oil suggestion?-1998 VW 2.0-105K miles

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kinda confusing! I've just picked up a 1998 VW Golf with 105,000 miles on it. It does not currently leak any oil, and appears to have been using 10w40 and 10w30 dino oil for most of it's life in California.....I'm in NYC now (abusive city driving).....should I change it out to proper VW spec syth 5w40, or should I just feed it what it knows to avoid leaks? Any pros-cons?

Thanks!
 
I have my mom's 2001 VW Golf 2.0 running German made Castrol Syntec 0w30 with great results, this oil is a thick 30 weight, almost 40 weight, so it is a good match for this engine.
 
I'd clean the engine using AutoRX or the 20 minute Amsoil engine flush (use a new oil filter for the flush cycle), then switch to a low viscosity synthetic. An SAE 0w-30/5w-30 would be preferred to a 5w-40 for the climate in the Northeast.

Leaks should not be an issue with any well maintained engine and you can safely change to a synlube at any time.

TD
 
I've often wondered what most people with 2.0 VW's run. The manual suggests 5w40, but it's not a common viscosity in most areas, and you'll never find it in a conventional oil. I would venture to guess that most VW owners are not going to want to pay extra for synthetic oil, so they'll probably just get their oil changed at the local quickie lube with bulk dino 5w30.
 
I hope you don't mind if I piggyback on this. My daughter just picked up a 2000 Golf, 2.0 engine, 55K miles. I've called around, posted to the Miata site (that's how I found out about BITOG; those guys know a lot about cars in general), searched here, etc. The local VW dealer uses Elf 5W-40 (which I've never seen). A BITOG/Miata forum contributer suggested using Rotella T (good price, and available at the local Wal-Mart), but it's not on the VW 502 chart (I called Rotella and they--probably of course--said it would be fine). I was thinking about using this with a Purolator filter and 5K OCI. Sound OK? Car gets driven 1-mile each way commute M-F, errands/whatever on weekends; she lives just south of Boston. Like Nysurf's car, this has probably had a steady diet of 5W-30 which others have seemed to have had no problem with.

Also, is there a difference between the standard Purolator filter and the slightly higher priced one?

And Patman, you've said exactly what I've been going through on this.

Thanks in advance, Jeff
 
Jeff, if your daughter is doing short trips like that all the time, then she would be better off with a 5w20, since her oil temperature will never get hot enough anyhow, and the 5w20 will flow better in the cold than any 5w40 would. Rotella 5w40 is quite thick I believe, the viscosity at 40c is something like 90 cst, while most 5w20s are around 45-50cst.
 
I work in the parts department for a VW dealer and on all
N/A 2.0's we use bulk Castrol 5-30 with good success.

nysurf: Your golf has an ABA motor which may be VW's best
water cooled engine. I would use a good dino 5-30 with 5k
OCI's and sleep very well at night, if you take care of
that motor it will take care of you. BTW the AutoRX would
be a good idea.

jlee9000: That 00 Golf has an AEG motor, decent motor.
I'd go with patman and run a good 5-20 (Motorcraft comes
to mind). Also have her drive it on a good 10-20 mile
highway run once every or every other week. 1 mile trips
are the hardest on cars and a good run down the highway
will help it get to operating temp and stay there for a
while and get the plugs good and clean among other things.
As far as the filter goes nothing wrong with a Purolator
but if I had a VW I would run a VW fiter they have silicon
anti drainback valves and a robust construction (one of the
few VW parts I do like). BTW keep a spare brake light switch
around.
 
While we are on the subject I have a 2001 Jetta w/ 2.0L,I have been running M1 0w40 8-10k oil changes with VW filter. Any comments or things to look for 1VicS10?

Thanks
 
Quote:



jlee9000: That 00 Golf has an AEG motor, decent motor.
I'd go with patman and run a good 5-20 (Motorcraft comes
to mind). Also have her drive it on a good 10-20 mile
highway run once every or every other week. 1 mile trips
are the hardest on cars and a good run down the highway
will help it get to operating temp and stay there for a
while and get the plugs good and clean among other things.
As far as the filter goes nothing wrong with a Purolator
but if I had a VW I would run a VW fiter they have silicon
anti drainback valves and a robust construction (one of the
few VW parts I do like). BTW keep a spare brake light switch
around.




I had the AEG in my 2000 Beetle - good motor as stated, just keep an eye on the water pump - impeller is made of plastic and is well known to self destruct. Mine went at 70000KM and was replaced with an aftermarket with a metal impeller. I ran Esso XD-3 0w40 in it. Never had a problem with burning oil either, which were an issue on some AEG's.

