Change oil without filter change?

[Audi Junkie]

Did it to my car today and to my woman's car a while ago. I'm thinking the oil has 3000 miles on it (Delvac 1300S) and since I am using the exact same brand of oil for another 3000 until I go back to GC, why not drain and fill at a cost of $8? Other than a spit of old oil, why not do this? It's better than not changing and I'm sure my Puralator filter is fine out to 6000 total miles.
My car usually has a lower cowl that has to be removed for filter change. No issue now, I left it off, but I was thinking of cutting a drain plug hole in it that will let me drain the oil without removal. The plan is to leave my Mann filter on for 2x changes of GC. The filter itself says 30,000 miles right on it, how often should I change the GC? I went 11k/6mo on it before with filter change, what sould I go with alternating filter changes, 8000mi? Bad idea?

 

[Ugly3]

My manual says to change the oil every 7,500 miles and the filter every 15,000 miles. Doubt you are in any danger changing the filter every 6,000 miles.

I would change the GC every 10,0000 miles and the filter at 20,000 miles. Do a UOA at 20,000 miles just to be sure all is well with this program.

I have run 10,0000 to 15,000 miles on 5w30 Mobil 1 and a Purolator Pure One filter with no problem. No sludge, no varnish, no nothing.

 

[2004 F150 4x4]

I think Ugly3 means 10,000 not 10,0000

 

[Audi Junkie]

6000 on the Purolator is no biggie. As far as the past, I felt bad about going 11k/6months with filter change. I am trying to improve on that now. I have a lot of GC, but don't want to do a filter everytime because of the lower cowl. I could try 3x a year on the oil with every other filter. That would mean going about 15k on the filter rather than 10k. 50% of it's rated capacity seems reasonable. It was kinda easy keep track of the 6 month interval, but I can do it 3x around Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's and 4th of July. Last spring, I got a little spooked when I found the dealer's filter to be corroded around the base after ONE month. Hmm, would they possibly not change the filter after charging me?. I am all over that now and will mark the filters. Been doing my own changes w/o the cowl but now I just got a new timing belt and want to reinstall the cowl to protect it. Not crawling under the car to wrestle with the cowl in freezing cold is a plus.

[ September 24, 2004, 01:05 AM: Message edited by: Audi Junkie ]

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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The plan is to leave my Mann filter on for 2x changes of GC. The filter itself says 30,000 miles right on it, how often should I change the GC? I went 11k/6mo on it before with filter change, what sould I go with alternating filter changes, 8000mi? Bad idea?

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I don't think you'll have a problem. Years ago, on my Scirocco, the filter was changed only every other oil change with no problems. Filters and oil are better now.

 

[ediamiam]

I only change filters every other oil change myself. The Nissan Frontier normal use interval is 7500 miles, but I like to change about every 3333. Same for the passenger car.

 

[Shannow]

I generally change the filter with the oil.

But if I end up with low mileage, and changing the oil on time alone (like having more cars than people to drive them), I'll do the oil and leave the filter.

 

[Quattro Pete]

quote:

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Originally posted by Audi Junkie:
The filter itself says 30,000 miles right on it,

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I believe it says 30,000 km.

 

[Spector]

A year or so ago I did my own filter study, one run of 12,000 miles with a filter change at 6000 miles or so and the second run of 12,000 with the same filter, oil was not changed in either run at the half way point. The UOA was basically the same.

Some would say you are not getting out all of the old oil by not changing the filter etc. There is always some old oil caputured in the engine anyway, basically, IMO it does not make a hill of beans difference in anything if you keep that filter on there for two oil changes.

 

[Pablo]

At relatively short OCI's, probably not a biggie, but with 10K miles OCI's...I just change the filter(s) when I dump the oil. I'm one that likes all the oldness out and Motorcraft filters are cheap!

 

[Al]

I can't prove not changing the filter is bad. But for me (as I have said before) .. Not changing filter is like changing a poopy baby's diaper without wiping off the butt (and I have done lots of that

). Just go with SuperTech Filters for 2 bucks and change them out.

 

[poison]

Audi Junkie, I hate that f**king cowl under the Passat. I'm sure it is similar to yours. Weird *** funky screws/pins and a bolt, must be about 8-10 of those suckers.

