Word to the wise Walmart probably has the cheapest oil you can find. I buy a 5qt jug for 23 to 26 bucks. Buy your oil filter at OReilys though, all the filters at Walmart are trash. Yeah I was surprised to see it was 15w30 when I started reading into the different info I was finding.
Granted I live in the desert so it doesn't really get what most would consider cold. I will continue to read into the matter for sure. Originally Posted by MacFady. Originally Posted by Blazius. Originally Posted by TheRussian. Mark it Zero. The main issue with a clogged pickup screen is that you may not see a serious pressure drop at lower rpm's but at higher rpm's the engine may be starved for oil.
However in this rpm range you would not necessary trigger a pressure warning. At higher rpm ranges the pump may try to draw more oil than then can pass through the clogged screen. In the most serious cases as the pump cavity forms the pressure inside of the chamber drops to a point where the oil actually boils this is called Cavitation. Over time the clearance between the gear teeth and the clearance between the pump sidewalls will increase which will allow oil to slip past the pump cavities, thus reducing its efficiency and subsequent flow.
This condition could be accelerated if oil is heavily contaminated with metal particles from engine damage, oil filter operating in bypass or extended oil change intervals. As noted previously pump wear can be accelerated due to cavitation as the small microscopic bubbles form in the pump chamber and quickly collapse.
The forces are strong enough however to break down the surface of the pump gears and walls which causes pump wear. Mechanical failures could also occur such as broken chain, sprocket or sprocket key but these seem to be extremely rare. Excessive Bearing Wear — If you have no knowledge about how engine bearings work take a minute and read the interweb. Here is a brief starter LINK. The key thing to know is that engine bearings operate in a Hydrodynamic lubrication condition.
Which means that a thin film or oil separates the rotating crankshaft from the bearing surface. Engine forces like the force of combustion pressure which are typically psi push on the rods and the crankshaft with over lbs of force. The only thing that keeps the bearing surface of he rod bearing from smashing into the crankshaft bearing journal every engine rotation is this thin film of oil!
What maintains that thin film of oil is a constant flow from the pump. In a properly working engine, as the crank journals rotate oil is forced from he bearing cavity but more oil is ready to fill the void immediately. If there is enough flow and pressure the bearing surface should never touch the crank. As with oil pump wear wear is something that normally occurs gradually over time. Even the best cared for engines will be subject to progressive wear.
As the clearance between the bearings and the journals increases the restrictions to flow decrease and so does the pressure. While the main bearings are usually the first to go, rod, cam and even turbo bearings can wear and reduce overall system pressure.
What is interesting to note is that increased wear reduces flow, which further accelerates wear. Eventually reduce the flow the point where the bearing is totally destroyed fig LINK LINK Mechanical Engine Malfunction or Damage — Any element within the lubrication circuit can be broken or damaged and result in reduce system pressure.
A damaged cam adjuster, or broken turbo thrust bearing would likely present other more obvious problems but they can none the less reduce flow and cause a low pressure situation. While also rare the pressure relief bypass valves in the oil pump and filter housing or even a piston oil jet could get stuck in an open or partially open position which would drastically reduce system pressure at the lower engine speeds.
Clogged or Blocked Oil Passages - It is rather unlikely that the main oil supply passages could be clogged but it could happen to a severely abused engine subjected to long oil change intervals. Also there is one large drain tube through the cylinder head and block which drains back into the filter housing.
You can see this in section 1. If oil pumped to the cylinder head cannot drain back fast enough then the oil level in the pan can drop below the pickup tube and allow the pump to draw in air which will further reduce oil flow. Section 6 — How the Oil Pressure Warning System Works Before we move on, I need to say that this topic has been extensively and at time painstakingly explained many many times here on the Audizine forums. This section is really a copy and paste of some of those previous posts.
Here are a few that I found and used when trying to diagnose my warning light problem. Refer back to fig-2 17 and fig-7 The pressure sensor is a simply switch which is normally open. When the pressure reaches approximately 23psi the electrical contacts within the switch will close. One signal wire from the switch to the Instrument Cluster completes the monitoring circuit to ground when the switch is closed. The oil pressure warning is triggered under certain conditions.
The Instrument Cluster will signal a low pressure warning if any of the following conditions occur. This is not to be confused with the yellow sensor warning also shown, which is indicative of an oil level sensor failure and has nothing to do with the oil pressure. Condition 1 - If the switch is closed with the engine off a warning will be triggered This warning is designed to let the operator know that the switch is damaged, in that it is remaining in the closed position while no pressure is actually present, or the wire connecting the switch to the Gauge Cluster is shorting to ground.