Regarding the brake light switch - dunno if it applies to the Golf, but VW here in Canada recently issued a recall on the brake light switch for the Beetle. This is the 2nd (yes SECOND) time this switch has been recalled - I personally had 2 fail on me in 2 years, usually at very bad times - like exiting the car wash. When the switch fails, not only do you not have brake lights, but if you have an auto, you can't shift out of park or neutral. Luckily there was no one behind me in the car wash.
 
I'm going to school to become a VW tech one day! so i've learned some things from the VW's my paretns and i own. the 98 golf as stated is the ABA motor, and it is bullet proof, you don't have to worry about the motor on that car, it is VWs best motor. The only problem that car is going to give you is electrical, which really get to be a pain in the butt some times. IMO- you can use any oil for 5k intrevels in that engine, synthetic or dino, and still have it last quite a long time. My cabrio has about 325k miles on it, on nothing but valvoline durablend since 90k. I don't think this engine is hgard on oil at all.
 
Quote:







Regarding the brake light switch - dunno if it applies to the Golf, but VW here in Canada recently issued a recall on the brake light switch for the Beetle. This is the 2nd (yes SECOND) time this switch has been recalled - I personally had 2 fail on me in 2 years, usually at very bad times - like exiting the car wash. When the switch fails, not only do you not have brake lights, but if you have an auto, you can't shift out of park or neutral. Luckily there was no one behind me in the car wash.




My mom had the exact same problem happen to her! Luckily the car was in her driveway so she was able to wait inside the house for the tow truck to arrive.
 
Buying the Golf was my daughter's idea, not mine! A little research revealed this car had 38 service bulletins and four recalls! Yikes!
 
hempulator: (whats a hempulator?) Keep all your maintainence
current (oil, air filter, trans fluid, all of it) and the
powertrain should hold up fairly well. VW's electrical
systems are bad. (think British) I would call your local
VW dealer with your VIN# and see is your car is eligible
for the brake light switch recall. We're hoping the new
switch will be less problematic than the old purple switch.

jlee: Unless you have enough money to fix them and just
absolutley love the cars I don't recomend VW's, to many
bugs. I mean how hard can it be to make a brake light
switch? Americans and Japs don't have problems with brake
light switches. And would it kill them to put some metal
where it really needs it, ie: water pump impeller, cooling
flange. Yeah I don't like VW's, sorry about the rant.
 
Quote:


hempulator: (whats a hempulator?) Keep all your maintainence
current (oil, air filter, trans fluid, all of it) and the
powertrain should hold up fairly well. VW's electrical
systems are bad. (think British) I would call your local
VW dealer with your VIN# and see is your car is eligible
for the brake light switch recall. We're hoping the new
switch will be less problematic than the old purple switch.

jlee: Unless you have enough money to fix them and just
absolutley love the cars I don't recomend VW's, to many
bugs. I mean how hard can it be to make a brake light
switch? Americans and Japs don't have problems with brake
light switches. And would it kill them to put some metal
where it really needs it, ie: water pump impeller, cooling
flange. Yeah I don't like VW's, sorry about the rant.




Gotta agree with you about the impeller and the cooling flange (I forgot about that one...had to replace that on my Beetle too), but the brake light switch is made by Delphi, which I believe is an American company (or was..heard they were bankrupt?)
 
So what, a coolant flange leaks, 2 bolts and a coolant hose, once every 2 years or so, it's not too bad. Water pumps good for 80k, just like most cars, What German car doesn't have electrical problems? The thing with V-dubs, if your one of those people who are total care care idiots, (and if your on this site, chances are your not) you will learn to love a VW. Cheap, reliable if you take care of it, and fun to drive. It's the poor mans VW.
 
Mom's 1996 Passat 2.0 always got 6mo ocis w/ Castrol RX 15w-40. Garaged, urban driving. The last 2 years it got whatever-soup. Planning on living it's life out w/ 6mo Delo 30 changes using the extractor w/ yearly filter change.

Car burns near zero and is clean. Some later 2.0s got upside-down rings and burn oil. We have a female friend w/this. I quit careing about it and told her how/where to cheeck/fill it herself. For general use, 10w-40 HiMi. Forget synth in this engine...pointless.
 
i believe the upside down rings were for the 2.0s made after 991/2, there should be a recall for it...every car manufacturer makes mistakes
 
Quote:


So what, a coolant flange leaks, 2 bolts and a coolant hose, once every 2 years or so, it's not too bad. Water pumps good for 80k, just like most cars, What German car doesn't have electrical problems? The thing with V-dubs, if your one of those people who are total care care idiots, (and if your on this site, chances are your not) you will learn to love a VW. Cheap, reliable if you take care of it, and fun to drive. It's the poor mans VW.




My water pump shattered at 70000 KILOMETRES. That's roughly 45000 miles (I think) and that's not an isolated incident. Lots of other VW owners have had their water pumps go early. I've never had a car lose a water pump so early.

Btw, they're not cheap anymore, and they are not reliable, even if you take care of them.
 
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