Greetings all, what a great forum this is!

OK, so I've got a '97 2.8 Quattro with 98,000 miles on the clock and had it 4 months. It's got a service history so I've not changed the oil yet but have now decided I would like to. Trouble is, my head's spinning looking at all the past threads on this subject! It does need topping regularly & looking down at the bottom of the engine(around the fanbelt pulley area) it's all oily/dirty which naturally suggests a leak somewhere. At the weekend I'll take the covers off and see if I can spot where exactly its coming from but I can't afford to have this fixed right now and no way can I do the job myself so what I want to know is which viscosity oil do I go for with this leaky tendency in mind???

I have a contact who can supply me with VW 502 approved synth in 0W40, 5W40 or 5W50 (it's a brand here in the UK/europe called Rock Oil). Just don't know which one to go for.

Current UK summer(hahahahahahaha!!!) temp during my drive to & from work is between 18C - 25C (64-77F) although we've had a few spells of 30C weather (but they're few and far between at the moment!). Driving in this morning (17 miles average 40-55mph) the oil temp was 80C, seems a bit on the cool side - is this normal?

Steve

on those cold mornings definatley give the engine time to warm up. Your oil temp is probly low just because of the short distance you drive in the morning.

It sounds like like you (steve) are using dino right now which is fine. Dont switch to synthetic because your leaks will get worse and oil will get past your piston rings at this mileage. Stick with dino and next time you are getting engine or front suspension work done, get those leaks fixed.

Just called the dealer who used to service it and its been run on semi-synth 10W40. I've been topping up with fully synth 5W50. Would rather go to fully synth at the next change seeing as I can get it for free. Is this a good idea or not?

how long have you been doing this for? Is there 1 quart of synth and 4.5 quarts of dino in there? or vice-versa? If you have mostly dino in there right now, and switch to synth, your leaks will get worse, and you will most likely get oil past your rings on startup. I speak from experience. Its not bad, and my engine now has 100 k on it and pulls like the day I got it 2 years ago. Its up to you what you want to do, I'm just letting you know that these things might happen, you will see smoke on startup and more oil on your garage floor. If you switch, then 5w40 is best. Hope this helps .