A4 I.8T SE Service help?pls

[A4 TURBO UK]

Hi all

I am new to the forum and firstly wish to say hi to everyone.:biglaugh:

Right i own a A4 2001(51 plate) audi A4 1.8T SE with 70k on the clock.Its my pride and joy, i need some help in a few departments and would be eternaly gratefull to anyone who can help.

I need to do a service soon and due to my location(offshore island) you can emagine i cant exactly get to my local Audi garage,so here are the questions.

1 what oil should i use?
2 what gearbox oil should i use?
3 any suggestions for good oil and air filters?

Another nagging problem is that over this year i have topped up my oil (3Ltrs) in total, only doing average 8K not working hard mainly short journeys to and from work, is this normal for audi engine to burn this much?No apparent leaks anyplace?

I think my water header tank is blocked/bunged up someware as my water smells a bit stewed the intake and outlet both pipes both warm up but there seems to be no "spurtin" of water in the tank?Any advice as to unblock or bleed?

Edit do you suggest flushing the engine out and if so what product to use and revs and timescale would be much appreciated.

sorry if these are FAQ.
Thanks in advance to anyone who helps.

Cheers
J

[A4 TURBO UK]

Update

I have taken off my breather pipes and found that they were BADLY bunged up, so set about unblocking them, i think this may be contributing to the engine using excess oil.

Over the next week i am going to order oil/air/pollen filter from vagparts and replace them but i think i need to give the engine a good flush out....any ideas folks?

Also anyone replaced there gearbox oil recently?i am looking for some advise as to what to use.

Also my water is stewed and there is spurting when i accelerate but the plan is to replace the water and coolant over the next weeks and take it from there.

I am going to use Castrol Edge 0-30w fully synthetic oil, as it has VW503.01 and thats what my handbook says is ok for my audi?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

[rhencullen1989]

Hi, and welcome to the Audi forum. First thing is to look at this sludge blocking the oil pick up in the sump issue, just read a few of the posts on here to understand the issues a bit more, CRASHER and a8 TECH are both very very knowledgable guys. I have only learnt myself about the importance of using a good quality fully synthetic oil in the engine although to me a 0w sounds quite thin, Audi actually do a fully synthetic oil called VAG longlife 3, and use the longlife oil filter (always genuine audi as there is a relief valve built in) change every 5K or 6 months, always let the car idle for several minutes before turning off.
As for the coolant ALWAYS use the genuine Audi stuff, its G12+ and is a reddy pink colour, never ever mix with normal antifreeze as it can gel and block up waterways, your temp gauge should be at 90 degrees when hot. Not sure what you mean about stewed water? as long as its the correct mix and the temp is good (90 deg) i would not worry. Regards, Rhencullen1989.

[rhencullen1989]

AAh, nearly forgot, i have been recommended using a fully synthetic gearbox oil, REDLINE MTL, its quite dear (£36 for 3 bottles) but is supposed to be very good.:approve:

[A4 TURBO UK]

Hi, and welcome to the Audi forum. First thing is to look at this sludge blocking the oil pick up in the sump issue, just read a few of the posts on here to understand the issues a bit more, CRASHER and a8 TECH are both very very knowledgable guys. I have only learnt myself about the importance of using a good quality fully synthetic oil in the engine although to me a 0w sounds quite thin, Audi actually do a fully synthetic oil called VAG longlife 3, and use the longlife oil filter (always genuine audi as there is a relief valve built in) change every 5K or 6 months, always let the car idle for several minutes before turning off.
As for the coolant ALWAYS use the genuine Audi stuff, its G12+ and is a reddy pink colour, never ever mix with normal antifreeze as it can gel and block up waterways, your temp gauge should be at 90 degrees when hot. Not sure what you mean about stewed water? as long as its the correct mix and the temp is good (90 deg) i would not worry. Regards, Rhencullen1989.

