New A6 2.5 TDI owner

[Ant1984]

I am a new A6 owner, its a 2.5 TDI SE avant with 180k on the clock. It has full service history with some of the first service stamps being the long life service which i now know from reading on here is not a good thing. I would never choose to extent the distance between oil changes but hey ho.

I am going to service the car myself as much as possible, i tend to do this on my other car, girlfriends car etc... It is due a service in circa 1k, i am going to follow the guidance at the front of the service schedule document but is there anything over and above this that i should check for? Other than taking the heads off and checking cam wear which i believe is an issue with this model?

What is the best oil for the job with these engines?

Do many people on here service their own car?

All help welcomed.

 

[John C]

Hi Ant1984
Yes I regularly service my / wifes cars & we currently have an A6 2.5TDI Avant Sport and an A4 avant 1.9 TDI. I usually do a 10K oil / filter change and change the air & pollen filter annually - & reset the service indicator. I do all advisories from the MOTs (brake pads /discs etc) and am guided by the service schedule. Cambelt changes are a bit too complicated for me but I try to do most of my repairs myself.

My last A6 TDI got up to 220K - so my servicing cant be too bad - and this 'new' 2nd hand one has only done 78K & has had the cambelt done - but not serviced yet.

The biggest problem, I find, is not having a good service manual. I have tried many times to download & install ELSAWIN on my computer but have never had any success - but I have managed to get a copy of ETKA working which shows the parts in ecploded views (although it does keep looking for updates!!). A useful site I used recently is: http://igorweb.org/equidec/ which allows you to pase in all of your vehicle spec detail codes it decodes them & tells you the spec of your vehicle in english.

John

 

[Ant1984]

Thanks for the reply, ive never done a cambelt on a V6 before but luckily its only 30k into its most recent cambelt change. Which oild do you use, and what do you use to reset the service interval thingy on the dash?

Thanks for the links i will have a look. Is there anything in particular to look out for with the 2.5 engine and do you know how often the glow plugs should be changed?

Sorry for all the questions.

Ant

 

[fjtwelve]

Cams
Fuel pump may be getting a bit tired by now but thats hardly a service item
Crankcase breather filter (does your oil filler cap go pop when you open it? time to change) often not done as awkward to get at
Fuel filter and the associated rubber seals
Air filter on mine was horrible when i got it
Wheel bearings and CV joints but if you haven't got any nasty noises you're ok
MAF same as all VAG diesel engines
EGR valve - keep it clean
Check for split vacumn and intercooler hoses, fuel return hoses from injectors
Lube the wiper motors and spindles
When was the last time the shocks were changed?
Never had a problem with glow plugs
Use Shell Helix. Use the best quality you can, its a very expensive engine to spoil for the want of a few quid on oil

John C - Snap! How many are there of us with this A6 and A4 family?

 

[Ant1984]

Thanks for the info. I'm used to spending £££ on oil for my celica so it won't be too much of a departure on that front.

I always let the oil get to temp before driving on boost in my celica albeit that's a petrol turbo engine but is the same true in the tdi or is it less important?
Cheers

Ant

 

[John C]

Hi Ant
The oil I used is just what Halfords had on their cards for my '98 2.5 TDi on fixed Service intervals - Castrol Magnatec Diesel - which seems a decent oil. I haven't looked yet for my 'new' 03 2.5TDi Sport - but its probably a higher performance Castrol. Brake Pads / discs / & all filters I buy from the GSF shop.

To re-set the service indicator I found the following instructions (possibly on this forum):
1. Turn ignition off.
2. Hold down the RH button on the display & turn ignition on. "Service Oil" will be displayed,
3. Release RH button. Turn LH button right. "- - -" will be displayed.
4. Release LH button.
5. Hold down RH button. "Service INSP" will be displayed.
6. Turn LH button right. "- - -" will be displayed.
7. Release LH button. Turn ignition off.
You should then find that the service interval has gone away.

I sometimes have to do this a few times to get it to work but is does re-set the service indicator.

John

 

[Ant1984]

Thanks for the info John.

Opie oils have a sale on until the weekend so im going to get the oil from there i think along with a few other bits and pieces.

 

[Sam1909]

I had been advised once to use Castrol Edge on mine. I've not serviced it yet (2001 model, 75,000 miles). Which W number of the oil do you use? (ie: 5W30, 10W30, 10W40, etc).

As for glow plugs, just test them regularly. I've 3 down of my 6, but I'm waiting to get a crankcase breather before I change them as you have to strip off the fuel lines and intake manifolds to get to the plugs anyway.

EDIT: Also meant to add, another thing to watch out for is the fan-belt pulley on the alternator. I've not had to replace it on mine yet but I've seen the bearings go in them on every car I've ever had, including the 1.9 version of this car.

 

[Ant1984]

OK i will add the pulley to my list of things to check.

I think it says the oil viscosity at the beginning of the service schedule book but i cant remember off hand, i will check. Also it has to conform to Audis oil numbering as well depending if it is a PS engine or not, i think im correct in saying that anyway.

 

[Ant1984]

Cams
Fuel pump may be getting a bit tired by now but thats hardly a service item
Crankcase breather filter (does your oil filler cap go pop when you open it? time to change) often not done as awkward to get at
Fuel filter and the associated rubber seals
Air filter on mine was horrible when i got it
Wheel bearings and CV joints but if you haven't got any nasty noises you're ok
MAF same as all VAG diesel engines
EGR valve - keep it clean
Check for split vacumn and intercooler hoses, fuel return hoses from injectors
Lube the wiper motors and spindles
When was the last time the shocks were changed?
Never had a problem with glow plugs
Use Shell Helix. Use the best quality you can, its a very expensive engine to spoil for the want of a few quid on oil

John C - Snap! How many are there of us with this A6 and A4 family?

I was just reading back through this, where is the EGR valve located, and should i replace the MAF as a metter of course with this sort of mileage?

Cheers

Ant

 

[fjtwelve]

To find out where things are look at http://www.vagcat.com/. There are diagrams for most things, just be careful about looking at the right model variant of which there are many
MAF - generally you'll know if its knackered by the lack of performance. Easy test is to disconnect it and see if the engine runs differently. If it gets worse, the MAF is probably alright, if it makes no difference it could be knackered. This is not a 100% test as other failing parts can give similar symptoms. A good clean with brake cleaner eg Halfords will not do any harm

 

[Ant1984]

Thanks, i will have a look.