[Vwdiesel] Amsoil

[Shawn Wright]

On 20 Jul 2003 at 11:36, Scott Kair <scott3491 at insightbb.com> wrote:
.....
>     The stuff went on clearance, so I bought a bunch of it and started using it
> full time.  Early this spring, I took it in for a tbelt, thermostat, & water
> pump change and my mechanic remarked that the valve train was clean enough to
> eat off of, which could only be attributed to the oil.

In my old TD, at ~400k kms, I decided to switch to Amsoil 15w40, since I had
ordered some for my Dad's boat, and my Westy. Shortly thereafter I set about fixing
oil leaks, since I was now leaking $7/L oil, instead of $1.50/L oil! The VC gasket was
first, and I too was amazed at how clean the top end was. Oil pan was next, and the
bottom end was just as clean, no build up at all, except for a thin layer of hardened
stuff on the bottom of the pan. Until then, this engine had nothing but 15w40 diesel
dino oil, or even the odd 20w50 Castrol in the summer, in attempts to keep the oil
buzzer from going off. I also replaced crank bearings, and was surprised how little
wear they had. I'm guessing crappy/dirty oil will wear the rings/cylinders more quickly
than bearings...

>     Unfortunately, this caused a feeding frenzy at Walmart's clearance rack, as
> he and much of his family drive Diesels, too.   :)
>     I'm still not comfortable with extended drain intervals, though, but
> realize that quarterly/ 3k mi. changes are a waste of oil.  I've switched to 3x/
> yr., which is still probably not economically optimal, but I can buy a whole lot
> of oil for the price of a new engine.

Once I get the leaks fixed in my new Jetta 1.6NA, I will be back to synthetic again,
but still unsure how long I will go with it. In my Westy, I've gone up to two years, but
only ~15k kms with no problems, not even the notorious WBX lifter noise. I'm
considering trying 15k kms, then an analysis.--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
'88 Westy 375k
'85 Jetta D 263k
'85 Jetta TD 482k (retired)
~This message sent by Pegasus Mail, the safe E-Mail alternative~
"Friends don't let friends use Outlook"