Well my T3 just clicked over the magical 300thou but i will back up the story by 4000K's.( thats296000) Ok i ran some Pentrite10/40 oil through the old girl and used this to clean out the system, but at the 300,500 mark kombi decided it must be time to dump the oil , noisy lifter and tappett. I have always used 20/50 Pentrite through her and will continue to as the 10/40 just dont seem to do the job. Wondering if a 15/50 or 15/60 semi synthetic or full synthetic can be used and is it advisable? And I have found that VW Australia specifies Valvoline oils, dont seem right, whats your take???

so what's wrong with what u are using now

nothing wrong with the 20/50, it got rid of the lifter noise straight up. Sometimes u just like to spoil your toys and give it some new blood. So as wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on oils.:thumb

Sorry mate, limited experience. I do know that my mechanic put valvoline (you know what i mean) in mine though not sure what type.

Have you got the owners manual because i know it specifies a range of oils in there

its NOT a good idea to change the oil -
grade or brand after all those kms...
Keep using what You are using...

Someone on here recommended Valvoline oils for Air Cooled VWs, as its better than GTX2 which many people use...
but really I prefer to keep using GTX2....

I read all the oil bottles in the shops to see if any are better then others. as Valvoline [and others] all have many grades of oil... Super - Multigrade - etc all at different prices... I see now, some have the years on them - before 2003... before 1985 etc... after 260,000kms for 20/60 grade oil
plus all the different ratings CD-CF -CG- CJ -CL etc...
so a CD oil was originally made years ago, but is it better to use the latest specs of oil???
sorry to get off track a bit...

Lee

Lost me at

"so a CD oil was originally made years ago, but is it better to use the latest specs of oil???"

But i know what u r saying, sticking to the pentrite 20/50

Yup

As the engine gets older, clearances increase, so you may need a slightly thicker oil, not thinner.
Full synthetic is only really needed if you want to increase the oil-drain interval (or have some type of 'severe' usage). Semi-synth can be a good compromise, but only needs to contain around 13% (I think?) synthetic base to qualify for the name. Some "synthetic" oils are highly purified mineral oil, & not what was originally termed 'synthetic' (PAO's etc), which sounds like a bit of a con!
If you've used a 20-50 with no probs, either continue to, or use a fractonally heavier grade, eg 25-50 or 20-60. The specs are fairly W-I-D-E so one comany's 20-50 may be close to a 25-60, but another's may be near the 15-40 end. 'Cheaper' products often means a thinner one, and "store-name" WILL get you thinner/cheaper/nastier...

Many of the older Penrite grades can be a bit "too thick". The thinner ones are probably OK (up to 20-50 or 25-60).
Many Castrol grades used to be excellent, but Castrol does not exist now (except for the name). (Is all BP-made product.)
US-made V'line seems to have a very good rep., but the locally made version never seems quite so well regarded?

"CD" was first spec. in 1955, but was not called that then. It was "DS", and was retrospectively named CD.
Unlike petrol engine specs, the diesel ones aren't quite consecutive. For eg. "CC" was released after 'CD', in 1961! But it wasn't called that either at the time. Generally the later spec. the better, but with diesel specs there are some side-branches to the evolution. These specs are meant to make it easier to pick the correct product quickly, but you can stand in front of the shelves for half an hour and still not be sure you've picked the right oil! Actually "Castrol" GTX's have dropped the API specs off their bottles completely!

When SG (petrol) was brought out in 1989, it was decided to align it to the 1961 CC (diesel) spec., ie. each meets the other's requirements by definition. This gives you an idea of how far ahead diesel oil spec's/additives were! (If you'd like some tables with the oil spec's please e-mail or U2U.)
(Please pardon my straying into the watercooled area...!)


[ Edited on 6-2-2007 by ACE_76 ]

Ok i now have the Lifter TICK back at random startups...
U know the one...
Any thoughts????
Still runnig 20/50 Pentrite

if the lifter ticking is there only at startups, then it sounds like it needs to get the oil pumping around the engine first. Mum's 97 Civic (with !47K kms on the clock) has the lifter tick, but let it idle for a minute and it dissapears.

Otherwise, use 20W-60.

PS: I've read a table that Valvoline XLD has a higher shearing tolerence than Castrol Magnatec.. that might mean the same for the GTX range too... who know..

Yeh it is only at start up..
Strange though usually everytime it happens i dump the oil and it stops..
Kinda like she is telling me i need a change....

I've driven water-cooled's in the past which always had ticking on start-up (or when hot) either permanently, or now and than. Never seemed to affect their performance or do anything other than make the sound. I' remember one car only did it when hot, & one after start-up. Can it cause any harm? Or is it just a symptom of age?
I thought it was due to low/insufficient oil pressure, but the 'cure' according to some is to use a thinner oil; others say thicker. If it's only noisy when cold, you'd think the pressure would be higher then. But maybe the oil "hasn't got there yet". How long does it take to go away? seconds? minutes?

What is this "20-50 Penrite"? Can't see any such grade in their catalogue. Do you have the exact name?

About 4-5 weeks ago I or rather the missus started her up and it was there just there so i had her reverse back into the garage and poop the hood.
Gave the kombi some revs and then some more revs, still there..
Restart kombi noise still there, some more revs and then more revs noise go away...
This was with the 15/40 Penrite at 4000K's....
Ok dump the 15/40 penrite.
OIL CHANGE+ Filter
Add new 20/50 Penrite.
noise is now there at random times at cold startup.
Lifter noise present at first start up in the morning, so not really stressed..
No lifter noise at hot start or when running.
But i do need to fix my Muffler i now know why she is so loud and getting louder...
Off subject...

Lifter noise present for about 2-5 seconds or sometime more if more i usually switch off and restart.
I think the missus is trying to kill my car......

[ Edited on 22-2-2007 by Iwish4aSynchro ]