Should I change oil in my Tdi 3L?

I

iwcham1979

Member
Hello guys, My 1.2Tdi 3L hasnt been started in 6 months. It has 6000km and one whole year since the last oil drain. It has Shell Helix Ultra Professional 0w30 507.00 in the sump? Do I replace the oil or drive some more? Thanks!


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I'd replace but that's just me. Plus, I use Quantum 5W30 longlife 3 or Mobil 15W30.

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Ok. I am thinking of going the Motul 5w40 505.01 route since I dont drive more than 10000km a year and my engine does spend 1/L of 507.00 0w30 from one change to the other? The ecar is 2001, and though in very nice condition, not at a young age...


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In my case the 5w-30 507.00 was not a good choice. It would "drink" it a lot - I had low oil warning at some point during one year.

--> 5w-40 506.01 I did not have to add anything between oil changes.

I assume that since 506.01 is PD specific oil this was the oil that those cars were most used with at the beginning -- so all engine tolerances would be calculated according to 506.01.
I noticed that 507.00 is not always present with 506.01 (is usually only recommended)...
 
Oil ages and becomes more viscous and acidic over time. 1 year is often advised, but likely conservative with modern, fully synthetic premium oil like yours. Personally I would do a 'sniff/colour' test to get an idea of what the oil is like, and if it seems fine keep it for longer unless I expect to put some hard miles on the engine.
 
RAB said:
May have been true when there was more sulphur in fuel but not now. Where would the acid come from?

RAB
Click to expand...
www.machinerylubrication.com

Acid Number: A Comprehensive Guide

Additive depletion, contamination and oxidation are common pathways of lubricant degradation. The acid number (AN) test is one of the methods available in the oil analysis field used to estimate...
www.machinerylubrication.com www.machinerylubrication.com

It is a result of oxidation, but I am not a chemist so don't know much about it. Also important to note that there are quite a few acids which don't contain sulfur, like those found in food.

From what I found Googling the acidity is not generally at a level that is damaging to the engine though, but is a way to test the oil's age.
 
Project farm on YouTube did a test on this exact subject. The oil won’t have deteriorated in 12 months that much, you’re good for another 6 months at least on time basis alone
 
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