Believe it or not this will be the first service I've done on the Audi myself (in 7+ years of ownership) so I thought I'd do it properly and only use the best stuff.
Last time the car was "serviced" by a "specialist" I was left with a broken dipstick tube resulting in a low oil light due to oil shooting out of the dipstick hole, then I overfilled it with oil as it was not possible to read how much the car had, had to drain and refill after overfilling (wasted £50+ worth of oil total)... so yeah hopefully I can do better than they did, I mean they almost killed the car!
Mine's a 1.9tdi but other engine's will most likely want similar bits and bobs, just thought I'd elaborate on all my choices and explain why I've gone for each item as other people may want to do the same or similar.
(going from right to left)
Oil
Decided to go for Castrol Edge as all my cars have ran it and I think when a brand gets so big it's got to have something behind it, I could have gone cheaper but it meets all the VW specs I wanted it to meet and I know Quantum is a product of Castrol's but I wanted the real deal. I know manufacturers specify 5w40 or 5w30 but I wanted to run a more modern jack of all trades 0w40, the 0w basically means it's better for cold cranking and will stay thinner in colder weather conditions and the 40 means it should also stay thin during hot, theirs more to it than this but here's something to try and show this:
I don't doubt that a 5w30 oil would be better on economy but I'd prefer going without economy if it means I can run an oil that will flow better and meet all the standards it should/I want it to, I'd personally only go for a fully synthetic 5w40 or 0w40 but I'm sure there's plenty who would argue otherwise and I'd probably run something else if I lived somewhere other than the UK too.
Last time the car took around 4l but I bought an extra 1 to be safe.
4l link:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-EDGE-Titanium-FST-0W-40-A3-B4-Can-4-Litre/182643456529?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
1l link (although I don't recommend this link as mine came with a ****** split and some oil had leaked out! Not sure if you can see the sellotape I wrapped around it in the photo):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-Edge-0W-40-FST-1-Litre-Engine-Oil/292066739826?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Oil Filter
Got a bigger one than stock (hopefully it isn't too long, haven't test fitted yet) from a VW T4, bought the whole filter rather than just the inside bit and went for Bosch based on reviews I'd read. I was quite careful to make sure I got one with the same width, etc as my Audi's and it had dimensions on the link. Reason I went for a bigger filter is it hopefully means better oil filtration and also allows my car to run more oil.
Oil filter link:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOSCH-Premium-Oil-Filter-0451203087-Single/162436943492?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Fuel Filter
Went for a fairly standard Bosch item, people seem to think they filter slightly better than Mann filters which was pretty much the only thing that made me buy one over a Mann filter. I did want a CAT filter which apparently offers more filtration but it looks a pain to fit and I couldn't find one in the UK, plus it's probably overkill for our fuels as believe it or not we apparently actually get much better stuff than other countries. Came with the seals too which I was very happy about (as apparently some don't). Oh also again I went for the whole filter rather than just the inside bit.
Fuel filter link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-Fuel-Filter-Bosch-1J0127401A-Genuine-Top-Quality-Replacement-New/332230498431?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Diesel Purge
Thought I'd fill the new filter up with Liqui Moly Diesel Purge rather than regular diesel as it's supposed to clean injectors similar to Terraclean, Sea Foam and the like. Allot of people will say it's snake oil but at under £10 I couldn't resist giving it a go even if it does nothing. People speculate that it's some magic wonder fuel or something, all I know is it was cheap and who knows maybe it will do some good for the car.
Diesel purge link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Liqui-Moly-Diesel-Engine-Purge-500ml-1811/182246688226?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Air Filter
Went with Bosch over Mann again purely because when I was reading dimensions they appeared to be a couple of mm bigger here and there, hopefully not too big but yeah that's the only real thing that stood out, I have no experience with K&N's or any other performance based brand so I can't really say whether they're good or bad but I'd personally stay away from oiled filters as they are apparently not good for the MAF and I was sceptical about certain filters filtration properties as I've seen videos where sand passes through more "freely flowing" filters.
Air filter link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-Audi-A4-B6-1-9-TDI-Bosch-Engine-Air-Filter/361983439907?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Didn't buy a pollen filter as my air con's already been ripped out and I mostly just have the windows down.
I'm not sponsored by eBay but as you can probably tell I am addicted to it haha.
All in all came to £78.13 which I know is allot but I do feel I'm using the best of the best here and it's still cheaper than what a garage would charge for the same.
I'll fit it all in a week or so and will report back afterwards just to be on the safe side as I'd hate to recommend anything which may not fit or could be detrimental to the car.
