Scared about Engine Sludge

Seifer780

Seifer780

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I'm interested in buying my friends 2003 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T 5-Speed perfect condition, 85,000 miles for about $9,000, perfect condition. I've been doing some research, and I'm now extremely nervous about buying it because I'm reading multiple multiple complains about the oiling system.

I'm reading that it develops engine sludge extremely easily and ruins the engine. This really scares me and I'm wondering what precautions should be taken to avoid this seemingly almost unavoidable clockwork. I love the car, but I don't want to have an anchor and am now wondering if the engine will last as long as my Ford Tempo with 200,000 miles and great engine.

I'm thinking that Seafoaming the oiling, fuel, and vaccuum system every now and then (20, 30k) should help keep the sludge away. Who has any suggestions as on what to do to avoid the catastrophe?
 
this happen to me, i had to have my engine rebuilt. best thing to do (in my opinion) is change the oil and filter regularly, every 5k or so. that way u have clean oil and hopefully the sludge wont build up.
 
I suffered the Big Bang due to sludge but my new one I got in straight away for a New Oil pump, a good flush & a new Pick up pipe. If I buy any more audi's in my lifetime then they will be getting this "precaution" done everytime. Noway do I want to go down that bumpy road again.

I suggest you go ahead, get the car and just get it in for a Service and have the Pump/pipe done and some Decent oil. You will be fine after that!!
 
dont use mineral oil, just fully synthetic. The turbo cooks mineral oil as it passes thru the bearings and it turns to treacle. :)
 
Yeah, I'm going to use Valvoline Full Synthetic 10W-30. Idk if it calls for 5w but 5w will so not hold up!! It's just too thin.

Seafoam works good on these cars, yeah?
 
audi upgrades
its meant to be 0w-40 synth but if its warmer where you are, maybe different.

Im in Scotland, and most of us on here are in the UK so never used seafoam mate, sorry. Ive seen american lads use it on youtube but we tend not to use additives much over here.
 
They might not have Seafoam over there, but it is a petroleum product so it is completely safe to use!! It can be used as a fuel additive, into the oil as a crankcase cleaner, or a combustion cleaner (through the brake booster line).

http://www.audigeeks.com/forums/index.php?topic=1185.0;wap2

Here is a post regarding the very procedure on an A4.


I spoke to my friend about my fear, and he told me that the car had been retrofitted with parts from Audi to make it less susceptible to engine sludge. Was there an oiling system in the future Audi's that were less prone to the deadly disease??
 
not that I know of, and I have read thousands of posts on this issue mate.

Ask him what the parts were because we would all like to know.

I havent seen seafoam on sale here but might look into it, cheers :)
 
the 5w rating tells you nothing about how thin the oil is, as that number only matters when the motor is cold.

You want 0w or 5w oil for maximum protection when the motor is cold.

The Longlife servicing scheme uses 30weight oil (usually 5w30) so its safe to stick with that, though if you live in a hot area you might want to switch to 40weight as it holds up better to the higher temps, especially in a turbocharged engine.

I run 5w40, and i'd recommend 0w or 5w40 to anyone with a 1.8T.

Good quality synthetic oil changed every 5k is plenty, 3k is a bit wasteful, especially with fully synth oil.
 
Here's a question. Anyone with the 1.8T gone through driving without oil sludge problem for over 160,000 miles??
 
Ours is on 180k miles, Original engine, Original Oil Pump.

The engine IS showing signs of wear though; if left idling for more than about 5 minutes once fully up to temperature, with the oil level below about half way on the dipstick, the lifters start to tick, presumably from the oil pressure dropping a little, I've never seen the pressure warning light though.

Whether this was due to neglect by some previous owner, or is just the result of a 180k mile old oil pump i'm not sure. The oil was a bit manky when we baught the car, and looked to have been a little overdue a service, but since then its had regular 5k changes and we've put 25k on it without the engine getting any worse...
 
I know of 1.8T engines with well over 200,000 miles which have never suffered from sludge. I think it's just a case of using decent oil and changing the oil filter regularly.
 
I have a 1.8 T 190 with 202 k KM on the clock, only use the oil Audi reccomend , fully synth , DIS tells me when to service and I use uprated (large) filter , no oil consumption issues and no (touch wood ) rattles
 
Ok, I tried calling the dealership that the repair was done at to get the details. The guy was so stupid that I'm now wondering how he is holding the job. I managed to get the service bulletin though. V170402. I'm not sure what you guys can do with that, but there it is.

Also, it looks like there is the beginnings of sludge, and I know now why. The service light is designed to come on and say the oil must be changed at 7,500 miles. Geez.
 
cant find any reference to that number in google mate but never mind, I think we all know heavy mineral oils cause sludge in the 1.8T engine, and fully synthetics have to be used with regular oil changes every 6k to 8k miles.

If you get your car serviced by a garage of any description, make sure they use synthetic oil and give you written proof that this has been done.
 
The oil you want is the one that audi recommend in the owners manual for what ever service option its on. Problems are caused when people who "think" they know better and go for something against manufacturer's spec.

VAG don't spend all there time testing there engines against specifically developed oils for someone to some along a think its better to put something other than VW 507 / 506.1 etc etc in just because someone on the internet et al recommended it.

No wonder so many 1.8Ts and PD TDIs (which are vulnerable to the wrong spec oil) fail with head/turbo damage or oil sludge problems if people don't stick to the manu. specs.
 
It's not the oil I have problem with. I completely agree with using Audi-recommended full synthetic oil. That's absolutely fine. It's the service interval that I have a problem with. 7,500 miles is just simply too long. I think that doing it sooner (4,000 miles) shouldn't be a problem.
 
Castrol Magnatex 10w 40. Never had a prob at 6000 intervals, sounds so much better than the Audi *****. Thats My opinion anyway!!!:yes:
 
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