Running in a new diesel

[Greg Roles]

OK, after a few hours on the net, starting with the USA, the UK and finally back here, I am satisfied the TDI comes with an oil designed to optimise run in of the rings. Seems even dealers are confused with the oil issue, but this was the same with my outgoing car. Will have to befriend the service manager at my dealer during delivery, and see what they are using oil wise.

It appears VW recommend a semi syn for run in, and a full syn after 15000k for better long term protection. I'm happy with that!

[Preen59]

Thanks brackie for starting this up- i've done accordingly during my first drive today!

One thing i have the habit of doing though, and i don't know if this is good/bad for the engine- I've been trying to rev it a bit- for example, using 4th gear to go at 100km/h, 3rd gear at 70km/h... but once I hit the freeway, I just let it go to 5th but then it starts to cruise- so I go to neutral... and i stay there for just a bit, then bring it down to 4th again so that the revving continues..

is this okay?
i'm what you would probably call a 'gentle' driver.. i don't particularly like to rev the engine but after all that i've read, babyying it will have its consequences so i'd rather be 'cruel' to be kind.

any help is greatly appreciated i sitll get a bit scared when i drive it- i feel like i'm going to choke it if i strain it too much but i just have to learn how to change my driving style...

Labouring, or putting an engine under load at very low RPMs is not good for it in any situation. Labouring it causes too much of the charge to be combusted before top dead centre and this does a number of things. It increases blow-by, which can over heat your rings and they can lose their radial tension (the tension on the ring forcing it out against the bore). It is also hell on your rods and pistons, it can cause the rods to crack and the pistons to fatigue. Also, at low RPMs your oil pressure is lower, which doesn't do your bearings any good.

You don't have to beat the balls off it, just use a decent throttle percentage and rev it a bit. Up hills (unless the engine is at a comfortable RPM), you're better off to knock it back a gear or 2 and rev it to 4 grand and get the boost pumping into it than you are to chug along and labour it. Engines have rev limiters for a reason, so aslong as you are sensible, your engine will that you for sticking the throttle into it a bit and bumping it up in the RPMs now and then.

So like i said, don't bounce it off the limiter in every gear and screach the wheels at every intersection, but just lean on it, make it work a little, and it'll last for a long long time.

[wiking]

The recommended run in for Heavy diesels used in modern day prime
movers ( 500 hp + ) is to drive it out the dealers yard and hook
it onto a 62 ton B-Double and go straight to work.

[Buller_Scott]

Combo Time!!!!

you guys, this forum has been a huge source of knowledge for me (i have a polo tdi), however i have a question that alludes to a little bit of driving from column A, as well as B.

my pogo was a demo, so we can presume that it was given a decent work out during the first 5000k's of its life (after which i picked it up).

but then, i picked it up and during warm up, i would never rev it higher than 2000rpm, and once it was warm i had the (deadly, i now understand) tendency to drop it into fourth at 60km's an hour and let the engine lug at 1300rpm, because i was stupid in thinking that aslong as im within the torque range, then its all good.

since 6700k's or so, however, i have been following the guidelines as per this forum.

so my question is- given the youth of my car, is the close-to 2000k's that ive been doing that to the engine, in all reality, going to have scarred it for life/ contributed to a lower km engine life? or as long as i follow the guide in the context of how to warm up etc, will my pogo's engine still be able to lead a full life?

im in my mid twenties and i have no idea about these things (expat kid turned foreign student living in japan= never owned a car before last year), so any experience, however positive or not-so-positive, will be well recieved.

thank you.

[Pumpe-Düse]

Aren't the engine bench run for a set period prior to installation into the vehicle?

Yes they are. This is part of the reason why VW diesel and petrol vehicles do not have a 3000km "complimentary," service like say, every Ford vehicle, for example, does.

[drmvwgmad]

That seems to be true in my experience too, particularly in turbo d diesels.
I m curious about something I noticed not just on this blog, that you shouldnt idle the diesel to warm it up, but actually drive it, even under load when cold. this go s against pretty much all i ve learnt/ heard before. ??? opinions?
I've also heard that a good hard run, almost flat out, and under load, can fix glazing of the bore in a diesel.??? I definetly know that John deeres are a lot happier when worked hard.
I'm just about to buy a brand new 2.0 di golf, and not knowing anything about vw s, or there diesels in particular, am a little uneasy. I live in remote WA, so the parts availability, service costs, and reliability are a major. Is there any difference between the 2.0 litre in the 08 to the 2.0 in the 05/06?
big differences in trans, eng, or anything for that matter. Just makes me wonder if buying a second hand city diesel would be wiser over here, given the big distances/ running in scenario. Any help/ opinions would be much appreciated. Anything you can do to the 2.0 to make it go better as well?

