I am new to these boards and have been learning a lot lately from you guys, which, in turn has made me concerned about some things with my car. Let me give you a little background, before I get to my dilemma....
I bought a 98 a4 1.8qt that had 90,000 miles on it. I wasn't sure what kind of oil was being used, so I just used some dino 5w30. I didn't know if the previous owner used sythentic because I bought the car at an auction. It seemed like everything was fine. Well at 98000 miles, I was driving home and my timing chain broke (I owned nothing bout chevy's before, so I had no idea of the potential damage).
The shop I took the car too (Quality Imports in Antioch, Ca) sucked big time. He didn't even use g12....anyway, since I had got the car back, I noticed what I thought was lifter noise, and I also noticed that the oil temp seemed to get hotter. He said the noise was normal and the ambient temperature is what makes the oil temp go up. As far as I could remember, the oil temp would stay around 170 degrees. Well, it was now getting around 230...even a little hotter. So, I checked the owners manuel and it says to use 20w50 in high heat (it get's over 100 where I live).That is what I have been running for oil ever since. Well, in the winter, the oil temp would still climb to around 210, despite using 20w50 and yesterday it was 80 degrees outsideand I got to right before 230 degrees oil temperature.

So after searching thsese forums for the last few days, I see that mostly everybody with a 1.8t is running synthic. Should I, or can I even change to synthetic? I heard that it is bad to go from dino to synthetic. I have 113,000 miles on my car now btw. Since the timing chain broke while I was driving,a lot of things are new under the hood....or at least that shady mechanic listed them as being new and changed. If I changed to to a 5w40 synthetic, would my oil temp raise dramatically?
I know this is a lot to read, but I appreciate any help....oh yeah, I don't have a vag reader, nor do I know anybody with one.

 

Switch to 5w40 synthetic. 230 is about normal when the engine is warmed up and you are driving in 75+ temps. I would be a little worried if it got much hotter than that though. As for the valve noise... If your timing belt broke, you are almost guaranteed to have valve train damage. If they didnt replace the head, they probably should have. Didnt you get an invoice that detailed what he replaced exactly?

 

Yeah, and I happen to have it with me.......like I said, I have been learning a lot lately. Here is the list -
1 cooling hose
1 breather connector
1 breather t connector
1 head gasket set
10 head bolts
1 gallon antifeeze
12 intake valves
8exhaust valves
1 oil filter
1 timming belt
3 accesory belts
vacuum/house clamps
4 bosch spark plugs
4 hydraulic lifters.

That was all on 3.1.2006. Then I brought it back to the same guy on 6.23.06 because of the heating issue and I was leeking antifreeze.That is when I noticed my antifreeze was green and in doing some research, I found out that g12 is always pink. Of course, his work is only warrytied for 3000 miles, and I did a lot of driving, so I spent a lot more money and got all this done. on this date he replaced-
1 gal anti freeze
1 new water pump
1 timing belt tensioner
1 t-bolt roller
1 water outlet
o - ring
(I have not returned to this mechanic since)

 

Almost all 1.8T cars have a little valvetapping noise. Your car shouldn't sound like a helicopter but a little tapping that you car hear standing next to the car is pretty normal.

 

First switch to 5w40 or mobile one 0w40.

Then, see if you still have lifter noise.

A small amount ofnoisereally is normal in these. If it seems to run strong, I wouldn't be too concerned.

 

so switching from dino to synthetic is not a problem? Thanks for the tips thus far.

 

Well, It shouldnt be.

You are turbo, you really NEED to run synthetic. You said you didn't know what the PO ran, but since synthetic is the reccomemded oil for the car, its likely thats what they used.
I would run the sythetic 0w40 and go from there. If you have a small leak somewhere and have to deal with that, so be it, its better than killing the turbo. That is of course, unless you are looking for a good excuse to tell the wife why your putting a big turbo in the car.

 

lol. I'm single, so all I have to answer to is God..... Thanks guys. Looks like I get to do a progect this weekend. I am going to go with 5w40, instead of 0w40

 

+1

 

alright...I'm trusting you guys. I'll do 0w40.