Rotella T5 for short run in ALH TDI?

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Just wanted to know if I am making a mistake here. I got a 99 Beetle TDI cheap because it blew the turbo and the condition of the motor was unknown at that point. Sat for two years before I got it. Put a turbo on it as well as did the timing belt and all components to go with it. After all of that it started right up and runs like new so no damage to the engine from the turbo failure it seems. The mileage is 168,78x or so. I wanted to use a cheaper oil just to get any wear metals out since it had been sitting for so long and flush out any dirt that may have gotten in there from the work I had done. Absolutely spotless under the valve cover so it seems there is not much wear to the motor. I know it was very well taken care of all of its life. Figured I would run the Rotella T5 10W30 out till 170K and then start the usual VW spec oil changes. Just wanted to know if anyone thinks that this oil would be a bad idea to run for the 1,100 or so miles and then change out for a VW 505 oil? This car specs CF oil IIRC so from what I have read it should be fine on any diesel rated oil. I plan to use the correct oil for long runs but just making sure I am not going to hurt anything with the Rotella for such a short run. Probably will mostly be driven locally all highway just to make sure all is well with the rest of the car before taking it too far from home. Any comments appreciated.
 
Yes but I wouldn't use 10W-30 I'd use the 15W-40. Also, the turbo bearings on these get really hot which is one of the reasons the TDI changed the spec to synth only. If you run it hard, let it idle for about 30 seconds before you shut it down. This cools the bearings and prevents them from coking the oil.
 
With the price of oil in the US I would personally use a good quality oil up to VW specs to do the clean up.

But then I have always been risk averse when it comes to oil specs.

I would happily use the cheapest oil available that met the specs though.

Recently.filled up a friends petrol.Citreon C2 with 2 litres of Castrol Edge 5w40 A3/B4/C3 and 1.2 litres of Castrol Magnatec 5w30 A3/B4.

It was always going to be a short interval due poor maintenance by previous owner, nice pumping stereo fitted lol, but the oil.was filthy within a few minutes of starting up so I reckon the good quality oil is doing what I wanted it to cleaning out the rubbosh and putting it in suspension.
 
The Oil the OP is proposing to use does meet the specs for his year car. It was after this that VW changed the spec to Synth only.
 
The Citreon is pretty cool car. It is a shame the previous owner didn't take better care of it.
 
Then it is all good, not up to date with the different lubes specs, as can be seen from my posts I am like many UK users I am averse to using conventional in anything but older cars.
 
Yeah the Rotella T5 does exceed the manufacturers specs by the owner's manual. I will use the correct synth when the car is put into daily service. I didn't imagine I would have issues with the Rotella but it is always good to ask if anyone has any reason to suggest otherwise.
 
One thing you'll find that unless the engine is drastically abused TDI's don't sludge or varnish under the valve cover. My PD is spotless as well. Sure the oil looks black but that is what it does. It will hold soot in suspension until it can be removed by the filter. The only way you can get the oil to look like new is with bypass filtration.

IMO

Run the T5 for 2-3000 miles then switch to T6. Run that for 5k then sample and see where your at.
 
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Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
The only way you can get the oil to look like new is with bypass filtration.


Does not work that way. I am running Amsoil bypass in my ALH and the oil (any oils) will turn pitch black no later than 2K miles with a brand new BE-90 filter.
 
Originally Posted By: azsynthetic
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
The only way you can get the oil to look like new is with bypass filtration.


Does not work that way. I am running Amsoil bypass in my ALH and the oil (any oils) will turn pitch black no later than 2K miles with a brand new BE-90 filter.


Wow I got taken for a ride then, I saw a local setup on a truck (Ford I think) and the oil didn't look any dirtier than a gasoline fuel engine. It was diesel but I don't remember if it was a 7.3 or older Powerstroke. He must have done something else to it then.
 
If you suspect that there might be debris in the oil from the blown turbo, the safe thing to do is take a look in the sump and at the oil pump screen in particular. It sounds like the main block is OK, so the risk is debris blocking the oil feed or the oil line to the turbo if it was not cleaned.

If it looks good then you need not bother with short changes, just use a good 5/40 that has the required VW recommendations. If you use a dino then 5K mile OCI's or 7.5K for a full synthetic, then get a Blackstones report with TBN to see if you can extend to 10K which if you don't get stuck in too much traffic is very likely to be OK.

Main risk of not running an engine every month is corroded injector tips, blocked turbo oil feed then followed by corroded rings. If it does not smoke or burn oil it should be fine, assuming the cylinders were oiled before first start.
If the sump is grubby, do your best to clean it then just do a few 1000 mile OCI's with a high detergent but cheap 10/40.

Never use flush additives except the 10 minute at idle ones before the oil change. The only one of those I trust is Liqui Moly, but just use it once only as there is still a slight risk to the turbo bearings from dislodged gunk.
 
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The T5 will function just fine for what you want. My 2001 Jetta TDI calls for either synthetic or conventional. I have run 15W-40 conventional for 5K miles and never saw any problems. ALH motors won't sludge up when proper changes are made.
As for the oil changing color, I use a Pure Power filter element in my 7.3 Powerstroke. It takes about two months for the oil to get dark enough that you can't see through it on the dipstick. I've never seen anything that can keep diesel oil so transparent for so long. Not cheap, but in my case; after 10 oil changes, I am money ahead.
 
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=158788

Quote:
PART ONE: For engines that are NOT "pumpe-duse" or "common-rail". This is for the older-design mechanical rotary distributor pump engines.

You must use a synthetic engine oil, recommended viscosity 5w40 although 0w40 is also permissible (and in the case that the oil meets specifically one of the VW 505.xx standards then the viscosity does not matter, it could be different), AND in the fine print on the bottle that lists what standards that the oil conforms to, it must list either VW 505.00, ACEA B3, ACEA B4, API CJ-4, CI-4, API CH-4, or API CG-4. (Note: "Either" means ANY ONE OF, not necessarily all of them. For example, if it's VW 505.00 but doesn't list the others, that's fine, because VW 505.00 is "one" of the standards listed and you only need "one".) But do NOT assume that any synthetic oil will meet these standards. READ THE BOTTLE. For example, most versions of Mobil 1 do NOT meet these standards (they are meant for gasoline engines). Also, any oil that is suitable for a P-D is fine for a distributor-pump engine.

Many "European car" synthetic oils meet these requirements. So does Mobil Delvac 1 5w40, Shell Rotella Synthetic 5w40 or 0w40, PetroCanada Duron Synthetic 5w40 (can be special ordered at any PetroCanada OilChangers location in Canada), Castrol Syntec 5w40 European-car formulation, and quite a few others. IF IN DOUBT, READ THE LABEL.

The VW part number for the oil most commonly used at the dealers is ZVW-352-540S = Castrol Syntec 5W-40 (VW 505.00 rated, suitable for non-PD TDI engines; not suitable for PD TDI engines). If they use the PD oil (see below) that's OK.
 
Another vote for synthetic, but I agree that a couple of thousand on dyno to flush out any left over gunk would be a good idea. VAG has 'updated' their oil requirements and I would use full synthetic. Just found some full syn at O'Reilly's for $20 for 5 quarts, not diesel but my gf's oldsmobile just loved it.
 
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