[gerhard]

Mine is a petrol GTI, now with 1100ks. I found it quite hard to "load" the engine, since it's got so much grunt - a quick jab of the throttle off the lights and you're doing 90-100 with no effort I never revved it beyond 5000 in the first week, honest.....

I am assuming my rings are reasonably well sealed, though, because -

First 500ks, the engine used a bit of oil, half way between the full and add. I didn't check it on collection, so I'm assuming it was on the full mark. The fuel economy was 12l/100k using Mobil 8000 (scungy dealer didn't fill it - but I got a price I was happy with, so didn't care too much, and filled it with the Mobil)

At 500k I filled it with BP 98 and saw an immediate improvement in the fuel economy on the MFD, and the second tank returned 9.8l/100 and the oil level has not dropped any further. Seems like the BP fuel is a bit better - this second 590ks included all the very cold mornings we had in Melbourne, which always increases the consumption, so I'm happy with that.

Engine definitely feels as though it's freeing up

[mr_walker]

I've found the best way to load the TDI, and not break the speed limit *too* quickly is to get it on a good incline, drop the DSG into manual to make sure it doesn't kick down, and floor it from just over 2000rpm (but not labouring the donk). Wash, rinse, repeat.

I'm sure that whoever is behind me must think I'm a complete nutter when I do this, as I pull away and then fall back. We've got a huge hill just at the end of my trip home, just as the speed limit goes up to 100, so it works for me because the oil is also at normal operating temperature by that time.

About idling to warm up the engine - apparently it risks glazing the cylinders, and it won't warm up by idling anyway. The diesel burns very efficiently with much less energy loss through heat, so the best way to warm the engine is to start up, give it a chance for the oil to start circulating, and then drive ... but take it easy until it does warm up. Some mornings in sub zero temps my Jetta doesn't even get to full temperature by the time I'd driven the 15kms to work! Especially if the traffic was slow and I stayed under 80.

[bluey]

Found a few interesting views on running in:
Honest John on diesels

This small engine diesel mechanic site describes how to keep your VNT turbo alive, and sounds suspiciously like the description on running in.

Norton motorcycle onwers North Texas has some pretty pictures describing running in theory.

Motoman reckons the critical time is the first 20 miles! In which case the factory run in probably does a lot of it. Has interesting photos of pistons and some good stories.

[chisler]

Hi, I brought a new Skoda RS TDI last week, it has DSG auto.

I mostly only do highway driving, would I be better off just running it in "sports mode" to get the higher RPM's?

1 thing I liked about the car so far, is I can accelerate going up hills in 6th gear, with low RPM's, is this a bad thing to do?

cheers.

[Transporter]

Hi, I brought a new Skoda RS TDI last week, it has DSG auto.

I mostly only do highway driving, would I be better off just running it in "sports mode" to get the higher RPM's?

1 thing I liked about the car so far, is I can accelerate going up hills in 6th gear, with low RPM's, is this a bad thing to do?

cheers.

Yes it is, especialy during running in period.

[Brew]

Running in with sports mode

Hi just to follow up with the question above. Running in in sports mode if you mainly to freeway kms. Any views?

[gregozedobe]

I'd have thought using manual mode will give you better control over revs. You want varying engine revs, not constantly higher revs.

[benno]

What exactly is wrong with labouring the engine at low RPM? I thought diesels thrived under such treatment.

I know petrols don't, and I'm suspicious that such opinion is just an old waves tale...

[gregozedobe]

I work on the principle that if it sounds like it is doing mechanical damage it just might be (bearings, big ends, DMF etc). Plus I think I read somewhere some turbos can get a dynamic surge thing going at big loads/low revs, and I've heard it can damage impellers.

Some diesels can (and will) produce good torque at low revs, but that doesn't mean they are designed to do it or that it is good for them. What is low revs for a particular engine (eg 1,600 for a TDI) may be very high revs for a different engine (eg a 16L highway truck engine).

I don't mind low revs on a run-in TDI engine, just so long as I'm not expecting it to produce much power while at low revs (eg cruising, coasting to slow down, going downhill). If I'm expecting my 2.5 TDI to do significant work (pull a load, go up a steep hill or accelerate hard I prefer to keep my revs above 1,800 rpm so the engine can work smoothly without unnecessary stress. If I had a 1.9L or 2.0L I would probably aim for a minimum of 2,000 rpm. I apply the exact same principle to all my engines, regardless of whether they are petrol or diesel, NA or force-fed.

Diesels do thrive on hard work, but it should always be within the design envelope, not outside.

It is your engine, drive it exactly the way you want (but be prepared for the consequences of your choices).