Oil

[chunkymonkey02]

In the boot of my car there is an unopened bottle of shell helix ultra professional 0w-30 av-l I don't need to use it but wondered if its suitable for my engine I I did its a 1.9 tdi pd 105

[Tech1e]

Technically no, however a litre of any oil can be used for top up in between oil changes.

[chunkymonkey02]

Ok cool I don't need it as oil levels fine what's the best suitable oil for my car in on a 10k service

[Guest]

Hello chunkymonkey, with the 1.9pd engine (and the 1422cc pd unit) it's vital to stick with the correct spec oil. This should be VW505.01 spec and preferably 5-40 fully synthetic. VW's Quantum Platinum oil is perfect and not expensive. Get it from your Skoda dealer or online. This is the oil used for fixed service intervals. Avoid semi synthetic oils of the same spec as these go out of spec so quickly it leaves your engine vulnerable to cam damage. This is the only thing with the PD engines you MUST be careful about. Use the wrong oil and your camshafts will be toasted very quickly as the cams are heavily loaded in the pd engines. When you hear about camshaft failure on any pd engine it is nearly always because owners have used the wrong oil, often just putting in any fully sythetic oil which just won't do. Of course, always check your owners manual for the correct spec oils to use. 

Edited 21 March, 2016 by Estate Man