Opinions on Rotella T6 in 98 tdi

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Hello all,

I just bought a 98 Jetta tdi and wanted to consult with the experts on this one. I picked up a jug of T6, and just wanted to make sure this was a suitable oil for the TDI. Also, I was curious of what your opinions were on the 10k OCI? This car will see 99% highway driving because that is the only reason why I bought it. It also won't see winter driving. I don't want to put it's fragile body through PA salt and snow, and my employer doesn't take weather as an excuse for not being at work on time. 22MPG in my outback, and 12MPG in my wife's Hemi was getting expensive!!
 
Fragile body? Winter?.. The cars are German - pretty sure they get snow there.

And yeah, T6 will be fine. 10,000 miles would make me sorta nervous - how big is the sump in that thing?
 
The T6 is a great oil, suitable for year round use. Should you not be able to source it, Mobil 1 0W-40 would be as good if not better choice. My 2001 TDI calls for 5K OCI, even with synthetics. I would advise you to go no more than 7500 without UOA.
As to the salt/snow, have a look underneath by putting the car on ramps. You can build them from 2X10's. How does it look now? When you take the car through a car wash, pay for the undercarriage wash 3-4 times through the winter, I don't think you'll create any new issues for yourself. In the spring, put a sprinkler under it on each side of the car for 10-15 minutes to flush the remainder of salt away.
 
I don't see too many rusty VW's here. I'd just take some precautions like 2cool says and drive year round.
 
The undercarriage appears to be in good shape when I was under there. It's the drivers side quarter panel that is really bad, and the rocker panels need cleaned up. I hope to have this taken care of around Octoberish. It may come out of the garage if there is no foreseen snow, but when in doubt I will either drive my subaru or hemi jeep to work. It's in getting a new timing belt and water pump and to see what's the cause of the check engine light. So far I've been happy with the purchase. If the numbers are right, the other day I got 50 MPG highway driving back and forth to work.
 
Originally Posted By: sdunlap20
Hello all,

I just bought a 98 Jetta tdi and wanted to consult with the experts on this one. I picked up a jug of T6, and just wanted to make sure this was a suitable oil for the TDI. Also, I was curious of what your opinions were on the 10k OCI? This car will see 99% highway driving because that is the only reason why I bought it. It also won't see winter driving. I don't want to put it's fragile body through PA salt and snow, and my employer doesn't take weather as an excuse for not being at work on time. 22MPG in my outback, and 12MPG in my wife's Hemi was getting expensive!!


T6 is a great oil. With a mechanically sound engine and mostly non-city driving, there will be plenty of TBN left, low soot and fuel at 10K miles.

We've (TDI Community) been doing 10K mile intervals for many years and many hundreds of thousands of miles with a variety of oils.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: 2cool
The T6 is a great oil, suitable for year round use. Should you not be able to source it, Mobil 1 0W-40 would be as good if not better choice. My 2001 TDI calls for 5K OCI, even with synthetics. I would advise you to go no more than 7500 without UOA.
As to the salt/snow, have a look underneath by putting the car on ramps. You can build them from 2X10's. How does it look now? When you take the car through a car wash, pay for the undercarriage wash 3-4 times through the winter, I don't think you'll create any new issues for yourself. In the spring, put a sprinkler under it on each side of the car for 10-15 minutes to flush the remainder of salt away.


The manual says 10K miles for TDIs. (the same maint book goes in TDIs and gassers, so there's intermediary pages.)

5K mile intervals are for the 1.8T and V6 only. The 2.0 and VR6 get 10K mile intervals also.

https://wiki.bentleypublishers.com/display/tech/Volkswagen+-+2001+Maintenance+Schedules
 
Bob, and 2cool. What kind of mileage do your TDi's get? I'm trying to figure out how much I'll be saving on average when I drive the jetta to and from work and my wife drives my subaru and leave the Hemi pig parked most of the time.
 
Rotella T6 is a fantastic oil! I use it in my 2001 VW Golf TDI with nearly 200K miles on it now. I change it every 10K. My brother, father and buddy all use it in their TDIs as well with great success. You can't beat it for the price.
 
sdunlap20, Rotella T6 is an excellent oil for your TDI with the stock 10k mile OCI. Mobil 1 0w40 is also an excellent choice at a slightly higher price. You can use any of the name-brand diesel rated synthetics with confidence:
Shell Rotella T6 5w40
Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40
Mobil 1 European Formula 0w40
Amsoil DEO 5w40
Schaffer 9000 5w40
etc...

I get about 38 mpg on my 9-mile all-city commute with a lifetime average of 41 mpg in my 2006 Golf. I've seen 50 mpg on one tank of very careful driving, but man that's boring. My wife's 2000 NB gets about 43 mpg average and can more easily get into the high-40s/low-50s without trying too hard.
 
Originally Posted By: sdunlap20
Bob, and 2cool. What kind of mileage do your TDi's get? I'm trying to figure out how much I'll be saving on average when I drive the jetta to and from work and my wife drives my subaru and leave the Hemi pig parked most of the time.


City / Stop and go / short trips: 40 MPG in the summer, 35 MPG in the winter. Once on the highway, 45 to 50 MPG depending on how fast the vehicle is going (usually 70 to 80 MPH) and what the terrain is like.
 
I loved using T6 in my '03 TDi when I had it. Great oil!! And I believe 10K OCI sounds right on these engines.
 
I'm averaging 35MPG in my 2001 Jetta TDI on JET-A fuel and running the snot out of it around town. When I take it on a long trip on diesel fuel, I get 50mpg.

10K OCI is conservative. 270K on my car and it still doesn't burn a drop.
 
Looks like these VW can't run on Dino Diesel? What about Delvac, Rotella, Delo, Tection in the 15W-40 weights? Can these VW engines handle that oil in Conventional Dino?

Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: mongo161
Looks like these VW can't run on Dino Diesel? What about Delvac, Rotella, Delo, Tection in the 15W-40 weights? Can these VW engines handle that oil in Conventional Dino?

Thanks.


If you go by the most recent info from VW, no.

But.... modern dino 15w40 might be OK in the non winter months. But in the winter.... would be a PITA.

Back in the late 90s / early 2000s, dino was not up to the task (turbo and ring issues), so synthetic-only was spec'd.
 
How out west are you in PA? I'd scan the codes for free if you could make the trip east.

< Vag-Com equipped
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I have an O1M 4-sp Auto, I get 33 in town and 44 hwy @65mph. With winter fuel, I lose around 1-2 mpg. I have no mods.
 
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