Please don't kill me for asking about oils... :)

77_Bus_Girl · Post by **77_Bus_Girl** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 10:54 pm

I know this probably seems like it's been asked a million times on Samba, but I was reading through all the stuff I could find, and everyone seemed to contradict themselves.
I'm about to change my oil for a long-ish road trip. (3000Kms) Some if it will be in the mountains (ie. Roger's Pass). I've been running what I was told - for the summer Synthetic Mobil1 15-50. (I'd have to ask what he puts in in the winter) I live in Canada and drive my bus all year round.

Everyone is all over the board on what to use, so I have NO idea what I should be putting in. I hear Synthetic offers no benefit. I hear it runs cooler. I hear... .

Also, I've got a few oil leaks. Is there an oil or weight that is better for that? Does synthetic leak more? ack.

I know this should probably have gone in the technical section, but I didn't know where it belonged exactly.

vwlover77 · Post by **vwlover77** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:13 am

Maybe opinions are all over the map because even VW was all over the map (somewhat). If you look at an original owner's manual, there is a temperature / oil-weight graph, with recommended weights for both multi-grade and single-weight oil. Look at the temperature range you think you need and choose a multigrade oil that fits the range. Modern multi-grade oils make single-grades all but obsolete, IMHO.

In any given range, heavier weight oils will not leak as easily, and conventional oils do not leak as easily as synthetic even if they are the same weight.

If you change your oil regularly I don't think synthetic provides a big advantage over conventional, and the oil change interval should not be extended if you use synthetic. So in most cases, it's just more expensive to use synthetic.

But, if you live in a very cold climate and your Bus sits outside, synthetic can make those cold-morning starts a lot easier on your engine, starter, and battery because it flows so well.

Happy choosing!

DurocShark · Post by **DurocShark** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:05 am

20-50 wins!

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:29 am

I don't want to hijack, but I have to wonder why this chart cuts off 10W-40 at about 8º C, and 48º F, and 20W-40 goes to the top of the chart.
The 40 part of the viscosity number is supposed to be the high temperature range and the 10W vs 20W is supposed to only indicate appropriate viscosity at the low end of the temperature reange, - i.e., winter weight equivalent.
Can anybody tell me why the engine can "tell the difference" at 100º F between an XXW-40 and an XXW-40....know what I mean?
Rob

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DurocShark · Post by **DurocShark** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:33 am

It was probably a lack of trust in 10-40 when the manuals were printed. There was a big issue with 10-40 being junk a while back.

VWBusrepairman · Post by **VWBusrepairman** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:39 am

DurocShark wrote:20-50 wins!

that's my pick too- Castrol GTX and a Mann oil filter seem to keep my lifters from chatting excessively.

Do you still have hydr. lifters in the Guacamole ride?

DurocShark · Post by **DurocShark** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:40 am

VWBusrepairman wrote:
DurocShark wrote:20-50 wins!
that's my pick too- Castrol GTX and a Mann oil filter seem to keep my lifters from chatting excessively.

Do you still have hydr. lifters in the Guacamole ride?

Yeppers. My next engine won't though. Not because I don't like them but because I don't trust the aftermarket ones.

VWBusrepairman · Post by **VWBusrepairman** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:44 am

DurocShark wrote:
VWBusrepairman wrote:
DurocShark wrote:20-50 wins!
that's my pick too- Castrol GTX and a Mann oil filter seem to keep my lifters from chatting excessively.

Do you still have hydr. lifters in the Guacamole ride?
Yeppers. My next engine won't though. Not because I don't like them but because I don't trust the aftermarket ones.

you're probably better off with solids- you strike me as someone who actually does the valve adjustments at the scheduled intervals, mr. kind sharkness.
Hydr. for me until they fail.

Hippie · Post by **Hippie** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:50 am

DurocShark wrote:It was probably a lack of trust in 10-40 when the manuals were printed. There was a big issue with 10-40 being junk a while back.

