oil warning signal

[ger83]

hows it going all, i have an 04 a4 1.8t and couple of months ago got the oil pressure light on when the level was perfect so change oil and filter and ran an oil flush which worked fine until yesterday it came back on and seems to come only when im driving, anyone ever hear of this problem?

[hagis]

It could be a problem with sludge building up in the sump, a common problem with the 1.8 turbos. Have a search of the site, you'll find plenty of references to it.

[toff]

So, I presume if you've already used an oil flush treatment and you still have the problems, your choices are:

1. Run another flush. (I don't know how often can flush treatments be used, they are pretty harsh stuff).

2. Un-bolt the sump pan, get rid of all the sludge & re-attach sump pan (gasket / gasket sealant will be required). Sadly you will loose most of the oil you've just put in.

If the problem persists, you would repeat step 2, run some cheap oil (of the correct grade) in the car for a week, then take the sump pan off again for a final removal of sludge.

Al.

[fourringsrus]

hi,as above basically,but i would seek the opinion of an expert in reference to the flushing process,the reason being that a couple of years ago a turbo re-manufacturer told me that on no account should i use an engine oil system flush, because this would drag all the crap and sludge through the turbo charger and potentially do all kinds of damage to the charger unit itself.
this said many motorists worldwide seem to use these products without posting horror stories,but i thought i would mention what i was told
maybe some of you forum boys know better in relation to this chaps engine
good luck.

[Crasher]

Drop the sump now before the engine and turbo are destroyed.

[storm4444]

Hi all,

I had this problem on my Audi A4. After being fed alot of BS by my dealer I found out that this is a very common problem with the 1.8t's. Apparently this problem is due to a carbon build up in the oil which cloggs up the oil strainer in the sump, as well as the breather/oil lines on the rear of the engine. If you don't clear these blockages the top of the engine will be starved of oil and be damaged. Unfortunatly I didn't find this out until after and was left with a £3000 repair bill! Nice.

steve.

Just one more thing you really need to change the oil alot more frequently than audi recommend as there is only 3.5 litres in there, which means it's getting used alot more than the oil in something like a BMW Z3 which has around 6.5 litres.

[Pete@ECSTuning]

Not sure if you've resolved this or not, but it is a common problem with TWO common solutions that no one has touched on here yet:

1) Sludge - Drop the oil pan, clean the pickup tube. Many people do this by lighting it on fire, cleaning with brake cleaner, lighting it on fire, cleaning it with brake cleaner and repeating until all carbon is gone.

2) Your oil pressure sender switch is going bad or is bad. This monitors engine oil pressure. Frequently accompanied by oil leak spot in your parking spot. It is a $7 dollar part or £5 which is even more peanuts to you lot across the big blue. http://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-B6_A4-...aign=postreply

[maui_matt]

Hi I can agree with the majority and say it is a sump off job!!
If you have the patients of a saint and a healthy relationship with you tool box then you can get away with replacing it over a week end, can be achieved one of 2 ways either engine out completely or partially removed with the help of an engine crane!! How do I know coz i've done it myself with a partial removal of the engine..

Heres my brief guide to doing it this way!! THIS IS A 2002 AWX 1.9TDI

1. jack up and drain oil making sure you get as much as you can out!!

2. remove top plastic engine cover and then the cam cover and look for any debris in there too

2a.i f need be get a cheap oil to pour straight over the head and 'back wash' to the sump and allow to drain then remove the sump level sensor

3 slacken off the top nuts and remove bottom nuts of the side engine mount 13mm nuts

4 slacken and remove the aux belt drive and tensioner for the aircon pump

5 now undo the cup bracket at the front of the engine but leave in position for the moment!!

6 remove glow plugs and go for a cup of tea!!

7 remove the upper intake tube big balck one that runs to egr valve

8 now attatch engine crane and chains to foward engine lifting eyes and slowly begine to lift engine up keep eye on side mounts till the are free to move

9 keep checking also front mount till it is free enough to be pulled out

10 raise engine till tandem pump is almost touching bulk head

11 lower rear sump bolts large 16mm i think should now be reachable

12 now have another brew as its messy from here on in!!

