oil type

[mikinoz]

I am no expert, but as far as I am aware there is one other thing here at play;

Longlife Servicing.

So from my research the DPF equipped cars are not marked for Longlife service, but the earlier non-DPF cars are.

So what I am coming to glean from this is 506.01 is low ash for longer duty cycles, where 507.00 does not support Longlife.

In short I have changed my oil on a 15,000km service cycle with 507.00 in my 2005 model car and it seems to be fine, oil comes out pretty reasonable after that as well (as in not smelling nasty etc) so I think that in reality the additive/structure for Longlife then gives you the requirement for 506.01.

I am doing my first service with Fuchs 506.01 certified oil next change so will have a comparison, but for the money (and the fact it is a bitch to locate as well) I think I'll be going back to 507.00 for the future ones.

Any more conjecture appreciated.

[Transporter]

Brian, you maybe are right about the water (and e.glycol from the coolant), but also you right that the oil chemist only would know what is the exact make up of 506.01 (not 506 that's a different specs oil again) oil and would be able to better compare the 2 oils if they're both suitable for our engines.

However the risk from using wrong specs oil is there and the repairs after something goes wrong cost more than the savings one made by not using the right oil at the first place.

What that all means?
To me. I'll use VW recommended oil for that engine until they say otherwise. Also changing oil every 6months before summer and before winter or 7,500 km that gives the engine a better chance if the water pump seal let the coolant go in the oil (fresher oil provides better engine protection than depleted one). Taking that oil cap of and checking for any sign of the coolant leak into the sump as well as monitoring coolant level in the reservoir.

From approx. 60,000km I started to use LiquiMoly Engine Protect, which should also provide extra lubrication and help for short period of time when w.pump fails.

[Transporter]

I

I am doing my first service with Fuchs 506.01 certified oil next change so will have a comparison, but for the money (and the fact it is a bitch to locate as well) I think I'll be going back to 507.01 for the future ones.

Any more conjecture appreciated.

LiquiMoly makes VW506.01 oil and it's reasonably priced. Buy it for 2-3 oil changes ahead and save time. If you were in Adelaide I would supply you, if you can't get the trade price.

[BrianJ]

I rechecked my user manuals for my model yesterday and it agrees with what has been stated here that it should use VW506.01 for non DPF and VW507.01 for DPF models within the year of 2006.

Should have added here, that in the manual statement this applied for both longlife and fixed servicing intervals.

I have to agree with transporter that the safest way is to use VW506.01 until stated otherwise by VW, but for me I am going to take the risk because the other than the dealers, most shops where I can get my servicing done at a reasonable price only stock VW504/507. I will be keeping my van hopefully to at least 400,000km, so I will provided feedback here in future about how the engine survives.

Brian

[Transporter]

.....because the other than the dealers, most shops where I can get my servicing done at a reasonable price only stock VW504/507. I will be keeping my van hopefully to at least 400,000km, so I will provided feedback here in future about how the engine survives.

Brian

You could also buy your own and take it your mechanic.

[Diesel_vert]

I think that many people don't know what their engine code is or where to find it, they will find the production date faster.
Even when I do booking over the phone, I can point them where the VIN is much easier than wanting them to find the engine code.

Lol, I suppose you have to take that into consideration.

I did see on a british forum a while back the technical spec sheet for 506 and 507, and all the parameters were similar except for some that were to do with ash. But I am not an oil chemist so its still difficult unless castrol comes out and publicly says that the two oils are interchangeable, and even they are not game to publicly say that probably for fear of being sued if someones engine fails. I might add that my belief is that these engines are more likely to fail due to water in the oil from faulty water pumps than from slightly different oil spec, but without a lot of data gathering this is difficult to prove.

And yet despite all that, for PD engines without a DPF, VW says you can use 507 00 in some of them, but not in others.

Their motivation behind these decisions? I've absolutely no idea.

I am no expert, but as far as I am aware there is one other thing here at play;

Longlife Servicing.

So from my research the DPF equipped cars are not marked for Longlife service, but the earlier non-DPF cars are.

