This is just an FYI for any VW owners who haven't attempted a change on their vehicles or anyone considering a VW purchase in the future.
My wife and I bought a 2006 Golf 2.0L SOHC 8 valve (BEV engine code) last September. It was "new" when we bought it with 500mi on the odometer. We got it for a steal (the price a used 2005 with 25K mi on the odo). The dealership was simply looking to unload it as quickly as possible becuase the Rabbits were out and had replaced the Golf in VWs lineup. It came with nearly all the bells and whistles... heated seats, sunroof, premium sound system, heated mirrors. The only thing it lacks is the 5 speed triptronic auto-trans. It only has the 4 speed.
Yesterday was the first oil change I attempted on the Golf having had the last 2 done at the dealership to the tune of $70.
First things first. The 2006 Golf we have is an odd-ball seeing as that production of the Golfs ceased midway through the 06 model year becuase of the introduction of the Rabbit. This means that the maintenance parts listed my not actually be what the vehicle is equipped with.
The biggest oddball is the oil filter. Searching online and in the parts stores will return one of two fliters. A cartridge based replacement and a spin on. Parts are listed incorrectly for this vehilce from all major filter manufacturers including Mann Hummel, Mahle, Purolator, and Wix. Wix is very confusing but attempts to cross reference OEM part numbers finally resulted in a correct filter for the vehilce. The vehicle uses a spin on filter. I went with the M1-205 as it was part of a oil/filter package deal at Advance Auto Parts.
Other correct part numbers for other filter suppliers include:
Mann - w719/30 oil, c 37 153 air
Wix - 51393 oil, 42472 air
Purolator - L20252 oil, air (don't have the number but they make a decent one for the car)
As for the acutal oil change you will need the following:
-ramps, a jack won't get the car high enough
-8mm allen wrench (socket type) for the oil plug
-torx bit to remove front undercarriage guard (can't remember the size but it is a common smaller size in all torx sets)
-new copper crush washer for plug
Oddities include:
-No maintenance proceedures are in the manual at all
-Car has a cabin air filter but no mention of it in the manual. It is located on the passenger side under the hood near the wipers. Remove 4 screws, pull up the rubber trim at the top of the engine compartment and pull out the filter cover. The filter is seated in a mounting cage that has two clips that front.
What really irriated me... the oil plug. Not only does it use a goofy sized allen wrench to remove it, but it has a permanent copper crush washer. What to I mean by permanent? The washer is somehow fitted at the factory that makes the plugs so that its inside diameter is smaller than the threads on the plug making it impossible to remove by just sliding or screwing it off the threads. My guess is that they use some sort of heating method to expand the copper gasket just enough to get it over the threads. VW expects you to buy a new plug costing anywere from 2 to $4 depending on the source at every oil change... and no parts store carries the proper plug.
The solution is simple. Go buy a pack of copper crush washers that will barely slip over the threads. Next take a side cutter, tin snips or whatever you have handy and attempt to cut the ring off. Since there isn't enough room to really get good cutting pressure on the crush washer you'll most likely end up doing what I did. Scoring the washer with the cutters and then using a pair of needle nose vice-grips to twist the washer back and forth at the scroe point until it breaks and then can be peeled off the plug.
Beyond these oddities, everything else about the oil change is "normal" proceedure.
As a side note, there are only two commonly available oils that meet the VW specs for use in this engine. Castrol Syntec 5w40 and Mobil 1 0w40. I chose the Mobil1 as it was part of a filter and oil package deal. You could probably get away with any decent A3 rated oil, but the Mobil1 and Castrol are specifically approved by VW. The approval among other things is based on the extended drain capability of the oil which in this engine calls for 10k mi changes. Other non-approved oils, I would be comfortable using at 5K mi OCI.
My wife and I bought a 2006 Golf 2.0L SOHC 8 valve (BEV engine code) last September. It was "new" when we bought it with 500mi on the odometer. We got it for a steal (the price a used 2005 with 25K mi on the odo). The dealership was simply looking to unload it as quickly as possible becuase the Rabbits were out and had replaced the Golf in VWs lineup. It came with nearly all the bells and whistles... heated seats, sunroof, premium sound system, heated mirrors. The only thing it lacks is the 5 speed triptronic auto-trans. It only has the 4 speed.
Yesterday was the first oil change I attempted on the Golf having had the last 2 done at the dealership to the tune of $70.
First things first. The 2006 Golf we have is an odd-ball seeing as that production of the Golfs ceased midway through the 06 model year becuase of the introduction of the Rabbit. This means that the maintenance parts listed my not actually be what the vehicle is equipped with.
The biggest oddball is the oil filter. Searching online and in the parts stores will return one of two fliters. A cartridge based replacement and a spin on. Parts are listed incorrectly for this vehilce from all major filter manufacturers including Mann Hummel, Mahle, Purolator, and Wix. Wix is very confusing but attempts to cross reference OEM part numbers finally resulted in a correct filter for the vehilce. The vehicle uses a spin on filter. I went with the M1-205 as it was part of a oil/filter package deal at Advance Auto Parts.
Other correct part numbers for other filter suppliers include:
Mann - w719/30 oil, c 37 153 air
Wix - 51393 oil, 42472 air
Purolator - L20252 oil, air (don't have the number but they make a decent one for the car)
As for the acutal oil change you will need the following:
-ramps, a jack won't get the car high enough
-8mm allen wrench (socket type) for the oil plug
-torx bit to remove front undercarriage guard (can't remember the size but it is a common smaller size in all torx sets)
-new copper crush washer for plug
Oddities include:
-No maintenance proceedures are in the manual at all
-Car has a cabin air filter but no mention of it in the manual. It is located on the passenger side under the hood near the wipers. Remove 4 screws, pull up the rubber trim at the top of the engine compartment and pull out the filter cover. The filter is seated in a mounting cage that has two clips that front.
What really irriated me... the oil plug. Not only does it use a goofy sized allen wrench to remove it, but it has a permanent copper crush washer. What to I mean by permanent? The washer is somehow fitted at the factory that makes the plugs so that its inside diameter is smaller than the threads on the plug making it impossible to remove by just sliding or screwing it off the threads. My guess is that they use some sort of heating method to expand the copper gasket just enough to get it over the threads. VW expects you to buy a new plug costing anywere from 2 to $4 depending on the source at every oil change... and no parts store carries the proper plug.
The solution is simple. Go buy a pack of copper crush washers that will barely slip over the threads. Next take a side cutter, tin snips or whatever you have handy and attempt to cut the ring off. Since there isn't enough room to really get good cutting pressure on the crush washer you'll most likely end up doing what I did. Scoring the washer with the cutters and then using a pair of needle nose vice-grips to twist the washer back and forth at the scroe point until it breaks and then can be peeled off the plug.
Beyond these oddities, everything else about the oil change is "normal" proceedure.
As a side note, there are only two commonly available oils that meet the VW specs for use in this engine. Castrol Syntec 5w40 and Mobil 1 0w40. I chose the Mobil1 as it was part of a filter and oil package deal. You could probably get away with any decent A3 rated oil, but the Mobil1 and Castrol are specifically approved by VW. The approval among other things is based on the extended drain capability of the oil which in this engine calls for 10k mi changes. Other non-approved oils, I would be comfortable using at 5K mi OCI.
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