Interesting. My local VW Guru says the Mobil One synthetic in a 15W50 is
the way to go. That is why I have used it for the last 10-12 years. He
recommends the Castrol 20W50 if the Mobil One in 15W50 is not available.
And I confess - it has gotten difficult to find the Mobil One 15W50
There is plenty of the other grades of Mobil One, but not the 15W50.
Ironically - having three vans - I'm running three different oils. But
my daily driver - which got a new engine in 2000 - after break-in has
been running the Mobil One pretty much ever since. The other two - which
don't see the heavy use of daily driving - use the brands that were
being used when I got them. So - #1 van -'ol Red - '88GL runs Mobil One,
#2 van - Gus - '88GL runs Kendall GT, and #3 van - a '91 Carat - runs
who knows what. It's a project van and while it runs, it's parked as
work progresses. Never have changed the oil. It was clean and clear when
I got it. No idea what oil it is however. I did find some empty Castrol
bottles in it though, when I got it.

Just saying.

John

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

On 12/1/2011 9:58 AM, Jim Felder wrote:
> John and others FYI--
>
> My local VW gurus recommend against synthetics in a Vanagon. Castrol 20W50
> is recommended. In my experience, you are asking for a buzzer moment with
> anything thinner.
>
> Jim
>
> On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 9:04 PM, John Rodgers<inua@charter.net>  wrote:
>
>> Collapsed lifter syndrome. Not to worry. Drive it a bit and it will pump
>> up. A few that help to keep it from happening - Mann Oil Filter,
>> hi-grade synthetic oil like Mobil One in 15W50 wt. Add a dash of
>> Marvel's Mystery Oil. These steps will extend the time between periods
>> of lifter flatness. But - it will run great, no no probs - until you
>> park it wrong and then  it will go flat. Just drive it, and it will pump
>> up.  You will need to run it every two or three days to keep them pumped.
>>
>> On an aside, good maintenance on your AC if you have it, is to run it
>> once a week, winter and summer - to keep the seals lubricated so they
>> don't dry out and lose the refrigerant.
>>
>> John
>>
>> John Rodgers
>> Clayartist and Moldmaker
>> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
>> Chelsea, AL
>> Http://www.moldhaus.com
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/30/2011 12:22 PM, Todd Last wrote:
>>
>>> My Vanagon has been sitting for awhile and upon starting, is making a
>>> noise and puffing out a fair amount of smoke.
>>> Is this a collapsed lifter?
>>>
>>> I made a short video here:
>>>
>>>
>>> <http://www.flipshare.com/**login.aspx?nRecipient=**
>>> N0I5MzFDMkItQzNGNy00RjVELUE4MD**AtNjdFODNEOTREMjQy&nFrame=**
>>> RDBBNUE5QkYtQTAwRS00N0Y3LThDNk**MtM0UzNDU5OTZCOEQx&nMethod=**
>>> ZW1haWw=&nMedia=**ODkxRUM0NDYtQ0UyQi00ODk0LTkyNE**UtNTEyODYxMEMxQjEy&emt=
>>> **de084a1a-1ea9-454d-8bff-**ac2049edb15b&slocale=en_US&**
>>> emailThumbnail=single<http://www.flipshare.com/login.aspx?nRecipient=N0I5MzFDMkItQzNGNy00RjVELUE4MDAtNjdFODNEOTREMjQy&nFrame=RDBBNUE5QkYtQTAwRS00N0Y3LThDNkMtM0UzNDU5OTZCOEQx&nMethod=ZW1haWw=&nMedia=ODkxRUM0NDYtQ0UyQi00ODk0LTkyNEUtNTEyODYxMEMxQjEy&emt=de084a1a-1ea9-454d-8bff-ac2049edb15b&slocale=en_US&emailThumbnail=single>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Todd
>>> '88 Westy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>