I own a Skoda Fabia equipped with a 1.6 MPI engine, which I bought as a brandnew car back in 2009. The engine, which belongs to the Euro 4 emission category, was getting regular oil change and service at the authorized Skoda dealer.

By coincidence, I have discovered that the authorized dealer of my car has not been using VW approved 504/507 specification engine oil in each and every oil change.

Till recently, Skoda Egypt had a deal with Total engine lubricants, before shifting to Shell.

The only 504/507 approved Total lubricant, is called Quartz INEO 504/507( Low -SAPS) but it is not imported by Total Egypt.

In Egypt only Quartz 9000 (5W40, 5W30, 0W30) and Quartz 5000 (20W50) are availabe.

http://www.totalegypt.com.eg/os/osegypt.nsf/VS_SWIPSA/66491C168565BF7FC125789500336E6D?OpenDocument&UNI=F45BF6D62F42E64CC12578470053834E&

The end result was sludge formation at around 85'000 km.

My question to you is:

-Did not using VW 504/507 conform specification oil lead and contribute to this sludge formation?

-What other kind of damage is expected to happen to the engine, beside sludge formation, by not using the VW approved 504/507 specification engine oil in my car?

Quartz_Ineo_504-507_5W30_PDS.pdf

INEO-Longlife.pdf

S2000, Hi and welcome to the site.

Sorry to hear you have sludge formation. How bad is it and how do you know you have this formation? Is your car running ok, no misfiring or loss of engine coolant?

The oil that has been used in your car is I believe suitable for your engine. The ACEA grades can be used if offering the equivalent VW502/505 spec, from memory, you do not have to use a Longlife oil 504/507 unless of course your car is on a variable service interval. Unless that is, it's different for Eygpt. Is your car on fixed or variable service? I too have the 1.6 engine in a 2009 Fabia Estate but my wife is out in it so I don't have my manual to refer to, but I'm sure the oil that you are using is ok.

Sludge is not a good thing but most of us get some form of sludge in our engines at one time or another. I've stripped more engines than I've had hot dinners over the years and it's present in most engines in small quantities and does no harm. Most sludge can be removed ok with a flushing agent or even just an extra oil change in between services, which does no harm whatsoever. In fact fully synthetic oils are very good at disolving and removing sludge, as well as preventing it. If you suspect you have a lot of sludge then a propietory flushing agent will be required and of course the cause of the sludge build up looked into.

There are different kinds of engine sludge and different causes for each type. It isn't neccessarily the oil that is the cause. Come back with some more information about how you noticed the sludge and what symptons (if any) you are experiencing. Also, how you use the car ie: long or predominately short trips etc.

Edited 10 April, 201313 yr by Estate Man

Dear Estate Man,

Thank you very much for the prompt and detailed reply. Your constructive input is much appreciated. The car was driven out of my garage, and after exactly 50 meters, the red engine oil lamp went on, asking me to immediately stop my engine.

The car was transported to the authorized Skoda dealer. The mud/sludge coming out from the engine was a black semisolid mass.

Then engine oil flush was done twice with Shell Ultra Helix 5W 40. Oil filter was also changed twice.

What makes me a bit astonished, is the absence of any warning signal that the oil quantity running in the engine is not enough, prior to this standstill.

Coolant level is regularly checked, and the loss is very minimal, if not neglible.

I am now using Shell Ultra Helix 5W 40 for the next 1000 km and will check the oil level/consistency again, with the operating rpm not crossing the 2000 rpm

Hi again S2000,

Ok sounds as if everything is under control. I suspect what happened is a lump of semi-solid sludge lodged in a main oil gallery blocking oil delivery to some of the main engine components. Or sludge had built up partially blocking the oil pump intake screen in the sump. Had the engine been recently serviced? Either way, it sounds as if everything is ok thanks to your quick action to stop the engine. No harm done. It should be fine if you keep an eye on the oil level, and as you say the consistency of the oil. If it goes black very very quickly in just a few hundred miles then on a petrol engine this can indicate the engine should have a proper engine flush with a proprietory engine flush additive. Do you use it for mostly short journeys where the engine oil may not reach full working temperature? In Eygpt, that probably only takes 6 miles, but over here it's about 9-10 miles on a petrol engine in the winter. Oil needs to get nice and hot regularly to do it's job and remain clean and sludge free.

Keep in touch with us all and tell us what motoring is like in Egypt.

Thank you very much Estate Man. I will keep you posted about any future updates...Hope to be soon able to receive you in Cairo for a round trip to the pyramids or to come over to UK and have Skoda outing! Cheers!