addition of a bypass oil filter system. While I like the concept of a bypass oil system I am thinking the most likely variable that allows for so called "extended" oil changes is the addition of the 1-1.5 quarts of oil.

 

[JeffPGH]

M1 0w40 is a long-life oil and is designed to shear a little intially and then thicken later in an extended interval thus keeping within an acceptable viscosity range. Nothing to be concerned about. If you have any concerns regarding sludge, you may want to run an AutoRx treatment to clean whatever may be in there and also just for the peace of mind. I have the same engine and am running one now. I'll use a maintenance dose thereafter.

 

[JasonVW]

Wow. Thanks for all the great advice. I really appreciate it!

I think I will run an AutoRx treatment through at about 40k.

 

[hominid7]

Mobil1+Mann filter+5k OCI's = i bet your engine is as clean as the day you bought it!