A6 TDI engine oil

[Ray2]

I have a 2003 Audi A6 1.9TDI and was about to change my oil with the longlife type however have come across the problem with the Castrol slx Longlife 2 no longer available.

My handbook identifies a spec of 506 00 or 506 01 to be used. My Audi dealer tells me they now use Castrol SLX longlife 3 as Castrol have suggested this but it does not appear to meet the 506 00 or 506 01 spec! I can not find the longlife 3 on the Castrol website and Castrol recomend thier Edge 5w-30 oil however this again does not meet the 506 00/506 01 specs.
Does anyone have any suggestions, I note that some passat owners are also experiencing this problem.

I have sought details on other brands and found a Mobil make being Mobil SHC Formula LD 0w-30 which they claim meets the 506 00/506 01 spec. Does anyone use this oil or have any comments on the above.

Unless Audi/VW get their act together with Castrol they could be loosing a lot of business as users that do enquire about their oil opt for other brands.

Any comments advice would be greatfully received :1zhelp:
Ray

[redadair]

I too have a 2003 (53) A6 1.9TDI. I am using the Longlife 3 which was recommended by a main dealer. I believe the previous 1 litre top up oil kept in the boot and inherited from the previous owner was the Longlife 2 but I couldn't swear to it.
I know you can in theory, only need to change the oil every 20,000 miles, hence "longlife" but I still change it every 10k.

[Ray2]

I have read that the oil is backwards compatible so the Longlife 3 will be OK but I've also been told that its not and may cause potential problems with the cam shaft and wear so still pretty confused.
I've been told that it may make a difference if my engine is a PD engine so i'm trying find out what mine is!
The link below makes further intersting reading.

http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=6172

Ray

[redadair]

That was an interesting link! I'm surprised it didn't prompt a full scale debate at the time.
I just hope my extended warranty purchased independently will give me peace of mind. Whatever the answer I still believe that you cannot beat a regular oil change.

[Ray2]

And the oil saga goes on, I concluded to use the castrol edge 5W40 which I have now used for several oil changes and guess what I have a missfire fault that my Audi garage suggests is a cam shaft wear problem ! is it the oil I have used or just the car high mileage 204,000 miles on 2003 A6 1.9TDi (SE)

[paul b]

And the oil saga goes on, I concluded to use the castrol edge 5W40 which I have now used for several oil changes and guess what I have a missfire fault that my Audi garage suggests is a cam shaft wear problem ! is it the oil I have used or just the car high mileage 204,000 miles on 2003 A6 1.9TDi (SE)
If you use the Shell online LubeMatch tool, that recommends you use standard Shell Helix Plus 10W-40 or premium Shell Helix Ultra 5W-30.

Nobody I have seen suggests using 5W-40 oil in the A6s.

I have the same engine as you, and using the Shell Helix Plus 10W-40, I've no camshaft wear problems as of yet, but mind you mines only done 63k. ;)

Paul

[Clinterous]

What was the 50_ spec of the Castrol edge you were using?

Forum member Crasher will no doubt have a more insightful comment/view.

My car (identical model and year to yours) is about to breach 200K miles this week. Have been using for the twelve months 507 spec oil - Mobil1.

[gazza57]

I too have a 2003 (53) A6 1.9TDI. I am using the Longlife 3 which was recommended by a main dealer. I believe the previous 1 litre top up oil kept in the boot and inherited from the previous owner was the Longlife 2 but I couldn't swear to it.
I know you can in theory, only need to change the oil every 20,000 miles, hence "longlife" but I still change it every 10k.

This is interesting in that Castrol/VW/Audi still haven't sorted this confusion out.
My A6 used to use SLX longlife 3 which has now been discontinued I use castrol edge just make sure the vw spec is correct.
As far as longlife oil services it's a good idea to change every 10k I do and I'm told especially important if you have a turbo either petrol or diesel, I've changed mine over to fixed interval servicing, less risk of blowing a turbo.
Gazza57:D

[paul b]

I believe you have 3 specifications of oil:

- 501.01 (is NOT right for TDIs, only petrols and N/A diesels).
- 505.00 Is safe for TDIs, although not recommended if the car is on Longlife servicing.
- 507.00 is safe for TDIs and is used for Longlife servicing, although it can also be used for fixed services without any problems.

This (http://www.shell.com/home/page/gbr/products_services/on_the_road/oils_lubricants/app_lubematch.html) may help explain, although it doesn't talk about 507.00 spec.

Hope that helps.

Paul

[snapdragon]

For diesels..

505.00 pre 2006 TDI that are not PD
505.01 pre 2006 TDI that is PD or not PD
506.00 pre 2006 TDI that is not PD (longlife)
506.01 pre 2006 TDI that is PD or not PD (longlife)

507.00 pre or post 2006 TDI that is PD or not PD (longlife) (except V10)

PD= Pump Douse unit injector which is most 1.9 1997-2006 and others, please check

:aargh4: worse than unix

[Ray2]

Should have said yesterday the oil I have been using is Castrol Edge 5w-30 (Not 5w-40 as I previously stated) Why I concluded this one in the end last year I don't know! Anyway the Castrol 5w-30 states that it meets the VW 504 00 / 507 00 specification. It also states on the container "Replaces SLX Longlife 11" I've also let my oil go below the minimum and I guess the low oil level, late change and possibly wrong oil have all contributed to my problem. An expensive mistake for me it looks like I will have to get a recon engine for around £1500 fitted!:zx11:
The car is still running but after about 5 miles from cold it starts missfiring with a loss of power then the ESP warning light comes on then there is hardly enough power to even pull away. When I switch off the ignition and switch straight back on it starts OK and runs for about a mile then re-occurs. Can generally limp home if not to far away.
Diagnostics from the audi maindealer found 3 faults as follows:-
1. (P0301) Engine electronics - Some misfiring in cylinder 1 recognised
2. (P1666) No.1 cyl.pump/nozzle valve-N240 Electrical fault in circuit N240...N243...- Injectors cyl. 1...cyl.4
3.Load signal fault message from engine control unit.
The conclusion was that they suspect a worn cam shaft and with the mileage its not economically worthwhile repairing. 'Well not with the main dealer anyway.'
Any thoughts from anyone would be helpfull.
Ray

[Peter D]

What makes you think that is an oil/wear problem. If it was you would have filings in the drained oil or in the filter cut in half. This is a system malfunction. And £1500 for a recon engine is far too cheap. Regards Peter

[Clinterous]

The 1.9 engines are typically bomb proof, providing the correct oil has been used. Is it really uneconomical to repair??

If you didn't own the car from new, the unkown in all this, is what oil did the previous owners use.....

It would be interesting to hear what Crasher makes of this issue..

[Ray2]

My thoughts initially were that I had an electrical fault of some sort rather than a worn cam. If the problem was a worn cam that only occurred when the engine had warmed up then if I switched off and stated again I would expect the problem to still be there rather than have cleared. If it was electrical I could understand it being intermittent.

I've checked a number of web sites to replace the engine and have found three that will relace it with a guarantee at charges of £1450, 20K or 1 tr warranty replacement engine from another low mileage audi, £1695 20k or 1 yr warranty again from a low milage car or 1495 recon engine including new gasgets, oil filter belts coolant etc with 60k or 5 yr warranty which is the best sounding offer I have found yet. There a number of second hand AVF low mileage engines around for around £800 + Vat and some include most of the ancilliary parts too alternator, manifolds, pumps, etc.
Ray