Running in my new Golf 2.0 TDI

[dilbert_rocks]

And for TFSI w/ DSG???

... the most important factor in running in a diesel is to bed the rings as quickly as possible and constant revs don't do this, they only glaze the cylinder walls...

I know its not a beloved Diesel, but what are the "rules" for a TFSI DSG?

[brackie]

Oil source

Brackie

How did you get you hands on oil specified by VW ?

It had to be ordered for the dealer. It cost ~$60 for enough to do the change. It's semi-synthetic oil.

I get a lot of city driving and stop starts and mostly using 4th and 3rd gear to assist in braking but some times i might get 10-15km or even 20km run without having to change gears or stop ( green light though about 4-5 traffic lights) and a very short freeway run of about 10km but then at the first stop i will push it a little bit harder.

Is this OK for bedding rings in? gear change every 3500rpm

The city driving part is OK. You should be varying the revs on those longer runs. I changed between 4th, 5th and 6th every km or so to do this. Really, the critical part of the running in process is the very early part. Opinion varies on this but perhaps it's in the first 1000km
My engine used zero oil up to the 7500km change and has used none since (almost 10,000km). The oil was incredibly clean when it was dropped out.....cleaner than any diesel engine oil that I've seen before. I know oil consumption and compression are only loosely related. The engine is considerably "looser" now however I still feel it has a way to go.

[brackie]

Petrol engines

I know its not a beloved Diesel, but what are the "rules" for a TFSI DSG?

Basically the same mate, although because good compression is so important in diesels it's not so critical in petrol engines. You still need to bed in those rings! I would drive your DSG as a "manual" for at least some of the time and force downshift braking.
When you pull an engine down you can always tell how it's been driven by the wear bias on the cylinders and big end journals. If they're worn on the thrust side only then it's been driven hard and the brakes used to slow the car instead of the engine; if they're worn on both sides then the driver has been using engine braking. Automatics almost always have the wear on the thrust side only.

[Kent]

Your water temperature gauge doesn't tell you when your oil's hot!

Thanks for your words of wisdom once again Brakie. I was well aware that the temp gauge only indicated water temp and from one of your previous threads you had specified oil temp so once the temp guage hit 90 i would drive it for a few minutes longer before "getting into it".

Thanks for the note about the oil. I will change mine to at 7500km. Did you also change your filter or just the oil? My phillosophy has allways been to change filter with oil. However I thought in this case just the oil might be OK (partly because I thought changing the filter might be a bit difficult even though I haven't checked it out yet).

Most of my driving will be on the highway from Gold Coast to Brisbane every day sitting on about 120km/hr. Thats why I wanted to take it for the big run the other day and do all the accelerating and decelerating. For how many kms would you keep changing the revs on highway driving? I'm guessing propbably up untill the first oil change.

[acdcfan]

It had to be ordered for the dealer. It cost ~$60 for enough to do the change. It's semi-synthetic oil.



The city driving part is OK. You should be varying the revs on those longer runs. I changed between 4th, 5th and 6th every km or so to do this. Really, the critical part of the running in process is the very early part. Opinion varies on this but perhaps it's in the first 1000km
My engine used zero oil up to the 7500km change and has used none since (almost 10,000km). The oil was incredibly clean when it was dropped out.....cleaner than any diesel engine oil that I've seen before.

Mine hasn't used any oil and it has done nearly 4000 km but when last checked oil with a white rag it was slightly black. Is that a sign of a bad bedding in or....... is it just normal colour or what colour should it be ?
this is my first diesel engine so I wouldn't know much about it?

one more question

Would it be safe to use some Nulon as in engine protection ? Something like Nulon E30 for petrol engines but not getting involved with warranty issues ?

[brackie]

Rubber gloves an oil changes...

Mine hasn't used any oil and it has done nearly 4000 km but when last checked oil with a white rag it was slightly black. Is that a sign of a bad bedding in or....... is it just normal colour or what colour should it be ?
this is my first diesel engine so I wouldn't know much about it?

It's normal for diesel engine oil to be black. It holds carbon in suspension and don't forget that diesel fuel isn't nearly so refined as petrol. As the engine gets older the oil gets blacker, quicker so once your car's out of warranty and you're doing your own oil changes you'll need to wear rubber gloves (You should see the colour of my tractors' oil when it's changed )

one more question

Would it be safe to use some Nulon as in engine protection ? Something like Nulon E30 for petrol engines but not getting involved with warranty issues ?

