So the question is should I use official VW G060175A2 (or the G055 depending on volume I can get) or do I get an oil that conforms to the same standard, but is significantly cheaper?

 

i am hoping that regular changes, using an oil that is to the same standard will be just as effective. There are a number of online purchases available for around £20, whereas the official stuff is closer to £40 or £50.

 

Genuine stuff £39.20 inc vat from TPS. It doesn’t have a spec on the bottle, but perhaps you have access to the spec from somewhere else? I note it is made in Sweden and anyway is the same as used in Volvo Haldex system. Is it cheaper from Volvo?

 

Personally I don’t think it is worth saving £20 every 20,000 miles or whatever, unless you are sure that the spec is identical.

 

That said the Haldex is pretty crude compared to a DSG gearbox so how important can it be?

4 hours ago, Nickj633 said:

So the question is should I use official VW G060175A2 (or the G055 depending on volume I can get) or do I get an oil that conforms to the same standard, but is significantly cheaper?

 

i am hoping that regular changes, using an oil that is to the same standard will be just as effective. There are a number of online purchases available for around £20, whereas the official stuff is closer to £40 or £50.

 

Haldex is now owned by Borg Warner. They supply the oil in the same 850ml bottle VW and BMW put their name on.

 

You can get it many places including Haldexrepairs.co.uk 

 

Personally I am happy to use the stuff produced by the manufacturer, however you can pay £5 more for the VW label from the same place.

9 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Genuine stuff £39.20 inc vat from TPS. It doesn’t have a spec on the bottle, but perhaps you have access to the spec from somewhere else? I note it is made in Sweden and anyway is the same as used in Volvo Haldex system. Is it cheaper from Volvo?

 

Personally I don’t think it is worth saving £20 every 20,000 miles or whatever, unless you are sure that the spec is identical.

 

That said the Haldex is pretty crude compared to a DSG gearbox so how important can it be?

 

Considering the filter (mesh) isn't replaced through a haldex service with Skoda, I would consider the oil used to be of utmost importance (and the necessity of changing regularly)!

Edited 27 September, 20196 yr by micro

On 27/09/2019 at 20:40, micro said:

 

Considering the filter (mesh) isn't replaced through a haldex service with Skoda, I would consider the oil used to be of utmost importance (and the necessity of changing regularly)!

I’m not sure there is much point in changing the oil regularly if the filter is clogged! In the case of Haldex 5 on my car there is no separate filter, just the gauze on the pump. If the pump gauze is not cleaned out, and bearing in mind how much gunge there was on mine, the gauze will be mostly clogged and just changing the oil isn’t going to un-clog it!

1 minute ago, nicknorman said:

I’m not sure there is much point in changing the oil regularly if the filter is clogged! In the case of Haldex 5 on my car there is no separate filter, just the gauze on the pump. If the pump gauze is not cleaned out, and bearing in mind how much gunge there was on mine, the gauze will be mostly clogged and just changing the oil isn’t going to un-clog it!

Depends what the cause of the gunge is - overcooked and degraded oil? In which case replacement with high quality OE oil is going to potentially do a better job than other lower specs of oil unless changed much more regularly.

 

Other grades and specs of oil also may not provide the required lubricity for the system thus causing premature wear. I'll be doing my haldex oil change when it's next due to ensure that mesh is cleaned and inspected!

Edited 28 September, 20196 yr by micro

Just now, micro said:

Depends what the cause of the gunge is - overcooked and degraded oil? In which case replacement with high quality OE oil is going to potentially do a better job than other lower specs of oil unless changed much more regularly.

No the gunge is just fibres from the Haldex clutch. I don’t know why - the oil in the wet clutch DSG gearbox was transparent and looked like the new stuff I put in. The oil in the Haldex was black and full of black debris. Pix here if you didn’t see it:

 

 

I suppose what I am trying to get at is that other manufacturers, ie Febi, are showing the VW codes on their products, ie G060175A2, which I assume means that they are as good as the original, and complying with their requirements.

5 minutes ago, Nickj633 said:

I suppose what I am trying to get at is that other manufacturers, ie Febi, are showing the VW codes on their products, ie G060175A2, which I assume means that they are as good as the original, and complying with their requirements.

Well if you want my opinion, and it is only my opinion and not based on any experience, since it (eg the Febi offering) says it is specifically for Haldex and it carries VW’s grade code, really it ought to be fine and of course is 1/2 the price of the VW offering. But I think you are going to have to be the guineapig on this one!

Well the slightly cheaper alternative has been ordered, together with new seals and bolts for the pump, so once the weather improves I will do the second change on my Haldex.

1 hour ago, Nickj633 said:

Well the slightly cheaper alternative has been ordered, together with new seals and bolts for the pump, so once the weather improves I will do the second change on my Haldex.

Dunno if you’ve done this before but in case you haven’t, may I provide a tip which is that step 1 is to ensure you can undo the fill plug. It’s made of aluminium and really easy to round off the hex socket in the bolt, thus needing butchery to get it out and a new plug.

10 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Dunno if you’ve done this before but in case you haven’t, may I provide a tip which is that step 1 is to ensure you can undo the fill plug. It’s made of aluminium and really easy to round off the hex socket in the bolt, thus needing butchery to get it out and a new plug.

No problem, this was the first thing I did the last time I changed it, you are right, would be a bit embarrassing if I drained out the old and couldn’t re fill! All tips are welcome in this game!