Hmmm...that makes sense. It must have been the extra polymers.
I'm using 10W-40 and running cool, good pressure, and no brownie bake in the rocker boxes...even in 105º long highway pulls. 'Course I change oil at 1500 miles since I have no filter.
Rob

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77_Bus_Girl · Post by **77_Bus_Girl** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:40 am

OK - So according to that chart, 15-50 is about right (even though it's not actually on that chart, but if I approximate...) Temperatures here range from a few degrees below 0 to a few degrees above 30. But perhaps if I did away with the synthetic I wouldn't leak as much?

Does everyone agree synthetic is not needed considering the oil gets changed so often? Does synthetic offer any other benefits?

VWBusrepairman · Post by **VWBusrepairman** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:55 am

77_Bus_Girl wrote:But perhaps if I did away with the synthetic I wouldn't leak as much?

An oil leak is due to a seal, gasket, etc. that is damaged or worn; not from a particular weight, kind of motor oil.

From your photos, it looks as if your engine is "sweating" and not really dripping or leaking excessively.

Post by **Amskeptic** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:46 am

77_Bus_Girl wrote:OK - So according to that chart, 15-50 is about right (even though it's not actually on that chart, but if I approximate...) Temperatures here range from a few degrees below 0 to a few degrees above 30. But perhaps if I did away with the synthetic I wouldn't leak as much?

Does everyone agree synthetic is not needed considering the oil gets changed so often? Does synthetic offer any other benefits?

I refuse to use synthetic because I am a stubborn old-school cuss. Synthetics are expensive overkill for our 60-something horsepower engines. Synthetic oil does find leak points more readily than dino oil. As for synthetic oil's superiority at high temperature, best that you correct the high temperatures in the first place.
Yes, the oil should be changed at the recommended intervals of 3,000 miles for filter-less Type 1 engines and perhaps 5,000 miles for filter-ful Type 4 engines, because draining the warm oil does help remove solid contaminants like pieces of valve cover gasket and carbon and even little chunks of pistons. Oil change day lets you investigate the underside of the engine and emotionally bond with it

You can use 10-30 Castrol in the winter, 10-40 in the transitions, and 20-50 for hot highway driving. Some overlap is OK if you don't want to be changing a fresh supply too quickly, but you daily driver people will have an easier time catching the correct moment to adjust your viscosity.
Colin

77_Bus_Girl · Post by **77_Bus_Girl** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:10 pm

VWBusrepairman wrote:An oil leak is due to a seal, gasket, etc. that is damaged or worn; not from a particular weight, kind of motor oil.

From your photos, it looks as if your engine is "sweating" and not really dripping or leaking excessively.

Yeah - sorry, I didn't mean to imply that would fix the problem, I was just wonerding specifically for this trip - as I won't have time to replace all the gaskets I'll just keep a careful eye on the oil levels, but if dino oil is less likely to seep out the tiny holes, perhaps I should use that...

oh - and what do you mean by my engine appears to be "sweating"?

VWBusrepairman · Post by **VWBusrepairman** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 12:59 pm

77_Bus_Girl wrote: oh - and what do you mean by my engine appears to be "sweating"?

[albumimg]46[/albumimg]
I just mean that it isn't flowing out, it's only "sweating" oil...a leak would cause a puddle and it doesn't appear that your engine is leaking that badly. I think all air-cooled engines "sweat" a little from time to time. Though that leak in the pic may be coming from the pump as the others had mentioned. It's challenging to keep oil inside a hot engine which heats and cools over many cycles.

Didn't mean to confuse- sweat might be an Indiana term and I'm just a hillbilly stuck in cornfield land.

77_Bus_Girl · Post by **77_Bus_Girl** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:55 pm

I see... thanks. It does have a constant 'drip' to it, but only 6 or so drops from when I park it to when it's cool enough not to drip. That's not to say it doesn't continue to drip the whole time I'm driving, but... (and once it's cool it's OK)

What sort of "volume" of oil are people dripping? I thought mine actually was on the heavy side of it, but I don't have much to compare to. Do people actually get a visible "drip, drip, drip"? I have to watch for about 20 seconds or more to see a drop fall.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Please don't kill me for asking about oils... :)

Please don't kill me for asking about oils... :)