Oil Change
- Thread starter READER84
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Really depends on style of use. I drive 6 miles to and 6 miles from work 5 days a week and generally around 50 miles over the weekend. Then there's holidays which can clock up around 2000 miles at a time.
I change my oil and filter every 5000 miles. Oil is relatively cheap and is the the life blood of the engine for lubrication and cooling.
Depends on your own circumstances.
I change my oil and filter every 5000 miles. Oil is relatively cheap and is the the life blood of the engine for lubrication and cooling.
Depends on your own circumstances.
1 Year or 10,000 miles. Whichever comes first.
Perhaps we should set up a forum recycling scheme. I'll take everyone's "old" oil and get another 4,000 miles from it. LOL.
The proper synthetic stuff ain't cheap like the old GTX. Spend the money on something that will have benefit, i.e. Brake fluid or a coolant flush. Many cars won't have had either on a normal service schedule unless specified.
Just my £0.02
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Molnboman
Registered User
Oil and filter every 10,000km's ( 6,000miles ) Castrol edge fully synth.....F@ck those Longlife's....you'd be mad to do that sh@t if you owned the car!....Company car...different story.
BR
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BR
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Annually, which will probably work out about 10k, maybe 11-12k miles? Fits in with the annual service.
Why change every 6000 miles? Seems pretty excessive when they're specified to have 20k between changes. Not that I believe in long life servicing, just doesn't seem right?
Why change every 6000 miles? Seems pretty excessive when they're specified to have 20k between changes. Not that I believe in long life servicing, just doesn't seem right?
if your doing long motorway runs then thats not a problem as the engine is warm all the time but if its a town runner (5 miles to work and 5 miles home) then this will cause some issues. also its good to trash a diesel to give it a clean now and then. if you don't trash it, it will get clogged exhaust ect ect. I spoken to a BMW mechanic and he said the sales men just sold diesels because they were diesels to people who were doing local runs day in day out they are not made for local runs they are made for long motorway runs! they get glogged up and ect ect. if you have a DPF fitted then it will never regen it self as your never trashing it for more then 20 mins over 3/4k.
like the Honda V-tec engines if v-tec has never been kicked in from a lady owner then its bad for the engine as v-tec works from oil pressure and a solenoid
5-6k per service oil and filter for me without fail. I changed oil and filter on my Nissan every 6k and that was a NA car. with turbo cars I would recommend every 5-6k if not 4-5K
Evo' should be changed every 6k miles (this is written in the service manual) but thats a evo with 280bhp but to be honest petrol engines are a lot cleaner then diesels as diesel is a very dirty fuel. look how much carbon is in the inlet manifold after 80k!
you can put engine oil in a diesel and after 1 day it will be black (diesel fuel will turn it black in no time as its a dirty fuel)
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I go through a tank of fuel every week (450 miles). The car is on longlife (every 20k).
I do a 15 minute (not joking) oil and filter change when the service indicator has 10k left on it (use a vacuum pump and suck the oil from the dipstick tube). Car goes in for service at the local indy @ 20k for full inspection service (oil is drained from plug this time).
I know what people are gonna say about the whole sucking the oil out the dipstick thing so here goes...I know ALL the oil doesn't come out and yes you're probably right about all that dirt that sits at the bottom of my sump because my oil filter doesn't do it's job properly?
I think 6k is bit excessive as mentioned above unless ofcourse it rarely gets a long run.
I do a 15 minute (not joking) oil and filter change when the service indicator has 10k left on it (use a vacuum pump and suck the oil from the dipstick tube). Car goes in for service at the local indy @ 20k for full inspection service (oil is drained from plug this time).
I know what people are gonna say about the whole sucking the oil out the dipstick thing so here goes...I know ALL the oil doesn't come out and yes you're probably right about all that dirt that sits at the bottom of my sump because my oil filter doesn't do it's job properly?
I think 6k is bit excessive as mentioned above unless ofcourse it rarely gets a long run.
Molnboman
Registered User
By the looks of it...the jury is out on this....I do mine regularly through force of habit and peace of mind. I just think running a turbo engined car, you wanna be making sure you don't take any chances.The cost of oil and filter is less than a tank of gas these days ( just! ) and I have never been a fan of leaving it too long between oil changes in any of my previously owned cars.
Cheers
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Cheers
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If you don't do fairly high mileage it's not worth owning a diesel, exactly for the reason you've outlined.
Would've thought that if you were only using you car for 5 minutes to work and back each day you wouldn't rack up more than 6k miles in a year... in which case the annual service is the right time to change the oil? I have a 30 min commute each day at 70mph for 90% of it so the engine is only run cold at the weekends if I pop to the shops.
Each to their own, I can see the reason for thinking the more regular the better, just can't see much benefit myself
Would've thought that if you were only using you car for 5 minutes to work and back each day you wouldn't rack up more than 6k miles in a year... in which case the annual service is the right time to change the oil? I have a 30 min commute each day at 70mph for 90% of it so the engine is only run cold at the weekends if I pop to the shops.
Each to their own, I can see the reason for thinking the more regular the better, just can't see much benefit myself
I do mine every year, as it only does 5k- 6k a year.
And being a petrol turbo, I always flush the engine with diesel , pouring through the top, letting it drain through a sieve at the sump, and repeat a couple more times.
Obviously this is done before I replace the filter. It just clears the crap out before the fresh stuff goes in.
