Ignition coil puller comparison

[R826583]

I changed the spark plugs today! Everything went stunningly well.

The ignition coil pulled worked well and the wire hose clamp tool was amazing to have (I’m never going back to a non-wire hose clamp tool - I can’t recommend the wire hose clamp tool enough).

The old spark plugs in cylinder one, two, and four (counting left-to-right) all looked like so:

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The old spark plug in cylinder three looked a little different with some oily residue on the thread:

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Cylinder three spark plug hole (the hole of cylinder one, two, and four looked identical):

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I am wondering what the copper/brown pigment is on the thread? Some sort of corrosion is my guess. How do the health of the old plugs and cylinder look in general? I believe they look alright from doing some comparison to other photos. However, I am curious as to why cylinder three had the oily residue on the thread

Thank you to everyone that gave their input, it made the job much easier and more enjoyable

[R826583]

I also meant to ask if one can order the wire cover from the ignition coils as an individual component. The ignition coil wire covers on cylinder three and four are missing, compared to cylinder one and two. Perhaps they were lost at some point by a workshop when I didn’t own the car. I can’t see an individual part number on ETKA.

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[Le_Combattant]

It's normal for both cylinder to miss this part. Cables are too short.

[ciclo]

Oil on the spark plug thread is relatively normal because it usually occurs, defining the exact cause is not easy (head gasket, cylinder rings...).
It is not worrying if you have not detected abnormal oil consumption, it would be relatively worrying if the oil was clearly visible on the spark plug electrode.

Regularly making short trips helps increase the chance of seeing oil on the spark plug threads.
Without being an obsession , approximately every 1000 km, check the oil consumption on the oil dipstick.

In general terms the spark plugs look normal, including the copper/brown pigment on the threads, which may be due to a normal oxidation process due to high temperatures.

With brilliant simplicity a very wise person told me, - the fortune of an oil leak is that 'there is' oil in the system -.
Combustion engines are not diamonds, they are mechanisms that get dirty, generate waste, leaks, etc.

---
It seems that there are no protective caps for the connectors of those coils.

[R826583]

It's normal for both cylinder to miss this part. Cables are too short.

I suppose that makes sense (although I thought the cable on cylinder three could totally of had one if VW tried ). I didn’t think to check the wiring loom on ETKA like ciclo did. I’ll know for next time.

—

That’s good to hear re the oil on the thread. I will check the oil out of interest every 1000km for a little while. It will be interesting to see what data I come up with.

Very wise words

[2226]

Told you those hose clamp tools are awesome!

Plugs look ok. That 3rd one shows oil consumption issue.
At least only 1 out of 4.
Mine show lots of deposits from oil burning and maybe also due to additives I added to try and stem my oil consumption:



Going to switch from 5W-40 VW 502 00 to 5W-30 VW 504 00 / 507 00 to see if that helps. Only done 3500km on the current oil.

[Le_Combattant]

Told you those hose clamp tools are awesome!

Plugs look ok. That 3rd one shows oil consumption issue.
At least only 1 out of 4.
Mine show lots of deposits from oil burning and maybe also due to additives I added to try and stem my oil consumption:



Going to switch from 5W-40 VW 502 00 to 5W-30 VW 504 00 / 507 00 to see if that helps. Only done 3500km on the current oil.

Man, the 502 is outdated.

Run 0W30 504/507 from Shell, you will see the difference

[2226]

Still the recommended grade down here.
I'm switching to Ravenol VMP.
No idea how it will deal with our fuel. It is mid-SAPS and apparently not so great with high sulfur content fuel.

If I had the money I'd get Motul 300V which is a esther-based oil and was recommended to me. But 130GBP for 5L of oil is a little scary. That and it only lasts 7500km.

EDIT: You guys are luck with low-sulfur content fuel. VW 502 00 is still recommended for places with higher sulfur content fuel. The low- or mid-SAPS oils might not last as long under these conditions. The VST I am running right has a higher TBN than the VMP I want to move it. I am hoping that running a reduced oil change cycle (6000-7500km) does the trick and I gain the advertised benefits of VMP "as stated on the can."

Shell Helix Ultra is a POA oil just like Ravenol VST and VMP. However, I don't care much for that fact that Shell don't show these specifications on their data sheets.

