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What to do.. Sludge in 02 Passat
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DarkStar1013
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Joined: November 05, 2013
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 5:29 am    Post subject: What to do.. Sludge in 02 Passat Reply with quote

I have an 02 passat that broke down on the highway a few years ago, it had all kinds of bells and whistles goin off with the oil light on. so i took it to the shop and found out it was the oil sludge problem. I didnt have the money to fix it at the time so i towed it back home, did some research and found out bout the class action suit. i waited for the it and we won the class action. i thought i was super lucky i wasnt gonna have to pay for it since I did ALL of my work at the dealership for such an occasion I normally woulda done the work myself like i like to do with aircooled but I dont know computerized cars very well and i felt a comfort knowing that if something wasnt done right they would have to fix it. boy was i wrong.

after the suit I was stoked, they looked at my records and said i was all good since I d done my oil changes early every time. 3 days later I called to check up on it and the lady told me that because my car brokedown over 6 months before the lawsuit and my oil wasnt changed during that time that I didnt quality because the lawsuit requires you to show that you changed your oil every 6 months or 5000mi. Which I had done, except i didnt change the oil on it after it broke down, I mean is that nuts! why the hell would i change the oil on a car that is broke down especially one I figured was gonna be replaced or at the bare minimum fixed or overhauled.

I spent hours talkin to their customer service and they said that my particular situation wasnt in the wording of the lawsuit so they didnt have to fix it, so I talked to management and they offered me 1000 off a new car, you could get 1000 off a new car being any joe off the street, what i joke. I said "take that 1000 and put it toward fixing the problem and i'll pay the rest" but they said they couldnt do that. I think that was a horrible move on their part, they would have made way more money fixing that car and keeping me as a customer than doin what they did. I hate volkswagen but at the same time i LOVE volkswagen. at least i love older VW's. I loved my Passat too until this happened, it was a great and reliable car with practically no problems...lol except the sludge but i also kept it up nice and did everything i was supposed to....but VW had to put the wrong damn oil in there! ARRGHH...ok back to the story.

I ended up towing back home again! had a friend of a friend come check it out and reaffirmed it was a sludge problem and said with how often you took your car in, they should have seen this build up and caught it. fastforward to today....

I have the money to fix it. the car has bout 90k or so on it and Im tryin to decide what to do. I had a friend who has a shop in Eugene and he heard my story and said he's fixed the same problem on other peoples cars and would be willing to do it for me for 400 - 600 unfortunately i lost his phone number when I left my phone on the hospital bed when i was in for a kidney stone a while back, and I dont know the name of his shop. I always see him at grateful dead related shows, Furthur or RatDog, thats where I met him. SUPER awesome guy. I was hoping Id run into him at the last Furthur show in Eugene Sept 25th but I never saw him. now with them goin on hiatus for the rest of 2014 and possibly beyond i have no idea if or when i'll see him. so im forced to start thinkin bout taking it to a shop.

I do know that the engine isnt ceased since I started it up to get it on the trailer and the bells and whistles only go off once it gets over 3000rpm (I think or somewhere around there) It runs and sounds fine at idle and low rpm, so Im guessing it probably doesnt need a whole new engine. BUT it has just been sittin there for a while so I dunno if that affects much in this situation.

what should I do, are there any mechanics in the Portland area (or semi near) that would be willing to work on it, or know a shop that I could take it to. Im pretty pissed off at VW right now so Im not taking it to the dealership, plus it'd just be more expensive and not necessarily be a better job. or would it be too expensive to even fix at should I try to just part it out or junk it. parting it out would be hard I imagine and junking it I wouldnt get more than a couple hundred Id wager. my thinkin is if I did fix it and sold it right away Id make more money selling it after fixing it than I would just selling it as is.

sorry for the long story....advice?
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73sports
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As long as the bearings aren't damaged, the engine can be cleaned out and repaired without a major overhaul. This would involve removing the oil pan, replacing the oil pick up tube, and then running a special cleaner oil through the engine that brakes down the sludge. The chemicals are made by BG, and there is a special remote filter used to trap the gunk. Look for a place that has this equiptment, otherwise it's not going to be fixed properly. I know that you are mad at the dealer, but remember that they are all independently owned, and some are good, and some aren't. They also don't all charge the same for the same services. I in the east, so unfortunately I can't suggest anyone local to try. You may have to call around and see what people will charge to do this.
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Last edited by 73sports on Sat Dec 14, 2013 3:47 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Henrydragonfly8
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

x wife had one and it did twice before she got rid of... junk it
sorry cost more than its worth
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VolkswagenVMan
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To start, have someone remove the valve cover and one at a time take the cam caps off and look for any damage. If there is no damage to caps or the cam you can save it, if there is damage there the engine is going to need to be replaced. That is how we start at the dealer on the sludge cars.
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Abscate Premium Member
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 12:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

73sports wrote:
As long as the bearings aren't damaged, the engine can be cleaned out and repaired without a major overhaul. This would involve removing the oil pan, replacing the oil pick up tube, and then running a special cleaner oil through the engine that brakes down the sludge. The chemicals are made by BG, and there is a special remote filter used to trap the gunk. Look for a place that has this equiptment, otherwise it's not going to be fixed properly. I know that you are mad at the dealer, but remember that they are all independently owned, and some are good, and some aren't. They also don't all charge the same for the same services. I in the east, so unfortunately I can't suggest anyone local to try. You may have to call around and see what people will charge to do this.


NooB here with a 2003 turbo Beetle that sludged. I caught it early as my oil pressure light came on at idle after a hard run in summer, with ambient temp over 80F. Below this I never had a problem. I have low miles on my 2003, only 50k. VW advised me I should have been using synthetic (not sure how I found out so late, I am original owner) - I had been using Castrol GTX changing twice a year on time. I was offered a 700 USD service option to remove pan, change oil pump, clean out and switch to synthetic. I searched forums and bought the Bell Products sludge cleaner (goes in 10 minutes before oil change) and kept the same 6 month oil change interval, changing to Mobil 1 full synthetic.

No issues with oil leaks from changing.
No oil consumption.
After three oil changes, this summer, I get no oil light even in 90F weather.
Im going to use the Bell product one last time then go to regular oil changes only (still using synthetic)

If I see the light again, I will drop the pan and change the oil pump myself.
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jmartin7
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 9:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For those with little or no sludge problems I recommend using a different oil to prevent or even correct minor problems. I bought my 2001 New Beetle 1.8t as the second owner. I tried the recommended castrol oil a couple of times but the car never seemed right. It ran ok but I felt that it could have been better. I did some research and decided to use Shell Rotella T6 5w-40 in the car. The difference has been very noticeable. Cold starts are much quieter, oil burn off has been reduced, the engine is quieter all around, and it is also much cleaner on the inside. I know that this oil is designed for diesel engines but it has worked very well in my car for a while now with no bad side effects.
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HeidelbergJohn4.0
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 06, 2014 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

had a 1.8t in my first Passat. 7 years. 160 all on amsoil never a problem till i threw the timing belt with the belt kit in teh back
w8,11 years, 135k all on Amsoil. never a problem.
Audi A4, 1.8t, 140K all on amsoil- never a problem.
2012 tdi- Amsoil-- 80K so far- so good
They all use 5w40
use the right oil. VW dealers are notorious for not even using the oil recommended by the manufacturer.
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