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Engine Oil

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Engine oil, the life's blood of your VW's engine.  Think of your engine oil like your own blood.  Blood gets dirty you get sick and may die, same with your engine.  Lose all of your blood, you will die without a transfusion, same with your engine.  Think of an oil leak as your VW is Bleeding, is it slow or is it a fast leak.  Slow leaks are not unusual for your VW, it is just marking its spot.  But a fast leak is very bad and will cause eventual premature engine failure.  More about oil leaks on out Oil Leaks page.

I was surfing around the Net not long ago and found this quote “VW has for many years stated that burning one quart per thousand miles or so is within their engines' normal range. There is nothing inherently bad about this, as long as consumers keep an eye on the oil and top it off as needed.”  (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/vw_beetle.html)  Now you ask, “Do I Buy this explanation”   absolutely, NOT!  A properly built engine should not use oil to that extent.  I can see 1 quart used between oil changes but not 3!

"What weight of oil should I use?"  That depends on where you live and the climate you are in.  Here in Texas, with our mild winters and hot summers, we normally use SAE30.  To find the temperatures range that is best for your area look at our Oil Viscosity page.

"How often should I change my oil?"  Great question.  Long answer! I will try to give you "Reader's Digest" version, instead of the "Dave" version. Oil Change intervals will vary upon your driving habits, stop and go traffic, dusty, costal, below freezing temps, and driving speeds. 

Normally, the interval is 3,000 miles (5,000 km). 

"Severe service" (as defined by Chrysler in their 1986 Plymouth Gran Fury service manual); is driving in bumper to bumper traffic every day (normal for cities like Dallas and Los Angeles!); long periods of idling like what happens with police cars and taxis;  and high speed driving.  For this type of driving, you should change you oil between 1,500 and 2,500 miles (2,500 to 4,250 km).

Now to the above list of severe service, I have to add one more to that list: Very short trips of less than 5 miles (9 km).  Why? You ask?  Well, if you are diving like this, every day, you will have something very strange happen to your oil.  One day, you walk out to your VW to go down to the corner store and just by chance you check your oil. You pull out the dipstick and find a liquid that looks like MILK.  No, the local heathens, called kids or children, did not open your deck lid and pour milk down the filler tube.   This Milky liquid that was once your engine oil is from water buildup in the crankcase that is not being burned off.

"Where is this water coming from?"  From your Gasoline!  Gasoline contains hydrocarbons. Hydro = Water. The water also comes from the cooling down of the engine after running. "Why didn't the water burn off?"  Well, let's look at the properties of water.  It freezes at 32F (0C) and boils at 212F (100C).  When water boils it turns to water vapor (that is what you see coming out of your tailpipe when you first start up!).  So you must reach an ENGINE temperature of at least 220F for the water to turn completely to water vapor and to be expelled out the tailpipe.

So, to prevent the problem of water in the oil, drive at least 5 miles (9km) per one way trip.

If you ever see your oil a milky color, Change it immediately to prevent damage to the engine.  Even though a VW engine is all aluminum., other parts of your engine are not, and will rust and fail.

By the way, this problem is not just an Air Cooled VW problem.  It can occur with ANY engine.

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