Odd situation - what oil?

[mwdoher]

Hi all! It looks like everyone around here is super supportive - who knew this kind of community existed? I was pointed here by a member at vwvortex. Thanks in advance for helping me out if you're able (or considering it if you're unable!) I'm in an odd spot; I commute about 2 miles, and don't put really more than 7-8k miles on my car per year. That said, my oil looks disgusting after only a few short months, so I thought I'd reach out here. I have a bit of a rough ride on a cold engine (garage kept at night), and recently had a couple misfires. After new plugs on each cylinder, a gas tank can of sea foam, and a new coil on a misfiring cylinder, the CEL and misfires are gone, but I still have the rough ride so my next stop is the fuel system. I saw the sticky post about how to ask for what I need, so here goes: 1. What kind of vehicle you have - a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta GLI (TSI 2.0T engine) 2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well - OM says SAE 5W-40 or SAE 5W-30. VW 504 00, VW 503 00, VW 502 00 specification. Change interval = every 12 months or 10k miles. 3. Where you live - Southwestern suburbs of Chicago 4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) - I don't redline, and usually drive about 5 over the speed limit... Long interstate trips are usually 75mph (not often in this vehicle), and locally, I never exceed 45 or so. Not a hard accelerator, but I don't 'dog' it, either. 5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) 2.5 miles or so each way. It "warms up" but never gets hot. 6. Whether your car has any known problems. None, really, other than what was mentioned in the intro (rough ride on a cold engine). This problem is recent (as of the cold). Most of my suspicion is that I took the car into an oil change facility (that didn't replace my plug washer with a new one so I had to return for a leak) - and never had a problem prior. I REALLY want to get out whatever is in this engine and replace it with the right stuff. Your recommendation is welcome. Thanks again for considering! -Matt (edit = bolded answers to initial inquiries)

 

[RooflessVW]

Go to Walmart and pick one of the 3 available 0W-40 oils: Mobil, Pennzoil, or Castrol. They're all 3 ~ $25/jug. As for the misfires, due to your usage habits, you're probably due for a walnut blast.

 

[Collingwood]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Go to Walmart and pick one of the 3 available 0W-40 oils: Mobil, Pennzoil, or Castrol. They're all 3 ~ $25/jug. As for the misfires, due to your usage habits, you're probably due for a walnut blast.

I have heard of this. Can you run us through the "walnut blast" process?

 

[Gimpy1]

Short trips where the oil doesn't get up to operating temp are a real killer since moisture doesn't have time to evaporate out. My wife's New Beetle is in the same situation she only drives about 6km each way. Other members may chime in and correct me, but what I did is to change the oil change interval, and change it every 4500 miles or every 6 months which ever comes first. It's usually every six months since I have to go to the US every six months anyway, I just get a gallon jug of the Castrol euro 0w40 at wally world and bring it back with me. You also may want to get a UOA from blackstone to see exactly what is happening to the oil.

 

[KL31]

Oil change facility.... Hmmmm I'd start by never going to those places and replace your own oil asap with one that rooflessvw previously recommend. See how it runs after that and then tackle whatever else could be the issue.

 

[HemiHawk]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Go to Walmart and pick one of the 3 available 0W-40 oils: Mobil, Pennzoil, or Castrol. They're all 3 ~ $25/jug. As for the misfires, due to your usage habits, you're probably due for a walnut blast.

This! I have a similar engine in my GTI. The owners manual actually suggests running the engine at high RPM, like 3rd or 4th gear, on the highway for X amount of time (20 minutes??). The idea is to get everything hot enough to burn off junk. I don't plan on doing that, but it does show that the engineers are aware that these engines need to get hot and run to keep in working order. Sounds like you need a once a week highway run.

 

[Insertcoolname]

I agree with above people. Pennzoil currently has a $10 rebate / 5 qt jug This rebate includes the euro formulations bringing The price down to roughly $13 ish per 5qt jug When purchased at walmart Pennzoil platinum euro 0w40 meets ur VW 502 spec Pennzoil rebate Theres the link to the rebate. Also, if you provide your own oil + filter most shops Will change the oil for labor only if that is an option. Pepboys will do it around $18 labor only last time i checked. Good luck!

 

[Lyman]

Take it out on the freeway once in a while and blow it out. Cars need to be driven hard once in a while to blow out all the built up carbon and crud.

 

[mwdoher]

Thanks for the quick and meaningful feedback, everyone. The money for the oil really isn't a concern for me; the difference between 15 and 35 dollars for high quality oil is a fortune cheaper than the local quick-lube synthetic price gouge - and I just realized today how genuinely simple it is to change on these cars, so I'll be doing it myself. That said, thanks for all the advice. My gas tank is just about empty, so I'll toss some Techron into the tank right before I add my usual V-Power gas, and will burn some time on the expressway at about 3500-4500 RPM (hopefully 25-30 minutes or more, and ideally a couple different times). I then plan to change my own oil and filter right after that tank is empty. All of this seems like stuff that needs to happen regardless. If the bumpy ride prevails after that, I'll look into some local shops that do the walnut blast service as I hear the dealerships like to make a bit of extra cash on the task. Thanks again, all. I'll keep y'all posted.

