hey guys iv been apart of this site for some time and im exticted to finally be able to get out of the dodge section my ol lady just bought a 2002 vw jetta tdi auto trans 180,000 so far we really like it i have a 98 cummins and a 84 ford escort diesel and ive worked on the best tractors ever made you know the red ones so i know about diesels and will probaly never own another gas again but this little german car has me kinda worried like the fact i had to remove the bumper to change the headlights but i have some questions and i know when to listen to you guys and girls with experience talk

1. whats with the plastic shield underneath the engine can it be removed without harm to motor it seems so get in the way of everything
2. does this have a silencer ring on the turbo
3. i noticed that this car likes to slow down by itself it is a auto trans i didnt no if the trans has a retarder or something in that assists in slowing down
4. will 15w40 work without harm to motor it says to use 5w40 full sythetic
i think thats all thank you in advance

 

if anything I would upgrade the belly pan to steel because of the aluminum oil pan. I've already cracked my aluminum oil pan and it sucks replacing it.. You can find upgraded skid plates on kermatdi.com, or ecstuning.com.
My tdi is a 5 speed I don't know anything about the autos other then they never last like the manuals.

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alright that explains the plastic i didn't notice the aluminum pan thanks
and yea i wish she would have looked for a 5speed but i tried teaching on my escort and she swore it off forever but maybe she will come around some day

 

You can always upgrade the oil pan to the hybrid pan. Bought from esc tuning $90 the sides are aluminum and the bottom is steel a friend mine did that and got rid of the plastic skid plate.

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I would use the oil they recommend in the manual. I have a tdi also. I've found Castrol and Mobil 1 make a synthetic oil that has the vw spec. The last oil change, I bought a kit from idparts.com with the european oil and filter. My car is missing the skid plate. Not sure about the silencer. Check out tdiclub.com they have a lot of information on the subject.

 

1. It's to prevent road debris. There are many shields throughout the car including like 5ft of heatshields in the tranny tunnel above the exhaust. I would keep the shields if you can.
2. No silencer ring.
3. These cars shut down the IP when you let off the throttle and leave the car in gear... it's designed to automatically 'engine brake' when you let off to save fuel and brakes.
4. ONLY, and I mean only, use VW spec 501+ oil. Castrol Syntec European Blend for Diesels is TOP NOTCH.

 

o ok that explains it i we used orielys full sythetic 5w30 and the maunal says to change the oil every 10,000miles on the newer tdi and 7500miles on the older tdi

 

I wouldn't use orielys... never even heard of it. If you want your tdi to last, use GOOD oil.

FYI, people have done oa's on their tdi's with 20k miles on their oil, and the oil still has room to go before requiring a change.