PD oil is expensive..

is it just fully sinthetic ?

can you use semi-sinthetic and change it say every 5000 miles ?

PD oil is esential for the PD engine, as it is designed to work under the high compression conditions inside the PD engine which are much higher than a conventional diesel. If you use a normal unapproved oil you run the risk of the camshaft and and crankshaft being starved of oil because the oil cannot get into the bearings due to the high compression.

very interesting

my local garage told me the camshaft may suffer

but surely FULLY SINTHETIC should be as good

whats in this PD oil i wonder ?

does it contain some adatives ? but what ?

The PD oil is also fully synthetic but its made using different materials which is why its so expensive.

sounds like we need a deal on large quantity

for us DIY oil changers

any suggestions ?

gonna phone round tommorow............

It's not that expensive.

GSF sell it, £28 for 4 litres of Fuchs Supersyn, and site sponsor Opie oils do deals as well.

TPS sell quantum platinum for about £18-£20. It needn't be expensive for the right stuff.

use your local motor factors

As Jason says, c£20 from TPS - You can't go wrong IMHO.

Correct me if im wrong, but doesn't PD oil have additives and a chemical build up to avoid the oil shearing and breaking down under the extreme pressures?

Leading to premeture engine wear and failure?

For the sake of £20 every 10k id rather spend the extra on oil, rather than a engine rebuild!

Has VAG's PD all been teken off the market, heard that it may have been part of the reason for high camshaft failure rates aren't platinum and gold the sythetic products now

I'm using Fuchs Titan GT1 Longlife III 507.00 - it's the DPF compatible PD oil. That's dear. £46 plus VAT trade price. £20-odd for normal PD oil isn't dear.

can you use semi-sinthetic and change it say every 5000 miles ?

mannyo and others have already answered you as to the PD aspect of your thread, but I'd like to focus on the bit above.

If an engine requires fully-synthetic oil at (for example) every 10k miles, using semi-synthetic oil and changing (much) more frequently does not give the same protection!

This is because fully-synth tends to be far more durable at high stress conditions, i.e. it doesn't shear or boil off. I think those are the technical terms...!

Suppose under high stress, your engine reaches a temperature of x degrees C. Now suppose fully-synth oil A is rated to protect your engine at x+50 degrees C, semi-synth oil B is rated upto x-50 degrees C.

In other words, at x degrees C (high load), you're beyond the limit of your semi-synth oil (even if you've only just changed it!!) and are probably damaging your engine slowly but surely, whereas fully-synth oil, even with 10k on it, will still be protecting your engine.

That's how I see it anyway

If you use an non PD specific oil in a PD you will end up with worn cams and possibly injectors too where the injectors are driven from the cam.

It will seem fine for a while, until it's too late and the cam etc is all worn and pitted.

The pressure at this point is so high that the oil needs to form very thin, but highly protective films between the parts and most normal oils, mineral, sem or fully synthetic just can't do this.

Currently I'm using Mobil1 ESP VW507 at £35 for 4L. This is purely because it was easy to get hold of at the time, but you can find cheapre VW507 oils and also cheaper oils for fixed servicing (unless you have a DPF).

Given the number of times questions like these get asked, I'd be very wary of ever buying a turbo-diesel such as a PD 2nd-hand without a bulletproof service record, either dealer/specialist-stamped or with receipts showing the actual oil used.

I don't think many people factor in servicing costs when buying a car, and then after getting a bit of a shock as to the cost of these higher spec oils, the temptation to use cheaper oils is going to be too much for some people, mainly because they don't realise the damage they might be doing. And if they find out their mistake, they can offload the car to someone else... :eek:

Most newer cars need exotic oils.

VAG, BMW (Including Mini), Merc, Vauxhall etc all have specific standards for the oil.

Ford also have a specific standard, albeit quite a low one so cheap oil, but changes need to be done more often.

Edited 27 July, 200916 yr by cheezemonkhai

Perhaps I shouldn't focus on TD/PD, but I guess the message is the same... I'd want "concrete evidence" that the right oils had been used, if I was buying 2nd hand!

excellent responce guys

ill continue using PD oil then

thought i could save a few quid next service

but as you all say

DONT DO IT !!

Has VAG's PD all been teken off the market, heard that it may have been part of the reason for high camshaft failure rates aren't platinum and gold the sythetic products now

What it is that VW used to do two oils... PD and Gold... PD was obviously for the PD engines, and Gold was for the petrols and the non-PD diesels.. and what they did was bring out one oil that could replace the two... which is Platinum.

So then now the choice is Platinum for vehicles on Fixed Service Interval, or Longlife III for vehicles on Variable Service Interval.

I personally tend to stick with VW's own brand Quantum oils, they may seem slightly pricey but remember they are 5L bottles, where as some of the other brands of oil come in a 4L bottle, which is a bit of a pain when most of the engines seem to take 4.5L

I pay £5 a litre for Quantum longlife III. Luckily a friend who service's my taxi's decided he'd save a few quid and bought a 208 litre barrel from TPS!

Someone mentioned something about motor factors supplying the wrong oils - when I went in asking for oil for my motor, the book they checked recommended 505.01 spec oil. I knew for a fact my car required 507.00 because of the DPF, and in the end up had to go show him the manual and then wait a few days while he got the proper oil in for me.

got 5litre tub from euro car parts £20

that was ok..for now

changed oil myself..

ive got a contact now going to get me a 205 litre barrel

will let you know how much when i get it

bring your own container and fill it up........................

I'm fully aware of the issues around choosing the right oils for the PD engine; interested in mid range oils and what peeps think of them. Not after an expensive oil, what do you think of the likes of Carlube fully synthetic, Millers XFE-PD or Quantum???

I have used Quantum - Millers seem to generate good reviews. Not heard a thing about Carlube. :S

At the weekend I bought a litre of Longlife III for topping up. £7.14 IIRC.

The amount of people that come in and ask for oil for the PD engines and insist on buying the cheapest stuff is scary!!!

This Links is Handy!!!

Castrol Edge Oils