Also, these new VW specs are more formulated for saving emissions equipment rather than reducing wear. I'm more for wear reduction.

[Le_Combattant]

Still the recommended grade down here.
I'm switching to Ravenol VMP.
No idea how it will deal with our fuel. It is mid-SAPS and apparently not so great with high sulphur content fuel.

If I had the money I'd get Motul 300V which is a esther-based oil and was recommended to me. But 130GBP for 5L of oil is a little scary. That and it only lasts 7500km.

Since I swithed to 0W30 504/507 my oil consumtion is near to 150ml per 10000 km.

Before it was, with 5w30, 500ml per 10000 km

[2226]

Since I swithed to 0W30 504/507 my oil consumtion is near to 150ml per 10000 km.

Before it was, with 5w30, 500ml per 10000 km

I will go with the thinner 5W-30 and see what happens. I'm heading into summer now so a 5W-40 might be better. Dunno.

Hoping the VMP assists ring land cleaning which I suspect, as many have, is the cause for these issues.

[Le_Combattant]

Since I swithed to 0W30 504/507 my oil consumtion is near to 150ml per 10000 km.

Before it was, with 5w30, 500ml per 10000 km

I will go with the thinner 5W-30 and see what happens. I'm heading into summer now so a 5W-40 might be better. Dunno.

Hoping the VMP assists ring land cleaning which I suspect, as many have, is the cause for these issues.

You dont need a such high grade like 5W40. The engine is not design forz this kind of oil.

What is your toil emp on summer ?

[2226]

5W-40 is recommended down here. Look it up on Shell and you will see. Standard is 5W-40, but they will also offer 5W-30.
Haven't checked oil temp; need to access OBD for that.
Summer temps will go up to 40C here.

You will see 5W-30 recommended for long service life (VW 504 00)

[2226]

Also, you can't say the engine isn't designed for 5W-40. The engine is designed for VW 502 00 and that includes grades such as 5W-40.

Let's also look at VW themselves. You have no idea what Castrol oil goes into these engines at the dealership. They just have a huge drum of the stuff they use for everything. Dealership doesn't care and that shows in what I wound up with this car.

[Le_Combattant]

Also, you can't say the engine isn't designed for 5W-40. The engine is designed for VW 502 00 and that includes grades such as 5W-40.

Let's also look at VW themselves. You have no idea what Castrol oil goes into these engines at the dealership. They just have a huge drum of the stuff they use for everything. Dealership doesn't care and that shows in what I wound up with this car.

Yup but 502 is for fixed service, but you can use 504/507 for fixed service too.

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So today the new oil fitted is 0W30 and since 2018 and after it's 0W20 with the new 508 oil requirement.
NOTE: you CAN'T put 0W20 in engine older than 2018.

If you dealership doesn't care,well, it's a bad dealer.
Mine was very professional and I ask them to put 0W30. They have Shell tank in the maintenance aera with 0W30 504/507.

And since 2 years, my car is running 0W30 from Shell. Oil temp stay low, even during summer on highway (110-115°C) and my fuel consumption drop a lot.
Also, 507 offers more protection to your engine and has stricter requirements which includes testing the oil at far higher temperatures, including a duration test.

[2226]

I'm aware of all of that.
Polo here is all fixed service interval so 502.

504/507 can do, I know that.
But what I'm getting at is that these VW grades do not cover viscosity of oil, so you can get 0W-30 / 5W-30 / etc for 502, 504, 507 and so on.

For me, it's going to be Ravenol VMP in 5W-30. It's both 504 and 507 approved. I have no need for a 0 weight oil. I'll run on shortened fixed interval. TBN of VMP is lower than my current VST, but should be good over my shorter fixed interval. We will see.

I've seen them testing Mobil 1 oils with the latest Dexos certifications. Those Dexos oils should line up with these newer VW 508, etc. The results were amazing. They can deal with so much more stress and they definitely put down way less deposits in the ring lands. But they are often thinner oils.

I'm amazed they're listing the CJZD as being able to use 508 from 2018 onwards. What changes were done to the CJZD and what vehicle was that in in 2018+?

As for the dealer ... they're all like that here. My problem is I tended to trust them and that nearly cost me this engine. No oil change at last service with them; didn't even bother to check the level. And neither did I thinking they'd actually done the job.