13 get under at gear box end of sump and if car look up and you can see two cut outs which reveal the cut outs on the dual mass fly wheel

14 using an assistant get them to rotate the cam shaft in the engine rotation direction ( thats why the glow plugs came out to reduce the change of resistance to compression in the cylinders

15 as the dual mass fly wheel rotates look for the cut out that allows access to the two bolts in the gear box housing undo using a 1/4 drive single depth socket on a 6'' + extension or an allen screw driver remove these two first!!

16 now in a methodical manner remove the remaining sump bolts

17 the sump will be held on with the silicon sealer so may need some light tapping with a nylon / hide face hammer

18 sump will drop away onto cross member and will show thw baffle / windage trat wich needs to be loosend off before removing the sump 10mm bollt access from oil level sensor hole

19 now the oil pick up tube can be accessed and undone 10mm again and allow to drop into sump

20 now with some swearing pulling and shoving remove sump over cross member it does eventually come but remember how it came cos thats how its gotta go back in!!

21 once sump is out have a good clean up and a well deserved brew!!

22 clean out sump white spirit kerosene diesel what ever you have to hand

23 the oil pick up pipe gauze will look like someone has strained col through it so 2 choices now either clean it or replace it with a new one, get a new one is easier and clean other at leisure!!

24 now using a can of choke carb cleaner try to remove as much stray oil as possible from the bottom of engine and clean it thoroughly.

25 clean the sealer from the sump and bottom of engine using green scotch bright be particular to making sure its cleaned of

26 now the refit Apply the sealer to the sump face and allow to sit for 10 minutes to go of a little, i used aircraft grade silicoset as vw/audi sealant is v expensive but make sure it is oil resistant and temp rated to above 200'c

27 ensure there is a fair but not excesive amount of sealer as the excess inside will fall off and begin the blocking of the oil pick up again!!!

28 put the windge tray back into the sump and refit to bottom of engine

29 while sump is resting on cross member refit new / cleaned oil pick up pipe

30 now will the dexterity of a 6 handed person refit windage tray ensuring the location is correct it will be obvious if its not there are notches and cuts out to assit

31 by now you wil have lost you temper 1000 times by now and have arms fingers and elbows covered in sealer so if necessary check to see if there are any bare patches where the seler is completely wiped off reapply if needed

32 fit 4/6 bolts on the corners and middle and tighted down now go for a brew and get cleaned up

33 fit remaing sump bolts including hidden gearbox ones

34 no reverse fit everything else 16mm sump bolts, front engine mount, side engine mounts ensure they sit square and correct!!, a/c pump belt and bracket tensioner, glow plugs and egr intake pipe and cam cover.

35 replace oil filter

36 refit oil sump plug and oil level sensor

37 fill oil till level is just on the low min mark on dip stick

38 lower car onto ground check oil again and now fill to max level

39 briefly start and stop engine and recheck oil level again and top up as needed after a brief pause

40 start again and make sure no more red oil warning light and tidy up if all ok

41 go for a beer or 10 and wish to never do it again



Sorry for no torque settings but if your doing ths I would advise a bentley or haynes manual to assit and take figures and further info from one of these!!

If you can get a load engine beam to take the engine weight once engine is lifted up please do as it will give a safer way to work ie dont work under a suspended load and more space as no crane legs to contort and work around!!!

All the best

Matt

[toff]

Good point there Chris!
Do people really set them alight?

What a comprehensive write-up maui_matt!!

[Crasher]

Not sure if you've resolved this or not, but it is a common problem with TWO common solutions that no one has touched on here yet:

1) Sludge - Drop the oil pan, clean the pickup tube. Many people do this by lighting it on fire, cleaning with brake cleaner, lighting it on fire, cleaning it with brake cleaner and repeating until all carbon is gone.

From post 5

Drop the sump now before the engine and turbo are destroyed.

Sump and oil pan are the same thing.