Changing oil not Necessary

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Artan

I use full synthetic Castrol Edge TurboDiesel 5W-40 for my VW Passat 1.9 TDI 2003. According to the sticker the oil should be changed after max 15000 km or max 12 months. I drove now for 33000 km and 18 months. The oil is as new. If the oil is viscous and thin everything is ok. If it is thick and no viscosity then its bad.

I dont use any other additive for the engine. Every two months i clean the air filter with air pressure. The hummidity and the water in the oil is removed from the engine by heat and breather element of the engine. The point is that you should not leave the car long time without driving. I am talking for 3 and more months. The turbo pipeline can be clogged only if the oil is thick. When its thick it means it contains sludge, dust, rubbish. When it is thin and you check it on your finger its clean there is nothing to worry about.
My car is working very good. I dont see any difference and the oil has been used one time over its so called limits.

You really need to have your oil lab tested. PD engines are notorious for wearing out cams for a variety of reasons, even when using the recommended oils at the proper change intervals. This wear shows up very well in analysis.

There are good reasons for lab testing engine oil on any vehicle for extended intervals.

1) Additives wear out. Humidity and exhaust byproducts create acids in the oil that consume additives. Use these up, and your engine wear will increase.

2) Soot and other contaminants need surfactants to remain suspended. Your contaminant levels can only go so high before they come out of solution and cause wear. These are much smaller than can be filtered out. A bypass filter can help.

I've only listed two. You are asking for trouble on your VW diesel engine, especially if you rely on finger-calibrated viscosity "measurements."

[some_other_dave]

Originally Posted by UFO

You really need to have your oil lab tested.

You don't understand! He has already explained how all of the oil testing laboratories in the world are actually owned by the Evil Oil Companies, who dictate that any oil run for more than 100 miles is "worn out" and "must be replaced now".

And all of the people who have torn down an engine after finding high amounts of metals in the oil and seen how the bearings are wearing through? They're all lying, every single one of them.

And hey, what can a well-equipped lab with millions of dollars of testing equipment run by well-trained technicians tell us that rubbing oil between our fingers can't? Everybody knows that anything that is too small to feel with our fingers is unimportant and cannot hurt our engines in any way.

-soD

[UFO]

^^^ Oh, my bad.

[lowglider]

[QUOTE=Artan;261933]Just a small correction Mr. Lowglider, Castrol Edge Turbodiesel 5W-40 isnt longlife (15000 km max or 12 months VW 505.01), Castrol Edge Turbodiesel 5W-30 is longlife (30000 km max or 24 months VW 507.00).

/QUOTE]

It has the BMW Longlife-04 approval, so even if VW does not use it for 30000kms, other manufacturers do and it is made to withstand it.

I wish you all the luck with your experiment and I think that if you check the oil`s pH and the engine for sludge regularly, it should be fine.

For all the nay sayers in Artan`s case:
A used oil actually has a better lubricity than a fresh one and his engine will be fine as long as the pH does not drop too far or too many large metal particles get in it. The oil he uses is very high quality and recommended for use up to 30000km and that is with the many incalculated tolerances to be kept on the safe side.
Artan if you go twice the mileage with your current oil, I`m willing to sponsor a laboratoy oil test.

Lots of folks who use oil lab tests use their oils way longer than the recommended factory intervals.

[jkv357]

It's not the oil wearing-out that's the problem, it's the depletion of the additives and the increasing level of contaminants that do the damage.

My question about a hyper-extended OCI would be - why? Sorry, I offically "don't get it".

[Ford Man]

My '88 Ford Escort engine has lasted 517,9xx miles with regular oil changes and it's still running, I see no reason to change my current habits. When you've ran an engine this number of miles without any rebuilds on no oil changes let me know.

I have about 25 cases of oil on hand I bought for under $1. a quart and about 60 oil filers I bought on sale for $1. each or less so my oil changes cost me about $5. each. Pretty cheap insurance compared to a $3K-$5K engine replacement. At 5K mile oil changes my oil changes for 100K miles cost me about $100. and about 10 hours of my time, definitely not worth taking risks.

A few years ago I changed the oil in my father in laws truck after he had neglected changing the oil for about 10K miles/2 years. When I drained the oil there were chunks of grit/sludge coming out of the oil pan.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by jkv357

It's not the oil wearing-out that's the problem, it's the depletion of the additives and the increasing level of contaminants that do the damage.

Exactly.
And in a diesel, the contamination is going to add up - metals, biodiesel or soot never get out of the oil.
The TBN is going to wear down, and so will the engine.

[Peter7307]

I also recall the comments by the "former Castrol hi flyer" made after he and the company parted ways on apparently less than amicable terms.

That may well have had some thing to do with his comments but he is entitled to his opinion.

Peter.

[Artan]

[QUOTE][QUOTE=lowglider;261970]

Originally Posted by Artan

Just a small correction Mr. Lowglider, Castrol Edge Turbodiesel 5W-40 isnt longlife (15000 km max or 12 months VW 505.01), Castrol Edge Turbodiesel 5W-30 is longlife (30000 km max or 24 months VW 507.00).

/QUOTE]

It has the BMW Longlife-04 approval, so even if VW does not use it for 30000kms, other manufacturers do and it is made to withstand it.

It's true, the same oil Castrol Edge Turbodiesel 5W-40 for BMW it is longlife-04 but for VW it is for max 15000 km or 12 months.

I check the engine for sludge but everything is clean, i changed the oil filter at 30000 km and the old one was totally in a good shape.

Anyway i will monitor closely the oil. About the lab tests we dont have any lab here in Kosovo, if you are willing to do it thats fine for me.

[Artan]

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by some_other_dave

You don't understand! He has already explained how all of the oil testing laboratories in the world are actually owned by the Evil Oil Companies, who dictate that any oil run for more than 100 miles is "worn out" and "must be replaced now".

And all of the people who have torn down an engine after finding high amounts of metals in the oil and seen how the bearings are wearing through? They're all lying, every single one of them.

Its to complicated, but the devil is sitting in the detail somewhere. If we talk about destroyed engines and bearings we need to know if these people have used the right approved oil, did their engines overheated, did they drive reclessly etc. If your engine overheats you need to change the oil immediately even if the oil is brand new.

If oil gets contaminated by external elements then logically thats not oil anymore. The labs are doing their job properly they are just saying that normally the oil contains this amount of elements and then when you test the old oil they say it is this much over the normal. Everything ends here with labs. Thats fine.

Analyze this; Did anybody ever saw a doucumentary testing two same engines one with normal oil change and the other one without oil change? Never! It is as simple as that. The best way is to test it yourself.

At the end it is not the oil that dictates the life of an engine, it is the way of driving. Cold starts, sudden acceleration while engine is still cold, wrong gear shift especially down shift on manual transmission e.g. from 4th to 3rd all the vehicle load speed will be transmitted on the transmission and engine bearings etc. On automatic transmission the down shift is completely different much lighter for the engine. Thats why engines with automatic transmission last much longer (here's another small detail to why automatic transmission engines last longer than manula transmission engines. Is it the oil or the way of driving!).