2003 audi a4 1.8

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Wheel366
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: Wheel366
I got MANN filters from Rockauto for about $5 a piece including shipping however I did order a case of 10.

As for Oil, use a 502.00/505.00 oil to play it safe. Most common and easy to get is M1 0W-40. I use Amsoil Mid SAPS 5W-40 but will be switching to the new High SAPS 5W-40 to give it a try soon. It is ~ $2.00/qt cheaper. I have used M1, Total 0W-30 (discontinued) and Shell T6 and all seemed to be ok. No noticeable change in engine noise or mileage. I did not do an UOA. I bought the car with 125k miles. The only thing I did oil wise was an engine flush when I first got it. I have 160k miles now.



For that engine Mid-SAPS is not necessary.
GC works best if you ask me if car is not consuming any oil.
When I was living with my roomate, she had 1.8T 2001. I put in GC, it burned a qt in 1k. I put T6 and burned maybe 1-2qt in 5K.
T6 is one of the good oils, but I would use GC if everything is OK with engine.


Yeah, I know but at the time the only oil that Amsoil recommended and had available for that car was the AFL which was Mid SAPS. Now that they have the full SAPS I am going to try that. I am a preferred customer so I get 20 - 25% off. I used it once in both my S4 and A4. Had no issues that I know of however with the S I'm lucky if I put 1000 miles before I change the oil that is how infrequently I change the oil. GC isn't easy to come buy unless I run around looking for it here. With Amsoil, I can go online, place my order and go.

You have GC in Auto Zone as well as on Amazon etc.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Wheel366
Originally Posted By: a2gtinut
my Dad has 1.8t with over 200k and no sludge. Problem was people using cheap oil for oil and not not changing it. I know that some people lease cars and don't bother with changing oil since they will get new car in two years.


That was part of the problem but also Audi recommended a 10k mile oil change with a really small filter. They later changed to a filter that was at least twice as big and a 5k oil change.

There is much more to that.
In the U.S. drivers want 10 minute oil change. VW tried to please average American driver that wants big cup holders for big soda drink and burger. That was BIG deal with Passat B5 (1996-2001) where Motor Trend said that biggest problem with that car are cup holders. That is where problems started. You cannot put $19.99 oil in that engine, but a lot of people wanted that. Things changed a little, but still when you talk to average American driver they will tell you: Europeans are complicated to maintain. Most of drivers want simplicity of Camry or Altima. That is why VW in the beginning for that engine recommended any oil. In Europe on other hand, it was ALWAYS recommended ONLY synthetic 5W40 oil or any oil that meets VW 502.00.
That changed in the U.S. in 2001.

 

[Wheel366]

Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: Wheel366
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: Wheel366
I got MANN filters from Rockauto for about $5 a piece including shipping however I did order a case of 10.

As for Oil, use a 502.00/505.00 oil to play it safe. Most common and easy to get is M1 0W-40. I use Amsoil Mid SAPS 5W-40 but will be switching to the new High SAPS 5W-40 to give it a try soon. It is ~ $2.00/qt cheaper. I have used M1, Total 0W-30 (discontinued) and Shell T6 and all seemed to be ok. No noticeable change in engine noise or mileage. I did not do an UOA. I bought the car with 125k miles. The only thing I did oil wise was an engine flush when I first got it. I have 160k miles now.



For that engine Mid-SAPS is not necessary.
GC works best if you ask me if car is not consuming any oil.
When I was living with my roomate, she had 1.8T 2001. I put in GC, it burned a qt in 1k. I put T6 and burned maybe 1-2qt in 5K.
T6 is one of the good oils, but I would use GC if everything is OK with engine.


Yeah, I know but at the time the only oil that Amsoil recommended and had available for that car was the AFL which was Mid SAPS. Now that they have the full SAPS I am going to try that. I am a preferred customer so I get 20 - 25% off. I used it once in both my S4 and A4. Had no issues that I know of however with the S I'm lucky if I put 1000 miles before I change the oil that is how infrequently I change the oil. GC isn't easy to come buy unless I run around looking for it here. With Amsoil, I can go online, place my order and go.

You have GC in Auto Zone as well as on Amazon etc.


Last time I was at either Autozone by me neither had them.

 

[Wheel366]

Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: Wheel366
Originally Posted By: a2gtinut
my Dad has 1.8t with over 200k and no sludge. Problem was people using cheap oil for oil and not not changing it. I know that some people lease cars and don't bother with changing oil since they will get new car in two years.


That was part of the problem but also Audi recommended a 10k mile oil change with a really small filter. They later changed to a filter that was at least twice as big and a 5k oil change.

