03 Jetta TDI @ 7044 Rotella 5w40

[outoforder]

2003 Jetta TDI with 292,800 miles

Blackstone: Something caused this oil to thicken up a lot while it was in service. The viscosity was higher than any diesel engine oil. That can be caused by soot from a combustion issue, and the lab did note an excess amount of soot. We're also seeing potassium, which can show coolant, and coolant can also cause the oil to thicken like this. We know these engines can suffer from poor cam wear, which will cause high iron like you have so that would be one possibility.

Me: My coolant level has not dropped

Aluminum 4
Chromium. 3
Iron. 88
Copper. 3
Lead. 3
Tin. 1
Molybdenum. 62
Nickel. 2
Manganese. 1
Potassium. 16
Boron. 30
Silicon. 5
Sodium. 8
Calcium. 855
Magnesium. 1243
Phosphorus. 1028
Zinc. 1250

SUS viscosity @ 210F. 152.5
cSt viscosity @ 100C. 32.2
Flashpoint 445F

 

[gregk24]

Wow, that is some thick oil! I am surprised the other metals didn't have a higher wear rate. Maybe do a 5K mile OCI and check back?

 

[krismoriah72]

I had one of those jettas, same year. The cams start wearing pretty good so the focus is going to be on how much "iron per mile" am i gonna get lol.


If it were my car i would keep the same oil but lower the oil change to 3500 or so and start using a magnetic drain plug (the best i could find). And try to get another 100K miles out of the old girl.

 

[outoforder]

Would a group iv synthetic oil be a better choice for my application? Should I switch to a 0w40?

 

[BobFout]

Originally Posted By: outoforder
Would a group iv synthetic oil be a better choice for my application? Should I switch to a 0w40?


The oil you are using has long history of working well in our older TDIs. Something else is going very wrong...

 

[outoforder]

Today by complete chance I noticed a hole in the plastic air intake pipe. Could this be the cause of my UOA?

 

[Jetronic]

silicon isn't terribly high... so I doubt it but you never know... was the hole after the air filter?

 

[outoforder]

Coming off the EGR valve is a rubber hose that runs horizontal into a plastic tube that then runs vertical. Is this the line running to the turbo?

 

[k1rod]

I think 2003 was the changeover year from the ALH engine to the BEW engine. Do you know which engine you have? The reason I ask is that the ALH did not have any problems with cam wear.

 

[BobFout]

Originally Posted By: k1rod
I think 2003 was the changeover year from the ALH engine to the BEW engine. Do you know which engine you have? The reason I ask is that the ALH did not have any problems with cam wear.


2003 was the last year for the VE ALH, 2004 was the first year for the PD BEW. Some early ALHs had butter cams.

 

[Provi]

That iron level is much higher than my 14K mile run on my 02 ALH.

 

[zanzabar]

I'm leaning towards stuck rings leading to tons of blowby and high soot loading, as well as high iron wear..

Check compression ASAP.

 

[outoforder]

Originally Posted By: zanzabar
I'm leaning towards stuck rings leading to tons of blowby and high soot loading, as well as high iron wear..

Check compression ASAP.


What is the harm in driving with stuck rings? Do I just need to change the oil more often?

 

[Kiwi_ME]

I would have thought you would have noticed difficulty with starting or high oil consumption with stuck rings. Have you checked the crankcase ventilation path for restrictions?

 

[outoforder]

No difficulty in starting and zero oil consumption

 

[SUNRG]

Fix the air intake leak, switch to Mobil 1 5w40 and a new OEM filter, drive for 5k then change the oil again, send a sample to the lab and report back.