# MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil?



## StevenPirre (Mar 3, 2009)

I have a 2001 GTI i just bought. It was over 200,000 miles on it. The previous owner said he was running conventional oil in it. Should i stick with that or change it? And change it to what?


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## rickjaguar (Apr 23, 2009)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (StevenPirre)*

Well... 200,000 miles and still runnin... sweet! 
Ever hear the expression- "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"


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## puebla (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (rickjaguar)*

Leave it alone, keep using conventional, and put another 100k on her before she blows.


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## DTMVDUB (Jun 5, 2003)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (StevenPirre)*

You have no idea how lucky you are. Running conventional oil in an older 1.8T is a gamble. 
VW stopped running conventional motor oil in 1.8T's approximately 10yrs ago after a large number of 1.8T engines seized as a result of oil sludge. Also, a former Northeast regional warranty rep told me that conventional oil was clogging the oil pump. To avoid further costly engine replacements VW made it mandatory for all 1.8T's to run synthetic.
Victims of VW's blind eye or pushing the buck tactics petitioned for a resolution to this problem. http://new.petitiononline.com/....html
Although your car hasn't had any problems running conventional oil, my recommendation is to switch to a synthetic 0W-30or 0W-40 such as Mobil-1. 
Here's a good site regarding oil information for your info: http://www.performanceoilnews....shtml


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## Spa_driver (Jul 31, 2005)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (DTMVDUB)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DTMVDUB* »_ 
To avoid further costly engine replacements VW made it mandatory for all 1.8T's to run synthetic.


Actually Motul 6100 Synergie+ 10W40 is a synthetic blend that meets VW 502.00/505.00. Great price too. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## animaniac (May 26, 2005)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (Spa_driver)*

If it's sludge free count your lucky stars, you can tell by looking inside the rocker cover with the oil cap off.
I'd use 10w/40 semi synthetic vw 502.00 in that.


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## Spa_driver (Jul 31, 2005)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (animaniac)*


_Quote, originally posted by *animaniac* »_If it's sludge free count your lucky stars, you can tell by looking inside the rocker cover with the oil cap off.
I'd use 10w/40 semi synthetic vw 502.00 in that.


It is a 10W40 semi synthetic VW 502.00/505.00 oil. Why would VW put it on the approved list starting in 2005(see VW pdf in OP) if it sludges 1.8T's?


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## tjl (Mar 24, 2001)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (DTMVDUB)*


_Quote, originally posted by *DTMVDUB* »_VW stopped running conventional motor oil in 1.8T's approximately 10yrs ago after a large number of 1.8T engines seized as a result of oil sludge.

It was closer to 5-6 years ago (2003-2004 time frame) that VW issued the TSB to dealers and the notice to owners to use VW 502.00 rated oil only in all VW gasoline engines from 1998. Prior to that, it was common for VW dealers to use 5W-30 conventional oil even though 5W-40 oil was listed in the owners manual and available to VW dealers.


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## tjl (Mar 24, 2001)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (StevenPirre)*


_Quote, originally posted by *StevenPirre* »_I have a 2001 GTI i just bought. It was over 200,000 miles on it. The previous owner said he was running conventional oil in it. Should i stick with that or change it? And change it to what?

Use an oil with the VW 502.00 rating, as given in VW's update of around 2004. Commonly available ones include Castrol Syntec 5W-40 and 0W-30 and Mobil 1 0W-40. Valvoline Synpower 5W-40 may also be available. Note that no conventional oil meets VW 502.00.
Note that the old spec listed in your 2001 owner's manual was to use 5W-40 oil, which is only available in synthetic (or "synthetic technology" if you are splitting hairs about the group III / IV distinction). So any conventional oil would be the incorrect oil under even the original spec.
Fortunately, the transverse 1.8T engine has a larger oil capacity than the longitudinal 1.8T engine (in the b5 Passat), so it was less prone to oil sludge with conventional oil. But it still is not a great idea to run conventional oil in the 1.8T engine, especially if you do a lot of city or track driving (as opposed to highway cruising).


_Modified by tjl at 6:07 PM 11-13-2009_


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## animaniac (May 26, 2005)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (Spa_driver)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Spa_driver* »_
It is a 10W40 semi synthetic VW 502.00/505.00 oil. Why would VW put it on the approved list starting in 2005(see VW pdf in OP) if it sludges 1.8T's?