 

[PimTac]

Those VWs love to run and you should do exactly that. Take the long way home and take longer trips just to keep everything running smooth.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Collingwood

I have heard of this. Can you run us through the "walnut blast" process?

Intake manifold comes off and a media blaster is used to clean the intake valves. Cold start misfires and rough running are a symptom of carbon build up. Frequent short trips and quicky-lube changes are the number one cause.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Originally Posted By: Collingwood

I have heard of this. Can you run us through the "walnut blast" process?

Intake manifold comes off and a media blaster is used to clean the intake valves. Cold start misfires and rough running are a symptom of carbon build up. Frequent short trips and quicky-lube changes are the number one cause.

Guy at work had that done on an Audi Q5. Cost him $1200 Canadian. Why would a quick lube oil change cause that problem? Isn't it more of an engine design issue (direct injection) combined with short trips?

 

[RooflessVW]

Depends on what a quick lube used. If a Jiffy Lube, they probably used Pennzoil Platinum 5W-40. That's good stuff. Otherwise, it was probably some generic ILSAC 5W-30 - higher noack, and lower viscosity than what his VW needs. Higher noack means more oil vapor hitting the valves, and a lower viscosity could mean more seepage past valve stems.

 

[mwdoher]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Depends on what a quick lube used. If a Jiffy Lube, they probably used Pennzoil Platinum 5W-40. That's good stuff. Otherwise, it was probably some generic ILSAC 5W-30 - higher noack, and lower viscosity than what his VW needs. Higher noack means more oil vapor hitting the valves, and a lower viscosity could mean more seepage past valve stems.

I mean, I paid over $100 for the "premium synthetic" at a Pennzoil-branded mom and pop place. I can find the receipt and let you know - at least what's on paper - is in the engine. I feel like it was a Mobil One 5w-40 or something...

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: mwdoher

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Depends on what a quick lube used. If a Jiffy Lube, they probably used Pennzoil Platinum 5W-40. That's good stuff. Otherwise, it was probably some generic ILSAC 5W-30 - higher noack, and lower viscosity than what his VW needs. Higher noack means more oil vapor hitting the valves, and a lower viscosity could mean more seepage past valve stems.

I mean, I paid over $100 for the "premium synthetic" at a Pennzoil-branded mom and pop place. I can find the receipt and let you know - at least what's on paper - is in the engine. I feel like it was a Mobil One 5w-40 or something...

It was likely a correct oil. How many miles on the car? Are you the original owner? I still suspect carbon BU. Cold start misfires are a dead giveaway.

 

[mwdoher]

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Originally Posted By: mwdoher

Originally Posted By: rooflessVW

Depends on what a quick lube used. If a Jiffy Lube, they probably used Pennzoil Platinum 5W-40. That's good stuff. Otherwise, it was probably some generic ILSAC 5W-30 - higher noack, and lower viscosity than what his VW needs. Higher noack means more oil vapor hitting the valves, and a lower viscosity could mean more seepage past valve stems.

I mean, I paid over $100 for the "premium synthetic" at a Pennzoil-branded mom and pop place. I can find the receipt and let you know - at least what's on paper - is in the engine. I feel like it was a Mobil One 5w-40 or something...

It was likely a correct oil. How many miles on the car? Are you the original owner? I still suspect carbon BU. Cold start misfires are a dead giveaway.

I totally agree - I just found something in the manual that suggests that I should change oil more frequently if I am a low-miles user... I really managed to stretch the every 12 months oil change; kind of regretting that now. I should have done it every few months (and will, now that I know that doing it myself is within my own control and skill set). I bought the car used in the summer of 2013 with <4000 miles on it and it currently has 36k miles, a new set of tires, and it's still in really great shape otherwise. It sat A LOT in the first owner's situation. He lived in the city, apparently, and only made it out to the suburbs every so often. In talking to the guy that sold it - at a BMW dealer - I found out the guy got a promotion and wanted to upgrade to something that would impress clients or something. My win!

 

[Delta]

36K seems a bit low mileage for the carbon build-up situation, but I guess just putting around town could do it. Like others suggested, run the snot out of it for a bit and see what it does. VW engines do love to be run, not abused, but run. Every once in a while I'll get some slight hesitation in my GTI; I'll take it for a good run up and down a couple mountains around here and all is good again. Same thing with my old MK5 2.5 Jetta. With the oil filter on top and oil change is super easy with an oil extractor. Keep an eye on the o-ring for the anti-drainback "valve". Everybody else suggested good oils, I'm partial to Edge 0w40 myself and have ran it for a while.

 

[SilverFusion2010]

Warm the engine up by driving normally for 20 minutes, then do a bunch of 40-70-40 on the highway. Let the engine slow the car down, don’t use the brakes. This will get everything hot and free up rings and blow carbon out the exhaust. Use 3rd or 4th gear to get the rpm up