Please let me know what you think and provide any other suggestions/opinions.
Last time the car was "serviced" by a "specialist" I was left with a broken dipstick tube resulting in a low oil light due to oil shooting out of the dipstick hole, then I overfilled it with oil as it was not possible to read how much the car had, had to drain and refill after overfilling (wasted £50+ worth of oil total)... so yeah hopefully I can do better than they did, I mean they almost killed the car!
Mine's a 1.9tdi but other engine's will most likely want similar bits and bobs, just thought I'd elaborate on all my choices and explain why I've gone for each item as other people may want to do the same or similar.
(going from right to left)
Oil
Decided to go for Castrol Edge as all my cars have ran it and I think when a brand gets so big it's got to have something behind it, I could have gone cheaper but it meets all the VW specs I wanted it to meet and I know Quantum is a product of Castrol's but I wanted the real deal. I know manufacturers specify 5w40 or 5w30 but I wanted to run a more modern jack of all trades 0w40, the 0w basically means it's better for cold cranking and will stay thinner in colder weather conditions and the 40 means it should also stay thin during hot, theirs more to it than this but here's something to try and show this:
I don't doubt that a 5w30 oil would be better on economy but I'd prefer going without economy if it means I can run an oil that will flow better and meet all the standards it should/I want it to, I'd personally only go for a fully synthetic 5w40 or 0w40 but I'm sure there's plenty who would argue otherwise and I'd probably run something else if I lived somewhere other than the UK too.
Last time the car took around 4l but I bought an extra 1 to be safe.
4l link:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-EDGE-Titanium-FST-0W-40-A3-B4-Can-4-Litre/182643456529?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
1l link (although I don't recommend this link as mine came with a ****** split and some oil had leaked out! Not sure if you can see the sellotape I wrapped around it in the photo):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-Edge-0W-40-FST-1-Litre-Engine-Oil/292066739826?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Oil Filter
Got a bigger one than stock (hopefully it isn't too long, haven't test fitted yet) from a VW T4, bought the whole filter rather than just the inside bit and went for Bosch based on reviews I'd read. I was quite careful to make sure I got one with the same width, etc as my Audi's and it had dimensions on the link. Reason I went for a bigger filter is it hopefully means better oil filtration and also allows my car to run more oil.
Oil filter link:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOSCH-Premium-Oil-Filter-0451203087-Single/162436943492?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Fuel Filter
Went for a fairly standard Bosch item, people seem to think they filter slightly better than Mann filters which was pretty much the only thing that made me buy one over a Mann filter. I did want a CAT filter which apparently offers more filtration but it looks a pain to fit and I couldn't find one in the UK, plus it's probably overkill for our fuels as believe it or not we apparently actually get much better stuff than other countries. Came with the seals too which I was very happy about (as apparently some don't). Oh also again I went for the whole filter rather than just the inside bit.
Fuel filter link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-Fuel-Filter-Bosch-1J0127401A-Genuine-Top-Quality-Replacement-New/332230498431?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Diesel Purge
Thought I'd fill the new filter up with Liqui Moly Diesel Purge rather than regular diesel as it's supposed to clean injectors similar to Terraclean, Sea Foam and the like. Allot of people will say it's snake oil but at under £10 I couldn't resist giving it a go even if it does nothing. People speculate that it's some magic wonder fuel or something, all I know is it was cheap and who knows maybe it will do some good for the car.
Diesel purge link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Liqui-Moly-Diesel-Engine-Purge-500ml-1811/182246688226?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Air Filter
Went with Bosch over Mann again purely because when I was reading dimensions they appeared to be a couple of mm bigger here and there, hopefully not too big but yeah that's the only real thing that stood out, I have no experience with K&N's or any other performance based brand so I can't really say whether they're good or bad but I'd personally stay away from oiled filters as they are apparently not good for the MAF and I was sceptical about certain filters filtration properties as I've seen videos where sand passes through more "freely flowing" filters.
Air filter link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fits-Audi-A4-B6-1-9-TDI-Bosch-Engine-Air-Filter/361983439907?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Didn't buy a pollen filter as my air con's already been ripped out and I mostly just have the windows down.
I'm not sponsored by eBay but as you can probably tell I am addicted to it haha.
All in all came to £78.13 which I know is allot but I do feel I'm using the best of the best here and it's still cheaper than what a garage would charge for the same.
I'll fit it all in a week or so and will report back afterwards just to be on the safe side as I'd hate to recommend anything which may not fit or could be detrimental to the car.
Please let me know what you think and provide any other suggestions/opinions.
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