I was refering to the op.
I don't concider a semi synthetic as a convensional oil, i regard mineral oil as one.
I''ve ran semi synthetic for years in the vr6 now with 170k on the clock 60k is on semi syn and on orignal timing chains!!!!!
My turbo is running on 10w/40 mobil super s which is a semi vw 505 but not 502.
But when i had the head and turbo done the garage used the vw quantum gold 5w/40 and it seemed to drink this.
Changed it to the mobil at the next oil change and it doesnt use any oil at all well i'm reving it to 6 and 7200 all the time, since doing the oil change 400 mile ago and it's still on max.
Even though it's not a 502 oil it's a top make, and has been fine for the vr6 all the years.
I got the turbo on 117k and it's now just turned 159k and the engines still as clean as the day it was rebuilt 33k ago.
If semi synthetics fine for my turbo it should be fine for a 2.0l.



_Modified by animaniac at 8:10 PM 11-13-2009_


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## tjl (Mar 24, 2001)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (animaniac)*


_Quote, originally posted by *animaniac* »_I don't concider a semi synthetic as a convensional oil, i regard mineral oil as one.
I''ve ran semi synthetic for years in the vr6 now with 170k on the clock 60k is on semi syn and on orignal timing chains!!!!!


To avoid confusion, remember that "synthetic oil" means different things in different places.
In the US, "synthetic" includes oils using group IV and V base stocks (typically made from natural gas), plus group III base stocks (highly processed mineral oils) which have viscosity properties similar to that of group IV base stocks. Most people in the US would interpret "semi-synthetic" as "synthetic blend", which usually means an oil that includes both "synthetic" and "conventional" (group I and II) base stocks (usually more of the latter).
In some other countries, group III base stocks are not called "synthetic", but is sometimes referred to as "synthetic technology". Seems like you are using "semi-synthetic" to refer to the same thing, since you refer to VW 502.00 or 505.00 rated oils, which do not seem to exist in group I or II conventional oils.


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## puebla (Sep 9, 2003)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (tjl)*


_Quote, originally posted by *tjl* »_To avoid confusion, remember that "synthetic oil" means different things in different places.


Instead of calling it imitation crab, they should call it synthetic crab.


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## animaniac (May 26, 2005)

*Re: MK4 GTI 1.8t What oil? (hazw8st)*

With regards to semi synthetic i'm not sure how much of a synthetic / mineral oil mix they contain.
I've never looked into the group base stuff.
I've always used mobil, valvoline, castrol semi synthetics and have never had any sludge problems, i even used in the vr6 valvoline maxlife 10w/40 synthetic blend which isnt vw approved, but has api SL / acea A3 on the back, it may be an SM oil now because i havent used it for at least 4 years...
I had a mk2 gti which had 139k on it when we brought it, after doing 60k on it and using various semi synthetic oils, mostly maxlife, i ened up doing the rocker gasket at 200k and the tappets and cam looked like new, yes it was slightly noisy but the wear happened over time because looking at them they didnt look worn.
I think if you use a top brand oil and change it at the vw interval or slightly sooner you can't go wrong.


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## D-HUBER (Jan 6, 2010)

man asks simple question, gets whole oil history lesson regarding 1.8t haha


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## rodhotter (Dec 24, 2003)

*oil technology*

theres a lot to be learned about lubrication, oils are changing constantly due to government laws, newest specs are requiring oils to run cleaner leaving less deposits and some additives that can harm cats are being replaced, group III petroleum base oils legally marketed as "synthetic" are good but not as good as a true Group IV-V synthetics. semi-synthetics are said to be 30% max "synthetic" prolly group III no real rules on this, buying say valvoline full "synthetic" or maxlife full "synthetic" even better as its noack is lower meaning less burn off, it has seal conditioners and more cleaners for higher mileage engines, can be had at $5 a qt in 5 qt containers. i used 10-30 amsoil in my 01 turbo'd jetta traded at 199,xxx running excellent with 20" vacuum using little oil except when boosting to 20+ lb. most info says 6 month max changes for petroleum oils group III "synthetics" included, amsoil is a manufactuered group IV oil with some group V oil for all around quality + longevitity, lots of info out there for sure search and read!!


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## Rofhnald (Jun 6, 2013)

they should call it synthetic crab.


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## TooSlick (Feb 17, 2000)

The Group III synthetics are chemically similar to petroleum oil and won't cause issues in a high mileage vehicle. I'd try some Mobil 1, turbo diesel truck or Rotella T6 in a 5w-40. Do a couple of short (4k-6k), change intervals to slowly clean out any pre existing engine oil deposits and you should be fine. 

TS


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