what kind of oil for 96 vw jetta?

[will1780]

Cousin just purchased a jetta from an auction and we're gonna dump all fluids tomorrow. We found a reciept from a oil change and lube place and they claim they used 15w40, but it was dated way back in 1999.
car has:
96K
a/t
2.0 engine.
Filter reccomendations are also appreciated. Thanks

 

[pscholte]

First Choice: GC 0W-30 Second Choice: BC 5W-40
Napa Gold or M1 Filter in no rank order

 

[huffmuds9320]

Yeah if you want to use synthetic, pscholte's recommendation is great. Get Castrol Syntec 0W-30 or 5W-40 at Autozone. I'll add Mobil 1 0W-40 for 3rd choice if using synthetic. Walmart also has Shell Rotella synthetic 5W-40 for about 12.88 a gallon jug. 15W-40 is fine for this engine but probably don't need somthing too thick like that. I don't know what to recommend for conventional oil for that car.

Since you have a auto, you probably need to go to VW dealer to buy their VW ATF if its the sealed kind. I don't they had 2 auto transmission for the 2.0 back then. One that uses Dexron II and newer ones that use VW ATF only. The VW ATF only one they consider it sealed transmission. So theres no regular dipstick. You can still check and change it just a bit more work. VW ATF is like 10-12 dollars a quart.

 

[will1780]

I think we're just gonna run dino in it for now and i think an auto rx will be in the works. Hope to do oci around 4-5k.

 

[FowVay]

Oil recommendations: These engines will run on anything. I'd use a HDEO 15W-40 in warm months and Shell Rotella-T Synthetic 5W-40 in cold months. Drain intervals of 5,000 miles work well.

Oil filters: I am very particular to the OEM filters. Mahle/Knecht, Mann-Hummel, Hengst in this order of preference.

Transmission fluid: Valvoline's Mercon-V ATF seems to meet the standards for both of Volkswagen's transmissions offered in 1996. If you had the 096 transmission then it specified Dexron-III. If you had the 01M transmission then it specified Esso LT 71141 fluid. According to published data from Valvoline, their Mercon-V meets the Dexron-III spec 'H' standard and Esso LT71141 standards.

**NOTE: VW's automatic transmissions use separate housings for the final drive fluid. You must drain and refill the final drive separately from the automatic transmission fluid. The 096 transmission uses 75W-90 gear oil and the 01M uses the same type of fluid as the transmission.

It's highly advised to buy a service manual for this vehicle because they are mechanically different from many other vehicles. They're not "status quo" per se.

 

[will1780]

Thanks for all the help fellas. We decided to go with shell rotella 15w40. We're gonna dump the tranny fluid tomorrow. We used a Bosch filter since the price was right. Awesome forum by the way!!!!