Engine Oil for Mk 4 Golf

[Reet]

Hi,

I own a 1998 1.4 Mk4 Golf and am finding that it uses a lot of engine oil. Does anyone know why this is? Also what is the best type of engine oil for my car?

Much appreciated!

Cheers

Reet

[Teutonic_Tamer]

As per title - read the f@$king manual.

You'll find a wealth of information there, including what type of oil to use, and just as important, the correct way to check your oil level. If you are not checking the level properly, you may be overfilling it, which then burns off, and you then top-up with more, overfilling again.

I trust you have checked the obvious, such as oily leaks down the sides of the engine, oil drips hanging from the bottom of the engine, oil patches on the ground after parking it overnight!

My guess for oil would be VW 502.00 for fixed mainenance intervals, if so go for a 5W40, and not a 0W40. Yours is too early for variable servicing. Use any of the major brands, steer clear of Mobil 1 (it is NOT accredited by VW), and don't use CarPlan stuff.

[Reet]

Thanks for the info although there was no need to be so aggressive!

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Thanks for the info although there was no need to be so aggressive!

Sorry if my post appeared to be agressive, I certainly didn't mean to be. It just pees me off some times, when some people fish for answers, and can then sometimes the wrong info, when actually, the best place for the info is probably sitting in their own glovebox.

, there, is that better .

FYI, I posted an interesting, and quite detailed reply to Oilmans post on oil labelling. https://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/s...ead.php?t=1482. Even the so-called experts can get it very wrong, and the average Joe public can get quite confused as a result of all the miss-information.

Three years back, I had a major problem getting the correct oil for my B6 S4 whilst in Andorra. Even the official Audi garage tried to sell me a couple of different types of wrong oil of a lower spec. I ended up going to the counter with my owners manual, showing them the VW 503.00 spec, stating the LongLife servicing (which they knew anyway, because a VIN lookup for any VAG car will tell them so). 15 minutes later, they appeared with a very dusty bottle of Veedol Syntron LongLife II (exactly the same as the Castrol SLX LL II, just re-labled for the German market), I asked for a further 3 bottles, which duly appeared with their own dust jackets! After a further discussion with both the parts and service managers, they told me they never used any of the LongLife oil they had been supplied, but they were still doing long life servicing - arggghhhh!!!

Even now (November '06), my local main ******** (VW and Audi) still try to sell me the wrong oil.

Rdgs

[Reet]

Hi Sean,

I have read your reply to the 'Oil labelling explained' post and well you certainly do know your stuff, although it is a little worrying when even experts get it wrong. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for all the information that you have provided. It really has been helpful and I do appreciate it. I did take a quick flick through my manual this morning but was in a rush so didn't find it. However, I will be a bit more thorough next time. Saying that I have learnt a lot today, and it has helped a boring day at work go by quicker, so thank you!

Cheers

Reet

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Hi Sean,

I have read your reply to the 'Oil labelling explained' post and well you certainly do know your stuff

takes a bow; thanks; I still try to learn though.

, although it is a little worrying when even experts get it wrong.

They still do get it wrong http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?f=1&t=4851 ; the post from Honest John himself from Mon 1 Apr 02 is an eye-opener.

My main VW ******* admitted to me last month they get engine failures from incorrect oils - the same dealer which tried to sell me the wrong stuff.

it has helped a boring day at work go by quicker

LOL - if I were caught reading web-boards at work; well hello P45 .

Cheers

You're welcome