Is it worth me replacing the oil pump strainer?

[Westy]

I'd recently read a few horrow stories where the oil strainer had blocked and starved the turbo of oil resulting in a blown turbo and a knackered engine!

I'm just booking my car in for a major service and cambelt replacement and enquired about the oil strainer at the same time. I have been told that the strainer intself is very cheap but it is difficult to change (2 hours labour). does anyone here think it is worth me getting this changed just to be on the safe side as my milage is creeping towards 120K?

Any advice appreciated.

 

[Welly]

They generally don't need replacing dude, just cleaning.

It's hard to say whether it's worth doing as no-one knows - however if it gives YOU piece of mind, I think it is always worth it.

 

[Westy]

They generally don't need replacing dude, just cleaning.

It's hard to say whether it's worth doing as no-one knows - however if it gives YOU piece of mind, I think it is always worth it.

Do you think its worth £82 on top of the £850 i'm about to pay out on other work

If they rarely fail then I wont bother and save the cash for something else.

 

[Matt82]

i was working on an a3 20vt the other week, this car is cleaner than most in terms of burnt oil, with practically none visible inside the rocker cover

i got the oil pump pick up off, though, and still that was partially blocked. removed it, cleaned it, it looked as new after (wish i had got pics tbh) but even on a clean engine the pickup was visually bad.

well worth doing for the sake of trying to future proof

 

[Matt82]

£82 is a rip off though! its not really an "involved" job

 

[Welly]

£82 is a rip off though! its not really an "involved" job

I agree, it's not hard at all. It's just the sump off, two bolts, clean then reverse process for assembly.

If you have regularly changed your oil as you should, then it should n't be that clogged. My A3 did over 135,000 miles and never had the strainer cleaned. And is still going now with another owner.

Ultimately, it's up to you dude, but if you're spending £850 already, maybe worth keeping it in your pocket for now...

 

[Matt82]

id want to get it done. the a3 i was playing with is on 160k and like i said is typically a clean engine and even that still had a fair bit of crud in there.

 

[Welly]

id want to get it done. the a3 i was playing with is on 160k and like i said is typically a clean engine and even that still had a fair bit of crud in there.

This is the ultimate issue with the oil pickup. It's meant to stop bits of gash going through the pump.... However isn't the best design IMO. That dome shape doesn't help bits fall out.

 

[Westy]

hmmm, not sure what to do now. I'll probably get it changed for the sake of it as I intend on keeping this car till it dies! Oh and by the way the charge was also for an oil pressure test to ensure the pump is ok too.

Thanks for your input guys.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Bill keeps pickups in stock now.. the number of cars he has had in that the things are clogged, cheaper (labour wise) to replace with a new one than to clean them out... AVS service intervals don't help...

Mine was awful looking when I removed my sump, spent some time cleaning and check the pump which was fine... just the pickup was a mess but managed to clean it up fine else I would have replaced it...

Y9ou can see the baked on flaky crap clinging to the sides of the sump and the oil was only 4k miles old in this instance...

Cleaned up..

<tuffty/>

 

[Westy]

Cheers Paul that's sealed it for me, I'll get it replaced.

 

[The Doctor]

I agree, it's not hard at all. It's just the sump off, two bolts, clean then reverse process for assembly.

Is this therefore something that I could do with the car on axle stands, or is a lift needed?

 

[Matt82]

easily on axle stands

 

[08080808]

get it done! i had a real bad scare a few weeks ago, the red oil light came up while i was driving to the airport to catch a plane. ended up being a blocked oil pick up. scared the life out of me, the engine was rattling just as i went to park up. was thinking new engine time.

after a good clean out there was no damage was done and the mpg even improved. this is after me owning the car for 5 yrs, always serviced on time, using the correct oils by vag specialists only. i brought the car 4 yrs old so unless the original owner didn't use audi for the first 3-4 years (unlikely with the car's warranty) there can still be issues with needing a clean.

do it or regret it and think, it's only £80+ or looking for a replacement engine...

 

[Westy]

Cheers buddy. I have asked my mechanic to include this in the service when I drop it off at the end of the month.

 

[mattmackenzie]

hi tuffty how did you clean the sump and how easy is it to remove sump, is a new gasget needed
cheers matt

 

[<tuffty/>]

hi tuffty how did you clean the sump and how easy is it to remove sump, is a new gasget needed
cheers matt

I had access to a parts washer but gunk or similar, scotch pad and a small wire brush will do the job.

Sump doesn't use a gasket (I have seen one though), it uses a sealant. I use genuine Audi stuff which you can get from a dealer, anything else leaks... sump is easy enough to remove but there are 2 bolts where the flywheel is that are set back slightly into the gearbox and are a ****** to get... I use a 10mm 1/4" socket on a wobble bar and can get enough angle to get them.

Start with those as once they are done the rest are easy.

When applying the sealant to the sump, use a thin 2mm bead and go around the bolt holes on the inside not the outside as oil will leak out through them.

<tuffty/>