Passat 1.8T sport estate 2000 APU

[bubblesaint]

hi all, new poster here.

i have 2 questions which i hope you can help me with

1) I have been using Mobil1 0/40 oil for a while now and have just started noticing that i'm using quite a bit of oil.
mileage is 127,000 now so is it possible its just wear and tear?
I'm just about to change the oil and filter so would appreciate advice on which would be the best oil to use.

2) Also, i'm overdue a cambelt change.
i have neither the time or knowledge to take this on myself so would appreciate anybodys advice on where to take it short of paying £1,000,000 at the main dealer.
with the car at this age and mileage, whilst doing the cambelt, is there anything else i should be renewing whilst the car is in bits

many thanks for your time and help

paul

[m4xmw]

Hello and welcome to the forum


If possible I`d suggest doing a search for these two issues.

However I`ve got the same car as you(1999 1.8t APu estate) so I`ll share my info with you.

I run on fully synthetic 5w40(Carlube triple R) it meets 502 spec.
My car has 122k and uses no oil between services.
Ow40 is probably too thin.
I also use a genuine VW filter(its now much larger to increase oil capacity).

I had my cambelt and tensioner replaced at Crewe VW main dealer for £175 !!!! including all parts vat and a tdi Golf courtesy car.

As for replacing other parts some people like to replace the water pump too.
However Crewe VW said they dont do it as a given and they rarely come accorss failures much now.
Seems to have been on earlier pumps?
The hydraulic tensioner would be worthwhile changing, however mine was done at the last cambelt change.



It was a trek for me as I live in Bolton, but was worth the trip to save soooo much cash and have the job done properly with genuine parts.

Oh and by e way the change interval is 60k or 4 years whatever comes soonest.

My car had only done 38k since last change, but it was nearly 5 years previously!

My car came back nicely washed too.

If you need any more help, just post as thats what this forum is all about!

Mark

[bubblesaint]

hi mark
thanks for your swift helpful reply
do you think the thin viscosity of my oil is the reason why i'm losing quite a bit?
could using 0/40 actually damage my engine?
paul

[m4xmw]

Yes, its too thin, the actual grade required is 10w40, but that is usually a poorer quality grade and can sludge the engine up.

I`ve used 5w40 in my car for 15k miles(changed twice) and have not used a noticable amount...(ie never had to top it up)

I dont think 0w40 will have damaged your car, but I`d be inclined to put a more suitable grade of oil in.

By the way 5w40 Triple R from Eurocarparts is pretty reasonably priced.

Mark

[bubblesaint]

mark, or whoever else is interested,

i hunted around today for the best price for my cambelt change.
i started with vw main dealer in southampton, £450!!!!!!
they also said they would price match as long as it was within 5 miles of the dealership and that they also used genuine vw spares
within 1/2 hour, i had a quote for £288 all in
phoned vw back with the good news and they took all the details and promised to phone me back before the end of play.
he phoned later to cofirm that theywould honour the price match and told me he had to halve their hourly rate to do this
what a result!
getting done on wednesday, beautiful!
i hope this info maybe helps other people get a better deal
is this how you got yours done for under £200 mark?

regards

[m4xmw]

Well done you!

I actually saw the offer on ebay, but when I spoke to the dealer they said they wanted to bring back VW customers that had started to take their cars to other garages after the 3 years warranty ran out!

I had a quote off VW in Bolton and they wanted £453.... I couldn`t better the deal that Crewe VW main dealers offered so thats why I went there.


Glad the forum is useful.... by the way did you see my post on clearing the drainholes in the plenum.... make sure to keep yours clear!

Mark

[bubblesaint]

do me a favour please mark and post one of those linky things to it.
i dont get much time on the laptop without the mrs trying to get it back off me!!!!
i really must grow a backbone!

[m4xmw]

go on ebay.co.uk

its item number 170094231197 and the cambelt change is listed as a 1.8 passat petrol.

They did the same price for my APU engineed car.

Mark