This type of switch failure can be confirmed by removing the switch and using an Ohm meter or continuity tester. If there is continuity between the switch connector prong and the threaded end of the sensor then the switch has failed. This warning is designed to indicate that extremely low or no pressure exists while the engine is running.
A healthy engine should have oil pressures well above the switch trigger limit of 1. A disconnected switch, defective switch or broken wire to the Instrument Cluster would trigger this type of warning. This warning condition is designed to alert the driver that the pressure is too low during normal operating conditions.
If this specific condition occurs more than 3 times during continuous operation when warning will continue to stay active at any RPM. Hopefully by now you have received or borrowed an oil pressure test gauge kit. Amazon, Ebay, Harbor Freight are all good places to find one.
Some auto parts stores will rent them as well. The key thing you have to check is to make sure the kit has the correct metric M10x1 adaptor. I recommend getting one with at least 6 ft of hose.
In addition to the pressure gauge and you basic set of wrenches and sockets you are going to need a 27mm socket to remove the oil pressure switch from the filter housing. Factory Oil Pressure Specifications At this point before testing anything you need to know the proper pressure specifications. Remove the coolant reservoir and tilt it out of the way. Be carefully not to break the wire connecting the coolant sensor. You can unplug this if needed.
Refer back to our diagram fig-2 17 of the filter housing assembly and you are having trouble finding the switch. Also check out figure 7 as well. You can see the switch attached to the side in the photo. You will need to remove the electrical connector.
Just like all of the Audi connector you will need a small flat head screwdriver to apply some force to the clip tab on the connector. After the connector is removed, use your 27mm socket to unthread the pressure switch.
Have a small bucket or some rags ready because some oil will leak out. With the switch removed, now look at the fittings that came with your pressure test gauge setup.
Find the one which looks like the threads on the pressure switch. By hand test fit this adaptor into the side of the filter housing. You should be able to thread this in without any resistance.
The fitting on the housing is a NON-Tapered thread. If you use the wrong fitting for the test you will permanently damage your filter housing and you will NOT be able to put your original pressure switch back when your test is complete. Remove the fitting ant attach it to your gauge hose.
Then thread the hose and fitting back into the filter housing. Use a wrench to tighten the fitting snug. You do not need to apply crazy torque here but it should be tight enough to limit the amount of oil leakage. Conducting the Test Before staring up the engine, make sure you are in a well-ventilated place to work.
You will need to rev the engine quite a bit during the testing so you want to avoid poisoning yourself with carbon-monoxide. Also before starting you should know that since your pressure switch is now disconnected in order to conduct the test you will receive the Oil Pressure Warning during the actual test. Just ignore it. If everything is connected correctly you should see a pressure reading on the gauge.
If the engine is cold this might be psi. You will need to get the engine to operating temperature. If you do not have a way of checking the temperature accurately I suggest letting the temperature gauge reach normal center position and then let the engine idle for 10 more minutes on a normal spring or summer day or longer in the winter.
If you monitor the gauge while the engine is warming up you should see the pressure gradually fall as the oil heats up. This is also normal and basically meaningless at this point as well. Make a table like this one to keep track of your results. Then increase the engine speed to rpm and record the result, do the same for rpm, and rpm. However if you find that you are not meeting the minimum pressure at 50psi at rpm there is really no point in going any further as you could risk further damaging your engine.
Repeat the test from idle to 4K again. You should find that your readings have dropped slightly from the first test and again this is normal as the engine may not have been fully up to temp. These are the readings that count. If you find your pressure readings are marginal or just above the minimum it may be a good idea to test the pressure while driving. What you may find is that your pressure readings differ significantly from your readings while parked. This information is important.
If your test results show that your oil pressure is above spec, then try to recreate the conditions when you received the actual oil pressure warning as well. For example if you were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic and you got the warning when moving slowly, try to create that exact situation and note the pressure.
Remember you are looking to confirm that your pressure is falling below the warning threshold and that could help explain the conditions causing the warning. Continued on Page 4. Reason: photos. Worse yet on older engines you may be dealing with several contributing factors causing low pressure. The best place to start is by ruling out the easiest and least expensive items first. Before we start digging into your car we need a little history lesson. Why does it seem that some 1.
In the first North American 1. For the most part this engine design proved to be most reliable and very well designed in many ways. The standard Oil Change interval recommended by Audi was every 5, miles.
After a few years it became apparent that a high number of 1. It takes a while for engineers and statisticians to make sense of these repair trends but eventually patterns emerge. Someone figured out that a combination of factors was causing these engines to fail.
