Dumped my GC at 5500 mi for M1 0w-40 because WalMart changes oil for a cheap $5...

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Totally out of convenience, I dumped the GC out of my mother-in-laws A6 and went for the really cheap service at Wal*Mart. For $30 they give you 5 quarts of your choice of synthetic and a Fram/SuperTech filter change. Fortunately, they don't list a filter for this car so I just bring my own Bosch Premium. That is basicly $25 worth of oil, changed for another $5! I really went for tire rotation at a reasonable $1.50 each and the oil service was tempting enough to do it. 5 quarts of Mobil 1 0w-40 is included and I topped off myself with some M1 10w-30 I had laying around. A good deal, they even credited me $2 for byo filter. The Mobil seemed really thick compared to the Syntec, less power but very quiet and smooth. I was interested in keeping ester oil in there to help with seals at 105,000 miles. We are set for 6 months, I will probaly do the June change myself. I could have run the GC out until May-June, but I don't need to push to 10,000 miles OCI and have worse consumption when Wal*Mart is so cheap.
 
you let Wal-Mart high school kids change the oil on an Audi? Wow, you're a braver man than I!
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That tire rotation might not seem like such a great deal if they used an air impact wrench and overtorqued your lug nuts. Hopefully you won't end up with four warped brake rotors.
 
quote:

used an air impact wrench

Yes, but with a torque stick. I've said before, my car gets dealer service, but I'll cut corners to get the job done on other people's cars, especially when it is this cold out. Wal*Mart guys do the work right in front of you, the same dudes everytime. They do not waste your time there either, I was ready in about 25 minutes, enough time for some quick shopping.
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Having a wide choice of oils is cool too. In this case, 0w-40 fit the bill for cold, heavy, ester, synth. Done.
quote:

Cheap is as cheap does

I can't think of any place that gives good fast service and an oil selection like this at any price. Would it have been better somehow if they charged more?
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It's better than sitting home stroking my 3 cans of Amsoil for $30.

[ December 15, 2003, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: TSoA ]
 
Take it to them, then retorque the lugnuts yourself. I always check them anyways. I do not know of anyone who consistantly does it right. Have you checked the torque after the use of a torquestick?

richard

[ December 15, 2003, 11:03 PM: Message edited by: fields ]
 
Tsoa

quote:

In this case, 0w-40 fit the bill for cold, heavy, ester, synth. Done.

I thought you were pro GC and hated Mobil 1 0W-40
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You said Mobil 1 is a thin 40W. So Mobil 1 0W-40 is good enough for the A6, but not for your A4
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quote:

It's better than sitting home stroking my 3 cans of Amsoil for $30.

Not sure where you got that figure, but I figure I've seen enough stripped drain plugs, overtightend bung plugs, wrongly installed filters (or just wrong filters), some other oil used and other non-oil change related damaged car parts busted by "cheap" places, that I thought I'd warn you. But you seem happy, and snappy, so let it drop, bud.
 
I once took my car to the VW dealership to get my complimentary free oil change since it was still under warranty. I gave them a six pack case of Mobil 1 to use instead of the cheap house brand. After about 45 minutes of waiting, I paid, and was about to leave. I wasn't going to ask if there was any bottles of M1 left since the VR6 takes nearly six quarts of oil. But then I changed my mind to ask if there was any M1 left over. Lo and behold the whole **** case was still lying on the garage floor.
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They just stuck the house brand in, and I guess the mecahnic was going to keep the Mobil 1 for himself.
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From that day I will only do my own oil changes.
 
A torque stick is used with an air wrench to provide a specific torque. You can choose a 100 lb. torque stick, for example. They come in different bright colors so those drop outs can even tell the 100 lb from the 400 lb. What ever primary colors are shown, it still does no good but to make the unsuspecting car owner feel secure.
 
A torque stick is a poor substitute for proper torquing with a torque wrench. You should see how my former tire shop chewed up all wheel bolts on my car by using a torque stick on the impact wrench. They call that "hand-torqued." Needless to say I'm going elsewhere now.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Ferrari:
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, but are torque sticks accurate? I'll get an impact gun for Christmas, and I was thinking of getting either a 100 ft/lbs torque stick for my lugnuts, or getting a 60 ft/lbs one for securing the lugnuts, and then using a torque wrench to finish the job. Which would be better?


They are "accurate", but you can still screw up just like you can screw up with a "clicker" style torque wrench. Leave the air gun banging away on the nut and stick or no, you'll have an overtightened nut. Skip the stick and just run them down with an air wrench until they are snug, then use a torque wrench to set the final torque.

