Service interval on VR6

[briggy 0]

Guys,

 

What's the recommended service interval on a VR6? The Bentley manual says 15,000 miles (with oil change at 7,500), but my old Golf VR6 owner's manual said 10,000 miles. Which is it?

 

Cheers,

Bryan

[Chris VR6nos 0]

3 years seems to be about right

That's how long since mine and i've just changed stuff now, never went wrong in that time because of no servicing other than oil changes

 

 

Chris

[dr_mat 0]

What?

The guide book says oil change service every 10k miles/1 year. Plus annual inspection service and extras on the 12 monthly/24 monthly boundaries. It's quite detailed..

[Supercharged 2]

Yep, depends what you class as a service really... like Mat says once a year / 10k miles (whichever comes first) has been standard for VW for years but I would always do an oil and filter change at least once inbetween. I'd recommend Oil changes every 3k miles on G60's and VR6's because of how hot they run.

[Chris VR6nos 0]

Supercharged, not sure if you quite need to change it just that offten like as semi-synth oil will last much longer in any engine

 

 

Chris

[RW1 0]

The official UK Corrado (including VR6) in standard unmodified form is an oil/filter change is every 10,000 miles. If mileage is below 10,000 per year then the 12 month inspection falls into play which changes the oil/filter irrespective of oil condition. Then there is a major service at 20,000 miles intervals at which effectively the car gets a full check up. At 2 years the brake fluid gets picked up for change.

 

Spark plugs replaced at 20,000 miles. Airfilter (paper), all belts and brake pads/discs are all inspect and replace as required.

 

Cambelts best changed out at 40,000 miles although VW state a safe life of 60,000 miles, particularly the 16v engines due to the extra loads in this engine on the cam belt.

 

Paper airfilters are technically usually past it by 10,000 miles but tend to be more efficient at fine particle removal (more important on a G60) than cone type filters. Also, the oiled type aftermarket filters such as K&N can foul up the MAF sensor due to blown oil off the filter leading to engine poor running.

 

Oil change on a G60 is more critical as the oil is used in the supercharger bearings. Dirty oil helps to fail the oil seals in the charger leading to dirt/oil paste build up on the vanes, hence the charger blowing up as this sludge increases friction on the "G" vanes and strains/snaps the little drive belt on the original type built supercharger. Particulalry if the engine is suddenly free revved out of gear for instance. Therefore "Supercharged" is wise to respect his oil change regime at 3,000 miles on a G60 to keep it clean of fine combustion particles, but not required on the VR6. Use good 15w40 oil of the semi or fully synthetic type, the engines weren't designed for running with 10W40 or 5w40 or definitely not 0w40 in our climate temperatures of 0'C - 25'C. (Seen too many early oil pump failures with 0w40, particularly Mobil 1!). Economy will probably lead to use of the semi synthetic oil type on cost v increased frequency.

 

The original paper airfilter in a G60 may be a better option changed out every 5,000 miles or make sure the aftermarket one does really clean the air entering the supercharger/engine and not just the stones!

 

The schedules also call for lots of other visusal checks and do if necessary around the car. Most are common sense items. Any dealer will have a list of these at their service desk which you can use as a check list, just ignore those items not fitted to you Corrado. Generally the sheets cover the full service as required at 20,000 miles.

[VR6 0]

Very comprehensive post RW1, cheers.

 

Worth adding in that the VR cambelt is particularly hard to change? :)

[craigowl 0]

Supercharged said:

I'd recommend Oil changes every 3k miles on G60's and VR6's because of how hot they run.

What? - My oil still looks fairly clean after 4k miles.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I change mine when it goes dark brown, which equates to around 3 to 4K.

 

Like me, the engine is getting old and chopping it in for a younger model is on the cards soon!

[Supercharged 2]

Quote: › Select ›‹ Expand

I'd recommend Oil changes every 3k miles on G60's and VR6's because of how hot they run.

 

What? - My oil still looks fairly clean after 4k miles.

 

Mine just starts to go black at about 3k, as RW1 says the charger is oil fed and for the sake of £12 for the oil and filter plus 30 mins work I think it's well worth it!

