moribundman

The manual reflects that (page 133 in my '96 manual), but I know most people won't follow the manufacturer's recommendation. I believe that's at least partially why oil life monitors and flexible service interval displays become increasingly standard on many cars now.

I am not aware of any sludge issues with the 1.8T engines outside of North America.

Agreed on engineers being stubborn! And carmakers themselves don't easily admit less than optimal or flawed designs. That goes for all makes.

MikTip

I changed the valve guide seals a few years back. Which actually cured its high oil consumption. ;O)

moribundman

At about 70k miles I began seeing blue puffs coming out of the exhaust on occasion. From having owned a couple VWs, I just know the vlave stem seals tend to go bad at around 70k miles. For some off reason, I haven't seen any signs of oil buring for the past 20 or 30k miles, but I am certain that replacing the valve stem seals would reduce oil consumption dramatically. Unfortunately, it's not something I want to do by myself, and I don't really trust the local shops.

quattrokid98A4

so whats the best oil to use? what weight and grade? im using 10w 30 valvoline high milage on my car which has 214000 miles on it.lol. Is this an ok oil to use?

moribundman

Driving conditions, driving style and oil consumption vary between cars and drivers. A short distance commuter car will require different oil than a car that sees only long highway trips.

I don't know if the oil you are using is a good choice. How much oil does the engine consume and how clean is the engine internally?

Generally speaking, look for an oil that meets VW 500.00 or VW 502.00. 5W-40 is for most 12v engines the best all-year round viscosity.