So what I am coming to glean from this is 506.01 is low ash for longer duty cycles, where 507.00 does not support Longlife.

505 01 = standard drain oil, for PD engines on Time and Distance regime.
506 01 = "LongLife II" oil, for PD engines on the LongLife service regime.
507 00 = "LongLife III" oil, for PD* and CR engines on either service regime. *With some exceptions.

Prior to the introduction of 507 00 oils, the 4-cylinder PD engines w/o DPF on the Time and Distance regime used 505 01, while those on the LongLife regime used 506 01 - in fact, you can still use these oils if you wish. But since 507 00 oils are easier to obtain than either 505 01 and 506 01 oils, there's no point.

However AFAIK, VW have always recommended 506 01 for the AXD, AXE and BLJ engines - irrespective of service regime.

I am doing my first service with Fuchs 506.01 certified oil next change so will have a comparison, but for the money (and the fact it is a bitch to locate as well) I think I'll be going back to 507.00 for the future ones.

Good luck and be good enough to keep us updated should you encounter any issues, if any.

In short I have changed my oil on a 15,000km service cycle with 507.00 in my 2005 model car and it seems to be fine, oil comes out pretty reasonable after that as well (as in not smelling nasty etc) so I think that in reality the additive/structure for Longlife then gives you the requirement for 506.01.

As I said to Brian, any differences in the formulation of 506 01 and 507 00 oils is not something you're likely to notice from external observations.

To me. I'll use VW recommended oil for that engine until they say otherwise. Also changing oil every 6months before summer and before winter or 7,500 km that gives the engine a better chance if the water pump seal let the coolant go in the oil (fresher oil provides better engine protection than depleted one). Taking that oil cap of and checking for any sign of the coolant leak into the sump as well as monitoring coolant level in the reservoir.

Given that this is 2012, meaning that 10 ppm sulphur diesel is the norm, I'm of the opinion that it isn't strictly necessary to change 506 01 oils every 7500 km/6 months.

If one needs to change the oil prematurely due to external issues (like an internal coolant leak), perhaps it would be better to focus on the problem, and not the symptom.

I have to agree with transporter that the safest way is to use VW506 until stated otherwise by VW, but for me I am going to take the risk because the other than the dealers, most shops where I can get my servicing done at a reasonable price only stock VW504/507. I will be keeping my van hopefully to at least 400,000km, so I will provided feedback here in future about how the engine survives.

I've nothing against those choosing not to follow what VW says, as long as that decision is their own.

Good luck and be good enough to keep us updated should you encounter any issues, if any.


Oh and BTW folks, there is no such standard as 507 01.

[Transporter]

Given that this is 2012, meaning that 10 ppm sulphur diesel is the norm, I'm of the opinion that it isn't strictly necessary to change 506 01 oils every 7500 km/6 months.

If one needs to change the oil prematurely due to external issues (like an internal coolant leak), perhaps it would be better to focus on the problem, and not the symptom.

It's not always that easy.
Given the fact that the water pump in the T5s could have a very short life span and also that I do mainly very short trips, you know very well that it's not just the sulfur in the fuel that affects the engine oil's life , it's better to change the oil more often, than let the oil depleted of additives to deal with the coolant ingress, when the water pump fails.

The first T5 came with the long life servicing that was 50,000km or 2 years whichever comes first.
I bet you that there were many T5s that were on the road for 10,000 - 20,000 km leaking into the sump (thanks VW engineers!) and drivers just top the coolant reservoir and kept going.

[Diesel_vert]

It's not always that easy.
Given the fact that the water pump in the T5s could have a very short life span and also that I do mainly very short trips, you know very well that it's not just the sulfur in the fuel that affects the engine oil's life , it's better to change the oil more often, than let the oil depleted of additives to deal with the coolant ingress, when the water pump fails.

The first T5 came with the long life servicing that was 50,000km or 2 years whichever comes first.
I bet you that there were many T5s that were on the road for 10,000 - 20,000 km leaking into the sump (thanks VW engineers!) and drivers just top the coolant reservoir and kept going.

I'd say it's a judgement call.

I just don't personally recommend halving the oil change interval on principle.