I no longer allow the minimum wage drones to change tires for me. I've had to replace 3 studs on two different vehicles now because the nuts were cross threaded. One was a Ford factory lock nut that had to be taken off with a chisel, one little sliver at a time...
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quote:

I gave them a six-pack of Mobil 1 to use

...you forgot to tell them to use it...in YOUR car!
I appreciate this, but I think of Audi dealers with a racing backround like Champion Audi and Al Holbert Audi, would those guys steal some Mobil 1, doubt it.


quote:

I've seen enough stripped drain plugs, overtightend etc...

No doubt that can happen anywhere, at any priced service. In fact, last time the A6 was at Wal*Mart for oil, they pointed out how tight the DEALER had tightend the drain and filter, this was after I had asked the dealer not to over-tighten at the last change. So, there is some method to my madness. I can do oil service on it myself now if W*M did not over-tighten, problem solved.

It seems like some of you guys have had bad experiences, the missing Mobil 1 for example. I can't vouch for other service places, but the ones I use are pretty good. Tires mounted on new wheels- no scratches, oil change done, no misakes and it seems really rare for oil to be stolen. I watched them pour the M1 into my car, probally five minutes after pulling into the garage and ten minutes after arriving. To somehow find fault in a perfectly fine service is disturbing. I understand the "do it yourself, right" mentality, but some of the obsessive behavior described on the board...frequent checking levels and changes, paranoia about service techs and "oil thieves" borders on comical tragedy.

[ December 16, 2003, 07:38 PM: Message edited by: TSoA ]
 
quote:

Originally posted by TSoA:

quote:

I gave them a six-pack of Mobil 1 to use

...you forgot to tell them to use it...in YOUR car!
I appreciate this, but I think of Audi dealers with a racing backround like Champion Audi and Al Holbert Audi, would those guys steal some Mobil 1, doubt it.


Yeah sure. "Here is six pack of Mobil 1, please empty its contents in the gentleman's car standing behind me." The Mobil 1 was in the same bay as my car. Not 6 bays down. And I'm sure all the hundreds of dealers model themselves after Champion and Al Holbert Audi.
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Even the dealerships do this! I took my new truck in for warranty on a door rattle at 750 miles. I figured, while I'm there, just get the oil changed with factory dino oil/filter for $20. So, they did, or I thought they did.

When I changed the oil/filter myself at 3000 miles with Mobil 1 SS, I could not get the oil filter off with anything. It was nearly sealed on the engine and I had to punch a hole through it with a large screw driver to torque it off. Needless to say it was the original filter from the factory! They didn't change the filter and I seriously doubt they changed the oil. They most likely figured at 750 miles with a new truck, this guy won't know the difference! A year later, I wouldn't let those aXXclowns wash my windows.

Now, I change ALL my fluids including the diffs, trans, etc.
 
quote:

Needless to say it was the original filter from the factory!

...are you sure ? Dealers put those filter thingys on pretty tight too. Maybe they just changed the oil and not the filter? It's a shame you guys don't trust your dealer. My oil is clean and green after it is dealer changed, and a fraction of a leftover quart of my byo GC is sitting on the car floor for me, not even an overfill.
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Thinking about it, I remember the tire guy at W*M walking around the car with a torque wrench, I think they use both. I don't own a torque wrench, after loosening the lugs from my Bosch mechanic and the Audi dealer so many times, I know how tight is correct and approximate it myself. 90 lbs, one foot from the center, easy.
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quote:

former tire shop chewed up all wheel bolts on my car

Maybe they did not want to bother with the 17mm socket and used the 11/32 instead. If that is the case, the damage has nothing to do with the torque stick.

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took my car to the VW dealership to get my complimentary free oil change After about 45 minutes of waiting, I paid, Lo and behold the whole **** case was still lying on the garage floor

If it was complimentary, why did you pay? Anyway, did you recover the full case or just assume it was a full case sitting there because all the empties were put away neatly? That sounds more likely to me, a neatly run shop.
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Perhaps the techs were doing you a favour and not putting that watery Mobil 1 junk in and opted for what the manual calls for, a 15w-40, HDEO in most cases.

[ December 16, 2003, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: TSoA ]
 
offtopic.gif
, but are torque sticks accurate? I'll get an impact gun for Christmas, and I was thinking of getting either a 100 ft/lbs torque stick for my lugnuts, or getting a 60 ft/lbs one for securing the lugnuts, and then using a torque wrench to finish the job. Which would be better?
 
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