I have recently aquirred a 84 VW Rabbit with the 1.6 litre diesel and 4 speed stick. It has 112,500 miles, bought with 110,000 miles, has had M1 5W-30 and Parts Master filter since 110,000. It has only used less then a pint of oil since I have owned it. Added M1 T&S 5W-40 about 250 miles ago. It doesn't leak any oil. I plan on dumping it at 113,000 miles. I was wondering what syn. oil to use and how long to keep it. I would also like to know what filter is best to use.

Unlike some here at BITOG, I am a fan of Mobil 1 products. So, I went to Mobil's website & their recommended syn. oils for your VW diesel are M1 10w30 & M1 EP 10w30. Their recommended oil filter is M1-301.

FWIW, I run the M1-301 on my '00 GTI 1.8T, & I have nothing but praise for it. The thing is absolutely huge; Actually I have no flippin' clue if it's filtering any better than the OEM-size filter did, but it sure does make me feel good.

In fact, the M1-301 is even bigger than the Baldwin oil filter that is on one of my Father-in-Law's Kenworth big rigs. Take that you puny OEM-sized filters.

I'd use a diesel specific oil such as Shell Rotella-T 5W-40. It's cheap and a very good quality oil.

The tiny VW diesel sips fuel and this helps to control the contaminants that are deposited in the oil.

If this were my car I'd go on-line and buy Mahle filters from any of the German car parts places and I'd buy several at a time. This little car goes 7500 - 10,000 miles nicely on oils such as the Rotella-T synthetic. You can spend much more on a gallon of oil but it really isn't necessary.

I ran M1 15w50 in my Rabbit diesels, before the hydro cracked 15w40s showed up.

Up there, I would go with a syth. 5w40 winter, conventional 15w40 summer. Any major brand will work fine...don't sweat the small stuff. Oh yea, OE filters are nice, like Mann & Mahle, but anything OTHER THAN the orange can will work fine, too.

I would LOVE to get my hands on 1 or 2 nice Rabbit diesels, now-a-days! They are efficient, easy to fix, but a bid slow...but who cares!

I ran Rotella T 15W-40 in my Jetta for years, but we never get cold here. Make sure your glow plug system is working well, and keep a couple extra fusible links and a phillips screwdriver in the glove compartment. You might need to replace that fusible link some cold day, because even in texas winters they do not like to start if the glow plugs are not getting juice.

I also ran stanadyne fuel treatment, 4 oz per 15 gallons rate, seems to reduce smoking some and supposedly lubricates the injection pump.

Good Luck

I remember a large car mag like Car and Driver or another did a 80's Rabbit Diesel buildup with a turbo. They drove across the whole Canadan frontier at over 100 MPH. I too would run Rotella T 5W40. DaveJ

I hear that these engines like a heavy oil. I was told thinner oils over time (100k plus of use) can cause increase wear of a part in the timing belt area (injector pump?) and will cause the belt to wear and break without warning. If this is true is a 5W-40 to light. I had M1 EP 15W-50 pop up in my thoughts as a canadite. If I remember rite M1 EP 15W-50 carries a CF diesel rating. Would CF be suficent for these diesels.

There is some concern of wear in the injector pump area if the belt is too tight causing a loss of prime on the pump. If you have to crank and crank on the starter to get it to start you might have this problem. There is not a repair for this problem short of replacing the injector pump, about $400-500 for the part.

I did replace my camshaft seal when I did the timing belt, this was a cheap part and kept the engine oil from leaking out onto the timing belt.
Just used an oversize socket to drive the seal on.

I use Amsoil AME 15w-40 (full synthetic) in my 1991 Jetta 1.6D with 252k miles. Been using OEM Mann filters but I'm about to give Hastings (Amsoil) filters a try.

Rotella T 5w40 or the more expensive M1 T&SUV 5w40 w/5000 - 7500 mi OCI would serve you well.
If there is no turbo, you could probably use HDEO 15w40 - Delvac or Chevron Delo for a lot cheaper. Tougher to crank in the winter though.
Good luck with it and enjoy the fuel mileage $$$.

I will be doing a trip in the spring to vegas and florida from michigan. The last oil service I used Mobil Delvac 1300 Super and a Purelator Filter. I will do a oil service before the trip. I would like to choose a syn oil and filter that would allow me to go ten thousand plus miles. Could you give me a sugestions.

Any VW 505.00-rated oil will work. I'd stick with the M1 5W-40 anyway if consumption is acceptable. Otherwise go for a 15W-40 like Chevron DELO 400.

As far as what is readily available and not too expensive, I like the 5W-40 Mobil 1 synthetic at WM for about $20 and some change for the 5 qt. jug. Great diesel or gas engine oil for year round use. Also at WM I have used the Shell Rotella 5W-40 synthetic, a less expensive (Group III), but still a quality alternative. Costs $14+ here right now for one gallon. Was only 11 or 12 dollars a gal. just a couple years ago. The Schaeffers 5W-40 or the 15W-40 are both great oils and priced right, but you have to contend with shipping and plan a little ahead. Same goes for Amsoil 15W-40 oils. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these synthetics, and you can get good value for your money if you run about 10k miles with a good filter such as Amsoil or Mobil 1. Upsize to SDF15 or M1 301 to help with the longer OCI, if you have the room. Napa Gold/ Motorcraft FL1A/ Purolator equivalents would be my second choice for an oil filter. Check out the new Amsoil EaO series filter. Would probably be great for an extended OCI. Seems like it would have great flow, and would filter very well for a long time.