Many thanks for the response rhencullen, what i mean by "Stewed water" is that the water/coolant is getting a bit old and doesnt smell so good.My temp gauge never goes above 90 and water/coolant mix is infact red/pinkish in colour.
On that note other than a dealership were can i purchase this coolant?

I am purchasing oil/air/pollen filters from vagparts.com and unfortunatly i have already purchased the Castrol Edge 0-30w as my handbook says suggests that i use this type of oil VW503.01...at £45 i hope that this is the right oil?

Thanks for the suggestion for the gearbox oil, i appreciate this.

I dont know the technical term for what i am trying to describe but as i look at my engine on the top right hand side there is a breather pipe that is attached to the engine, i have removed this and adjoyning pipes to find that they are gunged up quite bad, i have cleaned them and added more oil gave the car a good hard run(lots of smoke from exhaust) and found that my car is "breathing" alot better.What i mean is if i take my oil cap off there is more air resistance against my hand now?

Sorry if you don't understand me i havent got the years of experience or technical knowlege, and im crap at explianing things, well so my wife says..lol

I think i need to clean/flush out my engine but i have read that crasher says that this could be problematic any other ideas to clean flush the old oil/sludge out?

Boy i can go on,lol many thanks again for the advice as it is greatly appreciated.

J

[rhencullen1989]

Hi again, the G12+ coolant can be obtained from any VAG group, i.e Audi, Seat, Skoda etc, i mixed mine 50/50 with de-ionised water when i changed mine (due to a faulty thermostat) although i do believe this stuff is meant to last the lifetime of the car! As for the oil/gunging problem, like me i cant be bothered with removing the sump pan to check for a blockage, but my car has done 172K and i have owned it since 117K, i change oil every 5K (up till now with VAG quantum semi synthetic) but am now going to go for fully synthetic as CRASHER recommends. All i can say is if your oil light comes on stop the engine IMMEDIATELY, this way you can usually save the engine, then drop the sump and check for a blockage on the pickup filter.The problem is that its not a 5 minute job as the subframe is in the way and needs lowering etc etc. I asked crasher the question recently on engine flushes, check his response on the recent posting by me entitled "1.8T engine sludging". Cheers for now, Rhencullen1989.

[TimmyTim]

Many thanks for the response rhencullen, what i mean by "Stewed water" is that the water/coolant is getting a bit old and doesnt smell so good.My temp gauge never goes above 90 and water/coolant mix is infact red/pinkish in colour.
On that note other than a dealership were can i purchase this coolant?

I am purchasing oil/air/pollen filters from vagparts.com and unfortunatly i have already purchased the Castrol Edge 0-30w as my handbook says suggests that i use this type of oil VW503.01...at £45 i hope that this is the right oil?

Thanks for the suggestion for the gearbox oil, i appreciate this.

I dont know the technical term for what i am trying to describe but as i look at my engine on the top right hand side there is a breather pipe that is attached to the engine, i have removed this and adjoyning pipes to find that they are gunged up quite bad, i have cleaned them and added more oil gave the car a good hard run(lots of smoke from exhaust) and found that my car is "breathing" alot better.What i mean is if i take my oil cap off there is more air resistance against my hand now?

Sorry if you don't understand me i havent got the years of experience or technical knowlege, and im crap at explianing things, well so my wife says..lol

I think i need to clean/flush out my engine but i have read that crasher says that this could be problematic any other ideas to clean flush the old oil/sludge out?

Boy i can go on,lol many thanks again for the advice as it is greatly appreciated.

J


Hi... I'm not an expert on oil but, if you go to Castrol website and type in your reg it'll tell you exactly what oil you need for your car! You can also search by car type!

If you can use Castrol EDGE 5w-30(507 00 which is the latest best spec!so castrol have told me) It is really cheap to by at Costco for £9.97 plus vat for 3x1Ltr...

Hope this hepls:Blush:

On the site it also tells you about the Total base number(TBN) Flash points, pour points etc!