Oil turning dark less than 20 miles after change??

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
Originally Posted By: mpersell
That engine has some pretty specific recommendations from VW. Their spec 502 00 5w-40 oil is what I'm finding on the lookup.



Actually I looked that up too, and the Havoline Pro DS meets VW 502 00 and 505 01, but in my climate the owner's manual says 5w-30 is fine.


Havoline ProDS Full Synthetic Euro 5W-40 does. You're running a run of the mill ILSAC rated 5W-30 in a European application calling for a much higher spec. Get that stuff out of there, and refill with an oil meeting VW 502.00 spec. Mobil 1 0W-40 is going to be the easiest to find I would imagine.

 

[2sld3kf2bt]

Some oil turns dark just from being heated. That was established on another thread here recently where some guy heated oil on his stove for some reason to test that theory, and it darkened just from applying heat. Some engines tend to darken oil more than others. Darkening of oil does not indicate anything. If you are really worried, get a UOA to ease your mind.

Color change is a function of several things: additive package darkening, oxidation of basestocks (bad), and amount of carbon in the oil.

 

[Red00Jetta]

Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
Originally Posted By: mpersell
That engine has some pretty specific recommendations from VW. Their spec 502 00 5w-40 oil is what I'm finding on the lookup.



Actually I looked that up too, and the Havoline Pro DS meets VW 502 00 and 505 01, but in my climate the owner's manual says 5w-30 is fine.


Havoline ProDS Full Synthetic Euro 5W-40 does. You're running a run of the mill ILSAC rated 5W-30 in a European application calling for a much higher spec. Get that stuff out of there, and refill with an oil meeting VW 502.00 spec. Mobil 1 0W-40 is going to be the easiest to find I would imagine.


Dang. And what sucks is that NOBODY around here stocks any 0w-xx oil. Think it'll hurt to run this stuff 3000 miles to let the detergents clean the engine the soft flush with MMO? Next oil change I'll drive to the VW dealer in Knoxville and pick up 6 quarts of Pentosin synthetic.

 

[threeputtpar]

Have you always been running a basic 5W-30 syn oil in this engine? And when you say your timing chains will be rectified soon, does that mean that the tensioner is going out and that could be the source of your glitter?

If you haven't been using a VW 502.00 spec oil, or a suitable substitute with a HTHS value of at least 3.5 (ACEA A3/B4), then that may have shortened the life of your VR6 especially if you drive it like a manual should be driven.

No need to go to the dealer for oil, just your local Walmart and get Mobil 1 0W-40. The SAE grade of the oil is not the important thing to look for, but the VW502.00 spec or at least A3/B4.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
Dang. And what sucks is that NOBODY around here stocks any 0w-xx oil. Think it'll hurt to run this stuff 3000 miles to let the detergents clean the engine the soft flush with MMO? Next oil change I'll drive to the VW dealer in Knoxville and pick up 6 quarts of Pentosin synthetic.


As mentioned by the previous poster, head to your local Walmart and pick up some Mobil 1 0W-40. You do not want to be running that stuff in there for any longer than you already have. As far as cleaning goes, Mobil 1 0W-40 is an excellent cleaning oil. I would run it straight without any additives.

 

[Red00Jetta]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
Have you always been running a basic 5W-30 syn oil in this engine? And when you say your timing chains will be rectified soon, does that mean that the tensioner is going out and that could be the source of your glitter?

If you haven't been using a VW 502.00 spec oil, or a suitable substitute with a HTHS value of at least 3.5 (ACEA A3/B4), then that may have shortened the life of your VR6 especially if you drive it like a manual should be driven.

No need to go to the dealer for oil, just your local Walmart and get Mobil 1 0W-40. The SAE grade of the oil is not the important thing to look for, but the VW502.00 spec or at least A3/B4.


I've had the thing for 2 years almost and have always run just regular 5w-30. However I did run Mobil 1 until the previous 2 changes. My chains are stretched enough that I can hear them rattling but not to the point of being severe yet. Probably gonna have them done within a month.

