Rotella T vs T6? In 1.8t Passat

[wolfc70]

Originally Posted By: partspro
Considering all the issues with this motor I wouldn't use anything other than factory recommended. My buddy is a factory trained VW/Audi Master Mechanic and after reading all the internal Audi documents he switched to M1 0w40 for his personal A4 turbo. He seafoamed the engine before switching. He previously used Castrol Syntec 5w40.


The biggest issue VW had with these 1.8t motors is the reduced sump capacity in longitudinal installations and owners who went 5-10k on a oil change using conventional oil. I have not seen a sludged up 1.8t that ran synthetic and 5-10k OCI's.

Rotella T6 5w-40 will work fine in a 1.8t. These 1.8t engines got a bad reputation from mainly ignorant owners who could not be bothered to read the owners manual. Granted some VW dealers did not help the cause and used bulk 5w30 they had on hand. And the early AEB models had a pretty failure prone timing belt tensioner. Overall the 1.8t VW engines are pretty tough and durable, any syn 5w-40 will work absolutely fine.

 

[ElliottG]

Originally Posted By: CptnFormat
No Worries. I had good luck with Motul 8100 5w-40 in my A4. However, T6 is like, 20$/gallon cheaper. (Canada, aswell)


Hahah yup it's a good deal when it's on sale here...I heard that they only sell gallon jugs of it in the states...is that true? Here they sell it in 5L jugs (1.32 gallons).

Originally Posted By: partspro
Considering all the issues with this motor I wouldn't use anything other than factory recommended. My buddy is a factory trained VW/Audi Master Mechanic and after reading all the internal Audi documents he switched to M1 0w40 for his personal A4 turbo. He seafoamed the engine before switching. He previously used Castrol Syntec 5w40.


True, but I mean...I don't think the Rotella is a worse oil than the Castrol...honestly the Castrol is nothing special lol. I've used different brands of synthetic oil in this car and it always runs the same...never any quieter or anything...so I think it'll take whatever 5W-40 synthetic you throw at it with ease.

Originally Posted By: wolfc70
Originally Posted By: partspro
Considering all the issues with this motor I wouldn't use anything other than factory recommended. My buddy is a factory trained VW/Audi Master Mechanic and after reading all the internal Audi documents he switched to M1 0w40 for his personal A4 turbo. He seafoamed the engine before switching. He previously used Castrol Syntec 5w40.


The biggest issue VW had with these 1.8t motors is the reduced sump capacity in longitudinal installations and owners who went 5-10k on a oil change using conventional oil. I have not seen a sludged up 1.8t that ran synthetic and 5-10k OCI's.

Rotella T6 5w-40 will work fine in a 1.8t. These 1.8t engines got a bad reputation from mainly ignorant owners who could not be bothered to read the owners manual. Granted some VW dealers did not help the cause and used bulk 5w30 they had on hand. And the early AEB models had a pretty failure prone timing belt tensioner. Overall the 1.8t VW engines are pretty tough and durable, any syn 5w-40 will work absolutely fine.


Yup yup. Although I don't agree with your statement of the ignorant owners. The problem originated when Volkswagen originally stated that dino oil was good to use in this car (which is why NO synthetic oils were ever used in these cars the first years they came out). They only came out with the service bulletin stating to use ONLY synthetic a few years after the car was released [unsure of the year...2003? 2004?] (by this time it was already too late for most people).

And my AEB is still pumping along with 220k miles

Getting some Rotella tomorrow. If the engine blows up I'll report back

 

[CptnFormat]

Originally Posted By: wolfc70
And the early AEB models had a pretty failure prone timing belt tensioner.


My AWM motor was no better

 

[wolfc70]

Quote:

Yup yup. Although I don't agree with your statement of the ignorant owners. The problem originated when Volkswagen originally stated that dino oil was good to use in this car (which is why NO synthetic oils were ever used in these cars the first years they came out). They only came out with the service bulletin stating to use ONLY synthetic a few years after the car was released [unsure of the year...2003? 2004?] (by this time it was already too late for most people).

And my AEB is still pumping along with 220k miles

Getting some Rotella tomorrow. If the engine blows up I'll report back

While VW did not outright say synthetic oil in the owners manual, they stated that 5w-40 is the approved grade. I have never seen a non synthetic 5w-40 oil, anywhere. In 2001.5 (with the change over to the B5.5) they stated synthetic only.

VW announced back in 1996 that all 1998 and newer vehicles would be filled with synthetic oil at the factory. Unfortunately, it seems that VW did not ever really tell anyone this. During my brief tenure at the local VW dealership, we had customers that absolutely refused to pay $50 for an oil change. I found this dumbfounding, the owners would pay $25K+ for a car but balk at the syn oil change prices. I changed careers just as some sludge engines started coming in. Lets just say that the people who balked at a $50 oil change, were floored that VW was charging $7000+ for a long block!


Congrats on 220K Miles!! To this day, the B5/B5.5 Passats are my favorite VW's. The last of the shared Audi platforms, and the last of the true German Passat sold in America (the B6 was based on a modified Jetta chassis).

 

[partspro]

Believe me, I understand the issues with this motor, I'm saying that VAG did pretty extensive studies in the face of all the pending legal problems. Rotella was NOT on the list of recommended oils and therefore I could never recommend it to a customer.

Just yesterday, I sold a single customer $500 of oil. Rotella 5w40 was part of that order, but it was for a diesel application.