I've had sludge issues with a 1.8t Passat before.
Brad.
And being a petrol turbo, I always flush the engine with diesel , pouring through the top, letting it drain through a sieve at the sump, and repeat a couple more times.
Obviously this is done before I replace the filter. It just clears the crap out before the fresh stuff goes in.
I've had sludge issues with a 1.8t Passat before.
Brad.
hi guys i have audi a3 1.8t 1999 and want to do a service, i have upgraded plugs and oil filter what oil should i use please let me know and that is a reasonable price
cheers.
cheers.
Luke2.0tdi2010
Registered User
being totally un mechanically minded reading this thread is making me wonder about owning a diesel myself! I generally only do short trips here and there and I suppose a few motorway runs (100miles, 200miles) per month. So from what i'm gathering from this thread thats a 'bad thing'? however I do always warm the car up before I leave the house first thing, would this make any difference/helping in anyway? are you saying that not allowing the car to warm up fully is not really a good thing? and what aspect of the engine is being 'abused' by this? I do change most serviceable parts very regularly (probably too regularly, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, pollen filter every 6 months, basically twice a year) I don't pay for castrol edge fully synthetic thou!
apologies for being thick in the mechanical side of things!
apologies for being thick in the mechanical side of things!
Molnboman
Registered User
I thought the rule of thumb is never thrash the f*ck out of any engine, diesel or petrol before it's warmed up!...I also was told that leaving a car at idle from cold was no good and you should drive your car straight away from start up rather than leave it for 10 minutes at idle. You also have the DEFA option which is common as muck up here and having it in my own car...makes me a huge fan. I don't have the fancy one though, just the "council version" DEFA / Welcome
Cheers
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Cheers
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Modern diesels don't fair well from short journeys due to the DPF (diesel particulate filter). This stops excess soot being put out via the exhaust. When you go on a long motoroway run the exhaust gets hot enough, for long enough, to enter a regeneration (regen) cycle. This puts extra fuel into the exhaust (iirc) which in turn burns all of the soot which gets collected in the DPF & clears the DPF 85%. Hence if you never do long motorway runs the DPF gets clogged and needs replacing (circa £1.5k - £2k). Eventually even with lots of motorway miles DPFs need replacing, hence why a lot of diesel owners have the DPF removed as diesels do not have a MOT requirement regarding soot (smoke is the only thing they measure). It is a grey areas that IF you were stopped and spot checked by VOSA you could get fined for altering your emission system, however I've never actually heard this happen to anyone...
Also if you don't do many miles the difference in economy between a diesel and a petrol will be much less significant.
Luke2.0tdi2010
Registered User
Would this apply to all diesels? I've been led to believe my car doesn't have a dpf? Its a 2.0 a4 '06 140, I'm not sure but think the dpf is only on the 170's??
It was technology that came in between 2005-2007, so most cars post 2007 (that's models released) will more than likely have a DPF, but that's not the case for everyone. Some cars do, some don't. There a code which denotes whether or not you have one... don't know which models do/don't have one though, or what the code is <unhelpful>
For instance the early version of the 3.0tdi B7 A4 (203bhp) doesn't have a DPF, but the later version (233bhp) does.
For instance the early version of the 3.0tdi B7 A4 (203bhp) doesn't have a DPF, but the later version (233bhp) does.
you do what?! NEVER put thinning agents in an engine where oil will be! You'll break down seals, clear it out of places it needs to stay (ie cam bearings) and you will never get rid of all of it, so the next oil you put in will be thinned.
Luke2.0tdi2010
Registered User
a lot of people say it all comes from the same place with just a different label on but i always use castrol edge 5w30
Luke2.0tdi2010
Registered User
I'm sure there will be a true knowlegable 'oil fanatic' along soon who will tell us the in's and out's of why/why not to use 5w30/40!
Molnboman
Registered User
I use 5w40 Castrol Edge up here. Think it's to do with the cold climate I was told. Seems to work well and I have now done 26,000 km's and about to get it's third oil and filter change since May 2012!
Cheers
A
Luke2.0tdi2010
Registered User
Same with their tyres, and also 36 good quality microfibre cloths for £9.99! Bargain if, like me you've been taken over by the 'detailing bug'
Use what's recommended in the manual. Its there for a reason 
Its all about weight of viscosity when the oil is both cold and hot. Depending on climate and use, different viscosities are better than others.
Its all about weight of viscosity when the oil is both cold and hot. Depending on climate and use, different viscosities are better than others.
Use what's recommended in the manual. Its there for a reason
Its all about weight of viscosity when the oil is both cold and hot. Depending on climate and use, different viscosities are better than others.
Most sensible thing Iâve heard,
i stick to what the book says about oil, the only thing i donât listen to about oil from the book is i donât leave it 20000 miles, Iâd rather my oil look like treacle than tar. Every 5-6000. Maybe 7000 at the very most.
i donât care what some fella who tinkers in a shed says about his preference when it comes to oil, Castrol and big companies like that spend a lot of time making sure there oil does what it says on the tin. the fella in a shed is like a homeopathic healer too me, somethingâs you might listen to them and think it wonât hurt if i try and then when it boils down to Nitti gritty, Iâm straight up the hospital getting rammed with morphine and getting an x ray for a broken leg.
OCDetails
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cheap? what motor oil you using? Ive not found any decent stuff for less than £40 per 4Litres
the car only takes 4.3l
