engine oil

[pabinlove]

hi all,
I'm going to do a mini service next weekend, oil, fuel, air, pollen filter etc, and i was just wondering, i have never really looked at the engine oil closely. so my question is, I'm using 5w 40 but i have never looked to see if i need semi synthetic or fully synthetic
I have read some people use either, so i'm putting it out to the people i listen to more.

[bobetski]

http://www.scribd.com/ParkersThurmaston/d/34636025-Pro-Power-Oil-Catalogue
Pro Power plus gold.  Mentions Ford Galaxy on label, conforms to all required vw specs for PD engine and is  cheap from car spares or similar motor factors

[Mirez]

As long as it conforms to VW 505.01 then it'll be fine - but it absolutely MUST meet this standard. Fully synthetic is the better choice, but costs more as a result.

[pabinlove]

hi all there seams to be a debate from what i have read, about engine flushing, some say they do it all the time and some say no way.
So I'm asking what's the best way to go about this?
To be honest in the past few years i have put a flush in with the oil when i have changed the oil. I can see both sides of the argument but the more i think about it, the crap has to go somewhere and it all cannot come out when you drain.
So do i flush 1 last time or is it a pointless action, if i do is there 1 that i should be using? or do i steer clear and never do it again?.

[Mirez]

One of the qualities of oil is that is suspends any particles that are present so they can then be removed by the filter - anything larger will sit in the bottom of the sump. This is why oil and filter replacements are the most important engine maintenance you can do.

Personally, I would save your money and use it to increase the oil/filter change frequency.

[Chrispb]

Just to add, always change the oil and filter immediately after a run when the oils hot, this way the old oil runs out very fast dragging with it any particles laying in the sump.

Always wear suitable hand protection while doing this

[pabinlove]

chaps thank you, i seam to be asking so many questions which to you all may seam common sense, so hope I'm not boring you all on here

[Chrispb]

No problem, however silly they may seem may be the answer someone else is looking for

[Mirez]

Absolutely - the only reason we know the answers is because we've asked the same questions!

[SilverBeast]

hi all there seams to be a debate from what i have read, about engine flushing, some say they do it all the time and some say no way.
So I'm asking what's the best way to go about this?
To be honest in the past few years i have put a flush in with the oil when i have changed the oil. I can see both sides of the argument but the more i think about it, the crap has to go somewhere and it all cannot come out when you drain.
So do i flush 1 last time or is it a pointless action, if i do is there 1 that i should be using? or do i steer clear and never do it again?.

I was going to post this anyway for a laugh.  This seems like the perfect opportunity 

[attach=1]

[pabinlove]

for all of the info, got it all changed today. was given the wrong oil on the past 2 times the spec on the oil was 505.00, but now have the right one 505.01 will having the wrong one have any side affects?

[Mirez]

Technically, you need 505.01 because of the shearing effect the PD has on the oil. Lower spec's will break down much quicker which means you get metal to metal contact around the engine - specifically on the PD around the cam shaft. So the side effects of using a non 505.01 oil are that the cam shaft wears quicker which in turn effects mpg, noise, emission's and power. In reality it takes a fair while to do serious damage under normal driving conditions so you "should" be ok just keep to the proper stuff in future

[SirDavidAlhambra]

I always suck my oil out using a pump thing I got for amazon

Having the oil filter at the top of the engine is extremely handy!