 

[kschachn]

That's not what your owner's manual specs, is it?

What are you running in your wife's Beetle?

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
Have you always been running a basic 5W-30 syn oil in this engine? And when you say your timing chains will be rectified soon, does that mean that the tensioner is going out and that could be the source of your glitter?

If you haven't been using a VW 502.00 spec oil, or a suitable substitute with a HTHS value of at least 3.5 (ACEA A3/B4), then that may have shortened the life of your VR6 especially if you drive it like a manual should be driven.

No need to go to the dealer for oil, just your local Walmart and get Mobil 1 0W-40. The SAE grade of the oil is not the important thing to look for, but the VW502.00 spec or at least A3/B4.

I've had the thing for 2 years almost and have always run just regular 5w-30. However I did run Mobil 1 until the previous 2 changes. My chains are stretched enough that I can hear them rattling but not to the point of being severe yet. Probably gonna have them done within a month.

 

[Red00Jetta]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
That's not what your owner's manual specs, is it?

What are you running in your wife's Beetle?



I was actually about to ask about this one, I'm running Valvoline SYNPower, which is on the list of 502 00 BUT says nothing at all on the bottle about it. I'm thinking it's a Euro formula. I've called Autozone, Advance and O'reilly and none carry any Euro formula oils. Welcome to hicktown USA.

 

[kschachn]

Yeah, Valvoline Synpower is on the list, but if it's not on the bottle I think I'd pass. That list is next to worthless IMO, if the manufacturer does not say on the container that it meets a specific specification then I would not buy it. That's just me though.

Autozone, Advance, O'Reilly and Walmart all don't carry M1 0W-40?

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
I was actually about to ask about this one, I'm running Valvoline SYNPower, which is on the list of 502 00 BUT says nothing at all on the bottle about it. I'm thinking it's a Euro formula. I've called Autozone, Advance and O'reilly and none carry any Euro formula oils. Welcome to hicktown USA.

 

[Trav]

Too bad you didn't take a magnet to those particles. Non magnetic would be aluminum or other non ferrous metal, magnetic would be steel or iron.
The most common source of ferrous metal generating visible particles is the cam(s) and non ferrous bearing shells or cam holders.

Normal wear metals from the cylinder and rings don't usually show up in particles that size unless something is broken.
Cam wear can usually be attributed to oil film failure although it can be bad materials but hat would more than likely show up much earlier in life.

Of course there are many other possible sources for wear these are just a couple of the most common.

Mobil 1 0w40 protects these engines well for that sort of OCI.
I wouldn't even venture a guess as to where the sparklers came from without knowing their composition.

 

[SilverC6]

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
Originally Posted By: SilverC6
.

I'd also be thinking about trading that Jetta.


About to let go on me?


Not necessarily.

When things like this crop up in my "fleet", I try to decide if I'm going to spend some money on the car or cut my losses while I can trade.

Part of that process is looking at possible trades, value of my car, etc., etc.

That way, if things worsen, I've already gone through the decision.

 

[92saturnsl2]

VW engines tend to recommend thicker oils with a stronger emphasis toward engine protection and HTHS than low viscosity fuel-saving oils, which domestic auto-makers favor. They can do this because they don't have 12mpg gas-hogs in their vehicle line-up skewing CAFE numbers lower.

I doubt you're going to noticeably shorten the lifespan of the engine while running an Xw-30 oil. I used to use 5w-30 in the winter time in my '01 VR6, and I didn't ever notice anything unusual. Fuel economy and cold starts were better in winter temps.

Contrary to popular belief, most 5w-30 oils will be thinner than a 0w-40 in average winter temperatures.

My favorite oils to use in my VR6 was GC (Castrol) 0w-30 (carries VW 502.00 rating), Castrol 0w-30/40, and Mobil1 0w-40. All are readily available at Autozone and other chains.

 

[Red00Jetta]

O'reilly doesn't stock M1 0w-40 but can get it from a bigger store. I am definitely gonna get that stuff out of there and run some Mobil 1. Which has been my preferred oil for years anyway. Also my owner's manual does state that 5w-40 is preferred but 5w-30 will be fine in subtitution.