There is much more to that.
In the U.S. drivers want 10 minute oil change. VW tried to please average American driver that wants big cup holders for big soda drink and burger. That was BIG deal with Passat B5 (1996-2001) where Motor Trend said that biggest problem with that car are cup holders. That is where problems started. You cannot put $19.99 oil in that engine, but a lot of people wanted that. Things changed a little, but still when you talk to average American driver they will tell you: Europeans are complicated to maintain. Most of drivers want simplicity of Camry or Altima. That is why VW in the beginning for that engine recommended any oil. In Europe on other hand, it was ALWAYS recommended ONLY synthetic 5W40 oil or any oil that meets VW 502.00.
That changed in the U.S. in 2001.

I didn't know that. I was going by the letter that I received after I got my 2004 A4 that stated that Audi changed the filter size and interval. Don't remember when I got the letter. I received no such letter for my 2001 S4. But I have always changed the oil in the car at 5k or 6 months, whichever came first. Plus in my S4 I put a second oil cooler in after having my primary oil cooler crack.

I have always used Synthetic oil in my Audi's and my pathfinder when I had it. So, sludge wasn't an issue with me, at least not to my knowledge.

 

[edyvw]

Well yeah, but European and American markets are different. VW tried to please customers here. I had friend who was taking his A4 to those 10min oil changes. I told him that that is not going to work, he was like: well oil is oil. At 80K there was sludge bomb, but then he blamed poor engineering of Audi not his choices. Go figure!

 

[Wheel366]

Originally Posted By: edyvw
Well yeah, but European and American markets are different. VW tried to please customers here. I had friend who was taking his A4 to those 10min oil changes. I told him that that is not going to work, he was like: well oil is oil. At 80K there was sludge bomb, but then he blamed poor engineering of Audi not his choices. Go figure!


I agree and disagree. If there wasn't a problem in the first place Audi would not have revised the size of the filter and changed the OCI from 10k to 5k.

However, I do agree that not using the correct oil is the fault of the owner and or shop! The times I had someone else change my oil when I couldn't I always provided them with the filter and oil so I knew what was going in there.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Wheel366
However, I do agree that not using the correct oil is the fault of the owner and or shop!

At one point, it was the fault of AoA/VoA - things got lost in translation. European owner manuals called for ACEA A3/B4 or VW 502.00 oil, which by default meant some kind of synthetic. US owner manuals only mentioned API SJ and did not specify that it had to be synthetic. This combined with extended drain intervals led to disaster, as neither the dealerships nor the owners were using the proper oil.

Mercedes also faced something similar in the 90s when they switched their cars to variable OCI based on OLM, but did not clearly specify oil quality. There was a lawsuit as a result, IIRC.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Mercedes lost a class-action lawsuit in 2000 for not clearly specified synthetic oil was needed for engines with OLM (Mercedes calls that FSS). Some drivers used conventional oil up to 15-18k miles and sludge destroyed the engine after some long OCI's.

 

[ac_tc]

They dont stand a 10kmile oci, many of these engines
failed with a sludge oilpump strainer in sweden despite using the right oil.
Follow the 5k oci and they last much better.

 

[dbrowne1]

Originally Posted By: Reg# 43897
GC! Or maybe T6, but all I ran in my 2000 1.8T Jetta was GC. The longitudinal 1.8T's have a greatly reduced oil capacity versus their transverse brethern... Get a big filter, used to use a HUGE Napa Gold can for it. Forget the number right now. GC made a real difference in the perceived NVH & -30C cold starts (no block heater!). USed to use the green GC. Can still smell it...

John.


I would not use T6 in these engines. It's not that T6 is a "bad" oil, but I had a measurable decline in MPG and a noticeable (though admittedly subjective) sluggishness in engine response with T6 versus GC, in my 1.8T Audi. Mine also developed a bad valve cover gasket leak during my OCI with T6, though that certainly could have been coincidence.

Same issues, to a slightly lesser extent, with using M1 TDT 5W40. The issue with these HD diesel oils is that, at operating temperature, they're actually well above "optimal" viscosity for these engines. More/higher isn't better. GC is just right.

The "big kahuna" oil filter from NAPA is fine as well, but not really necessary if you're using a quality 502.00 oil on a 5K OCI.

 

[dbrowne1]

Originally Posted By: ac_tc
They dont stand a 10kmile oci, many of these engines
failed with a sludge oilpump strainer in sweden despite using the right oil.
Follow the 5k oci and they last much better.


That is the most important part, right there.