505.01 capable oil from Red Line?

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Just got an 06 VW TDI w/ a DPF. Had Castrol Professional 5w30 from the dealer its whole life at 10k intervals. Now at 170k. I would like to go w/ Red Line but not sure which one would fit the bill.

What about AMSOIL's choices?

I'd like to stay w/ a 5w30 if possible. It uses no oil in its 10k mile changes. I've been doing them for the previous owner for quite some time now. It's a tight engine still & routinely avg's 50+ mpg. I even got 62 in it on a long hwy trip.

Also, is it ok to run MMO in the gas and/or oil?
 
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck, Rotella T6, or Delvac 1 is what's recommended for these PD motors on most of the TDI forums. They have extremely high loads on the camshaft bearings due to the unit injectors being run off of the camshaft.

The VW507 rated 5w30s are fine for the newer common-rail TDIs (09+), but I'd steer clear for your PD TDI.
 
The prevailing opinion is to stay away from the 30wt 505.01 oils because it appears (from a combination of real data and speculation) that wear such as this:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q/multi/camshaft-inspection-replace-vw-tdi.htm
is accelerated with the thinner versions of 505.01 oils. So, be aware that you will tend to get mostly suggestions for using a 5w40 oil. Mine included: try the Mobil1 Formula M ESP 5-40.

I am not aware of any Redline 5w30 oils that carry a diesel rating, and I am guessing that they would contain higher levels of zddp than spec'ed by the dpf requirements for your TDI. The Redline oils do seem to be on the thicker side though, so if any 30wt oil would be likely to provide the wear protection I would guess Redline would be one of them.
 
Btw, I would love to see pics of your cam lobes and lifter surfaces! Given what I stated above, your car would be another very good data point.
 
Ok I'll go w/ the Delvac 1 ESP 5w40 if you guys are sure. This car was just given to my wife for her birthday/mother's day from her dad. My worry is that he's a bit of a stickler for following the dealer's orders & he's done the dealer oil at 10k miles (even on the 1st change) since brand new. It's Castrol SLX Professional. Until I took over on the oil changes myself about 3 changes ago they did all of his maintenance including oil changes.

It surprisingly doesn't use a drop of oil in that 10k. So my worry is that it will start having issues & he's going to ask me if I used the dealer oil. Since he just bought a brand new Passat he'll probably ask them if I've been buying their oil. So I want to make sure I use the highest quality oil. I'll probably switch to a 5k interval for a couple of changes before extending it back out to 7.5k w/ a UOA & back to 10k if everything is looking good. Mostly to do some cleaning as it's at 180k on that Castrol SLX Pro at 10k so I imagine it can use a few shorter changes by now.
 
Mobil1 Formula M 5-40 (not Delvac 1) is a dealer spec'd oil I believe. You may have to request it special, so if your dad-in-law questions it say you want to use the 'very best' version of the dealer's suite of oil choices! You want to use only the best for his precious daughter, don't you?
wink.gif


There is absolutely no reason to worry about 'cleaning out' this engine. TDIs are not sludgers and 10k intervals have been proven again and again to be conservative on good quality oils. Do a UOA on the Castrol that's in there now and get a data point on how the engine is wearing. Trust me 5k OCIs do not do anything better for the oil except in extreme conditions (e.g. many short trips and if car is only driven 5k or less per year).

Oh and tell him not to let the dealer use that 5-30 Castrol garbage in his new Passat either!!!
 
Lol.

Ok thank yyou for that excellent advice! Wilco. Can I just use Mobil Delvac 1 ESP though?? I'd rather just buy oil at parts store here in town. I'll tell him to use the dealer oil u mentioned for his new Passat though. Thank u again!
 
Originally Posted By: shpankey
Can I just use Mobil Delvac 1 ESP though?? I'd rather just buy oil at parts store here in town.


It's not the same, but it'll probably be the closest non-spec oil you could find.
 
Originally Posted By: zanzabar
Mobil1 Formula M 5-40 (not Delvac 1) is a dealer spec'd oil I believe.


No, the Mobil 1 ESP 5w30 is the VW507 spec oil for newer common-rail injected TDIs. VW has back-spec'd 507 oils for 505.01 apps, but there's a lot of people who think that back-spec is a poor idea.

I would get yourself over to TDIclub.com, pronto, and read up on the Pumpe Duse (PD) TDIs, of which yours is one. A lot of people on there are using synthetic APJ CJ-4 oils such as M1 TDT and Rotella T6, in their PD TDI's.

Delvac 1 ESP is a good oil, btw.

If you really want to use Redline, this would probably work fine: http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=7&pcid=21
HTHS 4.7(!)
 
Would Red Line 0w40 be ok? What about their 5w40? I'd really love the thinner 0w40 if it would be suitable?

How about M1 0w40 Euro? No-go? Or German Casrol 0w30? I'm trying to go w/ that old "thin as possible, thick as necessary" addage. I think CATERHAM's got to me! Lol

Which is better between M1 TDT & Mobil Delvac 1 ESP? I'm thinking the latter??
 
Thx Pablo. Hey, I need to order some other AMSOIL stuff. Can I go through you for that? I'm an AMSOIL preferred customer so I'd to get that discount as well.
 
Originally Posted By: shpankey
Thx Pablo. Hey, I need to order some other AMSOIL stuff. Can I go through you for that? I'm an AMSOIL preferred customer so I'd to get that discount as well.


Who did you sign up as a PC with? When did you last order?

I can give the discount, but with a buck or two for my processing time (and Paypal fee) if you pay with Paypal or I take a check via snail mail.

Thanks!
 
I am not 100 % sure on this, but pretty sure it did not have 5w-30 oil from the dealer from the start. They were pushing a low quality Castrol 5w-40 505.01 oil back then. Later they switched to pushing a 507 oil that is 5w-30. Actually a very good oil (including the Castrol version), but questionable for protection of your cam.

No one really knows what was causing the cam failures on the PDs. I suspect a combination of high engine speeds, low quality oils and OCIs of well over 10k miles, in spite of everyone saying they change at 10k religiously.

You should be over at the TDI page for this research and you should consult a guru. There is also a list of TDI gurus on the TDI page so you can find one in your area. One thing that is thoroughly agreed on there is you DO NOT let a dealer service department work on a TDI engine, except under warranty and even that is risky. Believe me, I know this for sure. Ask my why I would never, ever take a car to a Vancouver, WA VW dealer for any service, no matter how simple.
 
Unless you got a the Touareg with the V10 engine your car does not have a DPF. Now it may have a 2 way Cat. but that is not a DPF.

That aside I would use any widely accepted 5w40 oil available for Diesels. The funny thing about Mobil 1 ESP M is they say you can use it for the 505.01 spec in a 5w30 but make no mention about it with the 5w40(which I use).

I would have used Mobil 1 Delvac or Lubri Moly but buying close to 5 gallons would be cost prohibitive.
 
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