 

[Trav]

Keep in mind that most Euro 5w30 are HTHS 3.5+ The few off the shelf oils that qualify and are spec in the US are the Castrol 0w30 and the Mobil 1 0w40.
These engines also use an oil heater/cooler, the oil is warmed by the coolant and in hot weather cooled. It works like an ATF cooler and is effective. It doesn't take long for the oil to come close to operating temp even in cold weather.

I am looking at the VW book, the picture shows the 5w30 is good up to 15c ambient (about 60f). These engines were not built for cheap or thin oils.
From -30c-38 c 10w50 or 10w60 is okay (-22f-100f). 0w40 is plenty thin enough in these engines year round.

There are some that claim mixing a certain 0w20 and 0w40 for a high VI 0w30 or just 0w20 will work well.
IMO they need to back up off the crack pipe just a tad. Its way too thin for most German engines, use an oil with a HTHS at 3.5 and the engine will live a long and happy life.

 

[Red00Jetta]

Wow. I am soooo glad I joined this forum. I had no idea about any of this stuff. I'm an extremely mechanically inclined person, but never paid much attention to oil. I just tried to avoid the garbage.

 

[kschachn]

Yeah, don't fixate on the grade or the brand, just get something that states it meets the required spec for your engine. Grade is pretty irrelevant in this situation.

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
O'reilly doesn't stock M1 0w-40 but can get it from a bigger store. I am definitely gonna get that stuff out of there and run some Mobil 1. Which has been my preferred oil for years anyway. Also my owner's manual does state that 5w-40 is preferred but 5w-30 will be fine in substitution.

 

[stockrex]

Originally Posted By: Red00Jetta
Hi everyone, new here. I just changed my oil the other day with Havoline Pro DS full synthetic 5w30, and due to some snowfall, the vehicle has less than 25 miles on the change. The oil is already darkening noticeably, and the last oil change I used O'reilly store brand 5w30 full syn, and it stayed very clean and very golden for about 3000 miles. Admittedly I did run an 8000 mile OCI this time. Also I noticed last time when I started the car after the change it started up quiet, this time it had lots of rattles, and actually sounded like the bearings knocking for 2 to 3 seconds. I prefilled the filter cap (has the replaceable cartridge filter) both times. Also when I drained the oil and was wiping out the filter cap I noticed tiny sparkles. Bearing material? Is my engine reaching the end of its life? The car is a 2000 VW Jetta VR6. What can I do to remedy this?


Well now, don't just sit there and type away, see if you have any particulate in your oil

look at dip stick close up, is it just oil or do you see suspended black stuff?

take dip stick and drop few drop of oil on a piece of paper. take pics of both and post here.

you could also cut open your old filter and check the inside.

 

[threeputtpar]

What do you run in the 7.3? It's likely that whatever oil you put in the diesel would have sufficient HTHS values to cover both of the VWs, and thus you only need to stock one oil.

In TN, it would be rare for the temp to be too low to start the veedubs with even a 15W-40 in there, so no need to worry. Rotella T6 5W-40 at Walmart is pretty cheap, and would be a good all-around oil for your fleet. Delo 5W-40 and M1 TDT 5W-40 are good options, too.

 

[Red00Jetta]

I typically run Motorcraft Powerstroke 15w-40 oil in the F250 in the winter and it calls for straight 30w in the summer, but surprisingly here it's in the 20s right now, and we've had a few days of below 0 lows and single digit highs. Is Rotella T6 502 00 compliant? Is it full synthetic?

 

[Delta]

I don't have an exact mile, but when I bought my MKV Jetta I was cleaning up the previous owners crud with a high detergent oil and it got dark quick. Now, not so much. I ran Rotella T6 to clean it up, nothing unusual. Went to a 0W40 after that.

EDIT: Btw that rattling could be the plastic intake rudder thing, common on VR6's. I'd check that before someone drops the engine out of that thing for a timing chain kit.