Switching to M1 on 84k jetta

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My Jetta has 84k on it. 97 model year. Car sees track alot- abused honestly. I got the car at 79k. Now- the car was 2 owner owned, i was #3. I don't have maintanence info but here is my reasoining. 1st owner: traded at 40k with warranty intact. Second owner- had warranty till 70k. i got the car at 79k- oil appeared to be VERY dirty. 1 month after buying the car-Havoline w/fram was used. 2k miles later- Valvoline was used. the valvoline now has 3k something on it- and i am going to flush it out soon- with synthetic. Is it safe to switch over?
 
I'd Auto-Rx it personally. No telling what OCI's (or oil) the previous 2 owners used. After that then go for it. If you don't want to do Auto-Rx, then you could try syn, but watch for leaks and/or increased consumption.
 
Well- he had to keep with maintanence up to 70k to uphold the warranty- when i got the car at 79k it had very little oil (not empty or anything but a little too much below half) and very black and gritty. Even if he didn't change the oil for 9k miles- which he probably didn't- so for the sake of argument say.... 5k miles-it wouldn't sludge up the engine all that bad- seeing how most here run there dino that long anyway. atleast- thats my reasoning
 
Yeah, but I'd be a bit weary of the condition of the oil when purchased. You say he had to maintain it for warranty reasons, but the fact that it's still running doesn't necessarily mean he followed a strict maintainance schedule. Maybe there's no sludge in it, but for some reason I think it doesn't look too pretty inside there. I'm not gettin the warm fuzzies and it's not even my car lol...
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. But, you gotta be your own boss on this one. If you want to dive head first into some Mobil 1 then go for it. But like I said before, pay close attention to what's going on afterward. It may do nothing, leak, consume, etc. Just take precaution...
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quote:

Originally posted by KieferS:
the valvoline now has 3k something on it- and i am going to flush it out soon- with synthetic. Is it safe to switch over?

Only if you switch over to Valvoline Synpower.
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I think my car runs best on Valvoline for some reason. Im just going to slap some M1 next week and see what happens. I'll go take a look inside the valve cover today
 
Auto RX might be worth using, I've had good results with ARX.

At least run LC-20 and FP-60, also great products.

VW's from that era run great with a XW-40 synthetic and a good fuel injector cleaner.

Has the engine been good so far? No major oil consumption or leaks?

I think Mobil 1 0W-40, Delvac 1 5W-40, Mobil 1 Turbo Truck 5W-40, Castrol European Formula 5W-40, Castrol 0W-30 [GC], Amsoil European Formula 5W-40, or Redline 5W-40 would all be good choices.

You could run 7000 mile oil change intervals and a good oil filter like a Purolator PureOne.
 
I think flushing is a waste of good oil. I'm also not a great believer in synthetic keeping your engine any cleaner than a conventional. Your oil was dirty when you got it. Dirty oil does not necessarily mean a dirty engine.

Here's another thought. Why don't you just switch a litre at a time. 3:1 first change, 2:2 second, until you are full synthetic.
 
Provided the engine has been well maintained, you can switch to synthetic oil at ANY time. I have quite a bit of experience in this regard and have changed over high mileage, 10-12 year old engines with excellent results.

I'd recommend the Mobil 1, 15w-50 or Mobil Delvac 1, 5w-40 for your VW engine. Flushing is not necessary if the engine has been well maintained. However I would do filter changes every 3000 miles with the first batch of synthetic you run. This remove suspended solids and help keep oil consumption in check.

TS
 
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