Definitely not when it's under warranty or when it's still being run in as it reduces friction. I've used Nulon in the past with excellent results but only with well run in engines. My first Golf diesel was Nuloned and it never missed a beat, used any oil or developed any signs of engine wear in 250,000km.

[acdcfan]

thanks Brackie

you must be like a library .....
answers for everything in objective way

[brackie]

No.. Just "old"

thanks Brackie

you must be like a library .....
answers for everything in objective way

I've spent a lot of time in libraries! And my mrs is a librarian but I've been around diesels all of my life and I love 'em. I trained as a diesel fuel injection fitter (but didn't finish my apprenticeship and went to uni instead) but most of my experience has come from having to fix things that went wrong, especially in farming where there's always something to fix. I have to admit that hi-tech diesels scare me as there are so many complex devices working together to make them perform the way they do. I'm totally comfortable with my low-tech Mk1 diesel, 4WDs and tractors, and have owned medium-tech French diesels, but the Mk5 is a plumber's and electrician's nightmare. Having said that, at least the PD engine has mechanical fuel injection...but that'll change to HDI with the new model. Also, the diesel engine isn't as technically complex as the petrol engine.

[dilbert_rocks]

But...

You still need to bed in those rings! I would drive your DSG as a "manual" for at least some of the time and force downshift braking.

When you pull an engine down you can always tell how it's been driven by the wear bias on the cylinders and big end journals. If they're worn on the thrust side only then it's been driven hard and the brakes used to slow the car instead of the engine; if they're worn on both sides then the driver has been using engine braking. Automatics almost always have the wear on the thrust side only.

Ok, so lets say I initially drive the DSG "manually" (say 1000k's), and then revert to "D". When the thrust side wears over time, won't the wear on the decel side (from the initial run-in) make the seal "loose"?

[brackie]

Unknown

I don't know enough about the DSG 'box to comment. If it has a "lock up" feature when in D then it will wear on both sides

Perhaps someone with more knowledge/experience can help.

[CatonaPC©]

I've now done about 400km of city driving now and will be going for a long drive over the weekend involving around 200km of freeway and 125km of country and mountain driving, one way.

Would it be wise of me to use the cruise control on the freeway?

[Transporter]

I've now done about 400km of city driving now and will be going for a long drive over the weekend involving around 200km of freeway and 125km of country and mountain driving, one way.

Would it be wise of me to use the cruise control on the freeway?

I wouldn't use cruise control at such early stage. You need to drive at different speeds not at the constant speed. Also accelerate fast and decelerate frequently this will help with piston rings beding in. Don't be to gentle but don't overheat the engine (a lot of friction is generated at early stage of running in).
There is a thread on this forum about running in diesel, read it before you take of for that trip. Link is below.
Enjoy your new car mate.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=12575

[gregozedobe]

You need to drive at different speeds not at the constant speed.

I think MRLT5 may have meant "different engine speeds (rpm)", ie you can use your gears to vary the engine speed while maintaining a reasonable cruising speed on the freeway. The mountain driving will be good for running in (and so is driving in the 'burbs too, as you are constantly accelerating and decelerating).

Enjoy your new car.

[Transporter]

I think MRLT5 may have meant "different engine speeds (rpm)", ie you can use your gears to vary the engine speed while maintaining a reasonable cruising speed on the freeway. The mountain driving will be good for running in (and so is driving in the 'burbs too, as you are constantly accelerating and decelerating).

Enjoy your new car.

Thanks for making it clear Gregozedobe.
Also checking the engine oil level regularly is important, since a new TDi can consume some oil during running in. But do not fill above maximum level on the engine oil dipstick. Top up only when the oil level is just below min. mark.

[CatonaPC©]

I read the manual about running in, and nowhere is it mentioned to do any of the things mentioned in the discussion threads on running in.

For the most part, the manual merely advises driving in a gentle manner for the first 1000km in order to reduce oil consumption. (There is certainly no mention to rev your car to 2500rpm when cold! That can't be good for the engine!)

I've run in several new cars in my lifetime, admittedly none of them were diesel. But I did impress my mechanic with the unusually low oil consumption of my Starfire engined Mitsubishi, so I must have been doing something right!

I think modern engines nowadays are built to very tight tolerances, and provided one drives with care during the initial 1500km, one should be okay as far as oil consumption goes.

It is interesting to mention a note in the manual that the engine "beds" down only after a few hours. While I take that advice with some scepticism, I am equally sceptical of some of the other advice on running in given in this forum.