Thread: Nulon long life in a td5

I like an xW-40 in the TD5.

Just saying.....

Originally Posted by rick130

I like an xW-40 in the TD5.

Just saying.....

i misread that as WD-40

Originally Posted by Eevo

i misread that as WD-40

I'm sure it'll likely be fine so long as you stick to that flavour recommended by Nulon in their Lube Guide at Nulon Australia - NetLube

Originally Posted by Eevo

i misread that as WD-40

This oil thing. More thinking=more worries.

When my 1999 tDI was born mineral Castrol Diesel was ok. Every 5oook and all was well. I sold it, then regretted and...
...bought a TD5
When my 2005 TD5 was born it had to live on long life 5W30. Nulon was a good flavor. I still change oil every 5oook.
The TD5:
-has that spinning marvel oil filter
-a smaller oil filter than the large Z9
-the same bearings as the tDi
-same turbo
-same or at least similar compression
-same or similar rings
-same piston speed
-same slip slide things in the head

BUT. The sky WILL COME FALLING if I even ONLY THINK of not using synthetic oil in the TD5!

Why is that? It makes no sense to me at all. We are not talking about some fancy hi tech high rev diesel. At 5k change intervals the oil has not broken down.

There is also no evidence at all that using the good old mineral Castrol Diesel that comes in convenient 20lit drums will not keep the TD5 happy.

So why do I still hunt for Nulon 5W30 syn on special???
I have no idea. It bothers me. Now I am thinking about it again.

I just had another thought:
What if that 5W30 syn stuff was not available anymore? Would we not use our TD5s? We surely would use the mineral Castrol stuff and be happy. Or maybe really anxious that the sky was about to fall?

PS> I know that 5k intervals are excessive.

twr7cx

I'm sure it'll likely be fine so long as you stick to that flavour recommended by Nulon in their Lube Guide at Nulon Australia - NetLube

Funny thing is that Nulon only recommends 5W-30 for TD5 and the site comes up with "may not be suitable for your car" for 5W-40 . Go figgure!

Its the same with several of the other oil sites

Even Penrite say that only HPR5 is suitable for the TD5. It says "no other substitutes" or similar.
But I agree somewhat with the penultimate poster that we all get a bit carried away by this oils rthing.
BUT THE THING IS I CANNOT HELP MYSELF. the engine is just so expensive to rebuild.
I am sort of self committed to either Shell Rimula 10w-40 or Shell Rotella 5W-40 which is imported, but has an excellent spec.
But I will probably end up with HPR5 or Nulon 5w-40 full synthetic.
Regards PhilipA

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Funny thing is that Nulon only recommends 5W-30 for TD5 and the site comes up with "may not be suitable for your car" for 5W-40 . Go figgure!

Its the same with several of the other oil sites

Even Penrite say that only HPR5 is suitable for the TD5. It says "no other substitutes" or similar.
But I agree somewhat with the penultimate poster that we all get a bit carried away by this oils rthing.
BUT THE THING IS I CANNOT HELP MYSELF. the engine is just so expensive to rebuild.
I am sort of self committed to either Shell Rimula 10w-40 or Shell Rotella 5W-40 which is imported, but has an excellent spec.
But I will probably end up with HPR5 or Nulon 5w-40 full synthetic.
Regards PhilipA

I agree. Penrite is the flavour of the year here, but there are probably many other oils that will work perfectly. My Td5 has never had anything but Mobil 1. I think dealer servicing used 0-30 or 0-40 and since then it has always been 5-50. For me, caring for the engine is (potentially needlessly, but its probably also about whats in my headspace) mid service oil changes.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I agree. Penrite is the flavour of the year here, but there are probably many other oils that will work perfectly. My Td5 has never had anything but Mobil 1.

100%

You really can't go wrong with an oil from one of the major oil companies/blenders.


There are a couple of reasons why I like an xW-40 over an xW-30.

The heavier oil will give slightly more protection in the event of oil dilution (although no oil will really protect against fuel contamination)
The HTHS (high temp, high shear) level will generally be higher with a 40.
The injector cam lobes cop a caning, so a higher HTHS oil helps. A few TD5's have lunched lobes over the years.

You can get 10w-30's with really good HTHS numbers, but most are blended for economy and so have a lower HTHS for less drag on the ring pack/piston skirt, etc.

There are heavy duty synthetic diesel oils now available in xW-30, and they'd work really well.