The oil question!

[tony_anon]

I'm sure this has come up before. It seems I'm low on oil. Can anybody confirm what the local dealer say is the right oil for the car:

Car: A4 B6 53 Reg 1.9TDI

Oil: Castrol 5W30 longlife oil

I'm sure Halfords do it.

Cheers.

[Dave Avant]

If you are going for a variable interval service then yes, Castrol Edge 5W 30 is correct - but it is £42 for 4 litres!!!

There are cheaper alternatives that are to the fixed service spec. Alot of oils will have a VW spec on the label.

[tony_anon]

Hi Dave,

I've been getting the longlife service done on the car, the next one due is next year but the oil at the moment is below min although no warning lights have come up. So much for longlife! It should be checked every 2 weeks I guess. There's no leak so where the hell does the oil go?!

So does the Castrol 5W30 do longlife too? The manual says that its got to be VW 506 01 for longlife but looking through old posts, its been superseded by VW 507 00.

Cheers.

[Dave Avant]

Castrol Edge 5W 30 is VW 507 00 longlife.

Between min and max is only about a litre so depending on your mileage it is possible for it to drop to min. Some engines (even of the same make and year - its said it can depend on how it was run in when new) burn oil without smoking and some don't. Short journies can also burn more oil and also contaminate it quicker reducing the mileage between changes.

Pop to Halfords and get a litre to top it up.

I'm not sure but not all engines have a low oil light, usually that light is the oil pressure. But I think it has to go even lower than min to come on.

[tony_anon]

Thanks Dave, I'll get myself a litre of the stuff!

[Marco34]

I'm not a fan of long life servicing for oil. The oil may survive but the filters sure don't. Castrol seem to have got folk by the privates, in that any other oil is a no no. I use 505.01 which for the PD but fixed servicing. I use Millers XFE-PD. This is a 5w40 spec and I have found it to be superb. I only top up once between an oil drain, which for me is 5000 miles. I only do 10k a year so it's ideal every 6 months. Harcore oil junkies say this is what to do, and I've become one!

Topping up so frequent does not seem right to me. A mates A4 2.0TDI was the same, using quite a bit of oil on the Castrol. He changed to Millers 505.01 and his topping up is much less. Which ever servicing you prefer, ensure the oil is either 505.01, 506.01 and of course the one for particulate filers, 507.01.

[Dave Avant]

I'm with you Marco!!

I usually take the recomended interval and half it - so 5,000 miles based on a fixed service which is 10,000 miles. I've got about 1,000 miles to go yet. As I've been using my bike I've cut my annual mileage to about 6,000 miles a year. Done about 2,500 miles on my bike since May.

[golf tdi 02]

I'm not a fan of long life servicing for oil. The oil may survive but the filters sure don't. Castrol seem to have got folk by the privates, in that any other oil is a no no. I use 505.01 which for the PD but fixed servicing. I use Millers XFE-PD. This is a 5w40 spec and I have found it to be superb. I only top up once between an oil drain, which for me is 5000 miles. I only do 10k a year so it's ideal every 6 months. Harcore oil junkies say this is what to do, and I've become one!

Topping up so frequent does not seem right to me. A mates A4 2.0TDI was the same, using quite a bit of oil on the Castrol. He changed to Millers 505.01 and his topping up is much less. Which ever servicing you prefer, ensure the oil is either 505.01, 506.01 and of course the one for particulate filers, 507.01.

you took the words from my mouth
rich...

[prolfe]

I'm doing 7000 miles per litre of oil. And it's the £14 a litre stuff.

I carry a litre at all times in the back of the car because i have been told that once it lights up on your dash that you should top it up as soon as you can so that no damage can be done to the engine.

[Dave Avant]

Which ever servicing you prefer, ensure the oil is either 505.01, 506.01 and of course the one for particulate filers, 507.01.

By particulate filters you mean the Cat? I think all diesels have had cats since the mid 90s.

I've only serviced mine once since I got it. I used Mobil 1 as I had a small stock in the garage. For my next change, I might take a look at Millers - they have good rep.