Originally Posted By: Zambee500
Completely forgot about it, but I do recall now reading about the PD cam being less of a problem in Europe. I bought an after-market cam replacement when my original failed, and from speaking with the guy who makes them the speculation is the continued high ambient temps is the killer. He was seeing far more failures in the Southern US than up north. 5w30 just exacerbates the problem, or I guess perhaps the other way around. Broadly speaking (yes, a generalization), I don't think most of Europe sees sustained summer temps like we see down South or in Texas or Arizona, etc., so perhaps that explains it.
The owners manuals on the PD motors (in N. America anyway) are clear that you should use only 5w40 505.01 certified oil, and 5w30 is only acceptable when 5w40 isn't available. I understand the BEW or BRM motors even have warning tags under the hood or on the oil filler cap saying the same thing (my BHW does not, but my owner's manual does). Why all the VWoA dealerships started stocking 5w30 505.01 oils when 5w40 is readily available is beyond me. VAG even has a different part number for the 5w40 flavor (G-052-167-M2).
There are a few non-505.01 5w40 CJ-4 oils that have proven themselves in PD TDI motors that would be better than using a 505.01 in 5w30. M1 TDT, Rotella T6, Schaeffer 9000, M1 ESP Formula M, etc.
Could be, I personally like thicker oils. It would be interesting to find any data how those cars did in Turkey, Greece, Israel etc. They are very popular there.