[RW1 0]

"Worth adding in that the VR cambelt is particularly hard to change? "

 

VR6 - "VR cambelt"- I presume you mean the visible ribbed belt on the offside of the engine driving the alternator etc. In the above text, that came under "all belts and brake pads/discs are all inspect and replace as required". In otherwords check the belt for ageing, cracking and general condition. I haven't seen a life on the ribbed belt but one could summise that 60,000 miles for a change point/things deteriorating.

 

The VR6 cams are chain driven (erm, as I think is generally known) and as far as VW are concerned the chains are unbustable - m* a***! Life of the cam drive chains is dependant on a lot of things but there are a few simple rules to follow to minimise the major bank account snatch.

 

Service the engine regulalrly with good oil (service history counts here). Failures have been known as low as 80,000 miles but hey, if you don't service the engine, what can you expect. Generally above 120,000 miles the failures seem to be more apparent but again it is service history that plays it part. The general life of the chains is about 150,000 miles but this mileage value is by no means a must. Chains in a well looked after engine can go much longer and 200,000 plus isn' unknown now the VR6 Corrado as it is getting older.

 

Other influencing factors are the chain tensioners. These are the weaker components and may need replacing a lot earlier than the timing chains.

 

It's difficult to inspect the whole chain system so it is a bit of gritting u're teeth and driving, maintaining a good service record with the oil and doing inspections of the tensioner and chains when opportunities arise such as a clutch change. If such an opportunity arises above 100k, providing the chains are OK, then change both tensioners for piece of mind.

 

As the tensioners are oil pressure fed, a good oil pressure from the pump is desirable, hence why I pointed to 15w40 above. So the oil pump needs to be in good condition. Their useful life is around 100k miles as well again service history counts but also the grade of oil regularly used. Pump output at the oil filter head should read/acheive about 1 to 2 bar (15 - 30 psi) with a fully warmed up engine and about 3.5 - 4 bar (50 - 60 psi) at 2,500 - 3,000 rpm.

 

Cos the tensioners are oil pressured, unless you absolutely have to, never bump start a VR6. The chain is slack as the tensioners don't receive oil pressure right away and therefore the engine can "jump" cog tooth on the chains putting the valve gear out of sync.

[briggy 0]

Cheers folks. I've still got a complete dealer history (receipts only, no book) at 110,000 miles so I'm gonna keep it up every 10,000 miles or 12 months. After what's been said, I'll start doing an oil change myself half way between services.

 

I'm still on the original clutch, timing chain & tensioner, oil pump etc. Even the springs & shocks only got done because I wanted it lowered. Is that a sign of a well looked after car or have I been lucky & it's just a matter of time?

 

Bryan.

[dr_mat 0]

Congratulations, you appear to have bought a perfectly normal Corrado.

How does it drive? If there's nothing wrong with it and it drives perfectly fine then stop worrying. If you have a reason to be paranoid then please tell us and someone may be able to help..

[briggy 0]

Didn't mean to sound paranoid, just adding to the discussion on how long things like the cam chain last.

 

Cheers,

Bryan

[VR6 0]

The VR6 cams are chain driven (erm, as I think is generally known)

 

You'd be surprised!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Cos the tensioners are oil pressured, unless you absolutely have to, never bump start a VR6. The chain is slack as the tensioners don't receive oil pressure right away and therefore the engine can "jump" cog tooth on the chains putting the valve gear out of sync.

 

That doesn't happen with a frequently used engine because the original SACHS 'A' tensioner bolt retains oil pressure with a non return valve, so there should be insufficient slack to cause a sprocket jump.

I've bumped my VR a few times with no adverse affects.

 

The people that have upgraded to 109E pad and the 'B' tensioner have spring AND hydraulic pressure, therefore sprocket jumping doesn't occur at all.

 

In rare cases, the A bolt can wear and lose pressure and / or needs bleeding.

 

Newly built engines with the A bolt should be spun over without fuel and spark to build up oil pressure, as there is a danger the engine could kick back and jump a tooth (when using a new bolt).