 

[williar]

Yeah, the R&R of the VW/Audi shroud, as on many other cars, is a real PITA, esp. the first couple times you do it. That's why my Audi's oil only gets changed by me or the dealer (under warranty). When I ran M1 0w30 I didn't feel comfortable with a 10K OCI, so I changed the oil-only at 5K miles; sames as when the dealer dumped M1 5w30 in by mistake. Not wanting to change the oil/filter any more than necessary is one reason why I use either GC or M1 0w40, both BMW-LL-01 (long-life) rated. Filter is always changed at 10K miles; so far it has been done by the dealer under warranty (covers all maintenance).

 

[Bamaro]

I've always thought about doing that and if my filters were hard to get to I probably would. But at $2/filter and easy to reach, I change them each time.

 

[poison]

Replacement fasteners? Group buy? **** , no. Twist ties and duct tape for me

.

I left the nut off the bolt, and the two plastic jobbers off the left wheel well insert. I don't have time for that junk.

I love my Subie! Everything right there, clearly marked, easy to reach. **** , a buddy of mine switched springs on my Impreza in 45 minutes. All 4

! It took him seven hours on his buddies Passat. **** Germans!

 

[Audi Junkie]

Pete, what would I do without you? It does say 30,000km/2 years.

The 2 year thing is what confused me. Ok, do they change the filters with Audi Variable Service? Probally not, and they claim 22k miles on the low HT/HS SLX-II. So, 30,000km is what, like 19k miles?

I know everyone is bored already, let's do some math.

Old Method, 2x a year at dealer:
13q @ $4 = $52 + $35 x 2 for service equals $122/yr

New Method, 3x a year oil alternating with dealer and skiping filters.
19q @ $4 = $76 + $70 x .666 for service every 8 months ($46) = $122/yr

So, same cost!

Do you guys think the 3x method with alternating DIY oil-only is much better? I think so, plus all my GC is already purchased.

 

[Audi Junkie]

If you hate the cowl, wait until you purchase some replacment fasteners for it. Guys on AudiWorld actually had a group buy on them! I don't want to quote a price and be wrong, just say they are overpriced. This summer, I left it off to do ARX and some extra Delvac changes, but now that my new timing belt went on, so does the cowl.

 

[Audi Junkie]

BTW- filters cost $15 at the dealer for me and BYO is not encouraged. (although they have lately asked if I did BYO filter) I BYO oil, bad enough. Labour is $20, that plus another $15 is a real incentive to skip a filter change. This new plan has me pleased. I believe this plan makes for better oil service at the same cost as the 6 month dealer-only plan with just a DIY drain for me every 8 months, no problem.

The tradeoff for draining myself is less visits to the waiting room at the dealer. They do it while-I wait, kinda nice.

quote:

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Filter is always changed at 10K miles

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Yeah willar, alternating with the dealer at 5k is a good plan for guys under warranty. I can push my intervals longer, but I see no problems for you if you keep the same oil brand for all 10k. What about cutting a drain hole in the shroud?

quote:

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*** Germans!

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Springs on a B5 chassis is under 2 hours.

[ September 26, 2004, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: Audi Junkie ]

 

[newtoncd8]

Yeah, I hate the underbelly on the A4. I just recently put on a fumoto valve and when it is time to change the oil, I simply attach a 2 foot, 1/2 diameter hose to the valve and open it up. I change the oil (GC 0W30) every 5K and the filter every 10K. Only have 48K on it right now.

I have been using a pump to get the oil out and that has been pretty easy also.

I would love to put some type of access panel right underneath the oil filter/drain plug to make oil changes easier. I have to believe there is a market for this type of device.

[ September 25, 2004, 11:54 PM: Message edited by: Curtis Newton ]

 

[Audi Junkie]

Do you mean a hindged door? Sounds good, I have my shroud right here. I was just thinking a hole tho. Maybe I could cut the door, hinge one side with zip-ties and put a single zip-tie on the "lock" side that I cut off for DIY.

Is there a Suredrain that fits?

PS I drive over 20k a year, so I do need to tweak my oil service. >10k on any oil is pushing it.

[ September 25, 2004, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: Audi Junkie ]