The killer was sludge! Turbocharged engines can generate a lot of heat near the compressor turbine. This is especially true if an engine is shut down before the turbo can cool down, the oil in the turbocharger cooks and crystallizes. This cooked oil forms large particles which pass down into the sump and are then sucked into the pickup tube.
Coincidentally the longitudinally mounted 1. This smaller oil capacity made the engine more susceptible to overheating and sludge. This exacerbated the problem significantly. And so were a lot of 1.
In August of Audi agreed to settle a class action lawsuit which extended the engine warranty to 8 years unlimited miles for sludge related damages. This included the inspection, repair and even engine replacement procedures.
This Service Bulletin was revised on to also include procedures to flush de-sludge engines, which had not yet experienced bearing damage. If you are the original owner then this will be easy. If not then you could try to find out the answers which could help rule out potential problems. Some will be cool and give you a lot of information; others will not give you the time of day. At a minimum try see if you can determine if your car ever had a sludge cleaning by the dealer and if so how many miles ago.
If you find a helpful tech you may be able to find out if the oil pump or filter housing have been replaced. Who knows, your car may have even had the engine replaced! Identify Patterns which Cause the Low Pressure Warning Obviously if the warning is occurring very often it may be too late, but if your warning light seems to be very infrequent chances are you are just beginning to approach the conditions where your engine could suffer serious damage and it may not be too late to save it from serious damage.
Try to remember or even record the state of operation when the warnings occur. In my own case I realized that I only got a warning when driving slowly like in a parking lot. Usually it occurred right after a period of acceleration, then taking my foot of the gas for a split second and then gently accelerating again.
When I mentioned it to the dealer, he said that it wasn't "abnormal. GuruFV9R1 answered about a year ago. Hi guys my audi is smoking a lot wen i stop but wen im driving it hv got poor performance but no smoke. GuruFJLY9 answered about a year ago. My audi a4 b6 20 liter doing the same for a long 5 years I add more oile once and change it in the other still rock n roll just fine.
Oile 1 liter coast me 7 dinar 1 euro. The live very expensive there in your country. Maybe this is why it's fine for me. Guru9T8SJB answered 7 months ago. HI we just had alot of rain and my Audi A4 1. I am new dont know about this car thing only that Audi is expensive is what i heard every corner.
I want to service my car Audi A4 97 model on km i got it on km it is stil running good Should I buy a Audi A4 with km on it with no accident for 6 grand. And is this car prone to breaking down? It the part where the oil temp switch srews into it and it is almost to the bottom of the engine. Few days ago my audi A4 1. Review another car.
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Own this car? Jenno Registered User. I'm running because the car gets very warm I'm in Australia and it's an old engine. I'm building the engine and when I do that I'll probably run and an oil cooler. Group I Group I base oils are classified as less than 90 percent saturates, greater than 0. The temperature range for these oils is from 32 to degrees F. Group I base oils are solvent-refined, which is a simpler refining process. This is why they are the cheapest base oils on the market.
They are often manufactured by hydrocracking, which is a more complex process than what is used for Group I base oils. Since all the hydrocarbon molecules of these oils are saturated, Group II base oils have better antioxidation properties.
They also have a clearer color and cost more in comparison to Group I base oils. Still, Group II base oils are becoming very common on the market today and are priced very close to Group I oils. These oils are refined even more than Group II base oils and generally are severely hydrocracked higher pressure and heat. This longer process is designed to achieve a purer base oil. Although made from crude oil, Group III base oils are sometimes described as synthesized hydrocarbons.
Like Group II base oils, these oils are also becoming more prevalent. These synthetic base oils are made through a process called synthesizing. They have a much broader temperature range and are great for use in extreme cold conditions and high heat applications. Group V Group V base oils are classified as all other base oils, including silicone, phosphate ester, polyalkylene glycol PAG , polyolester, biolubes, etc.
An example would be a PAO-based compressor oil that is mixed with a polyolester. Esters are common Group V base oils used in different lubricant formulations to improve the properties of the existing base oil. Ester oils can take more abuse at higher temperatures and will provide superior detergency compared to a PAO synthetic base oil, which in turn increases the hours of use. I put motul 5w 40 in my s3 at the last service. Price was reasonable via opie oils. My car is just under k miles.
X-cess or X-clean? Christ it's only VW spec Hmmm, bit better it's VW Now superceeded by the VW Now superceeded by Is anyone getting it yet? Gaz, how do you know such details about oils? What oil would you recommend? Its all about the flow Staff member. I predict 5w30 quantum long life will be the recommendation based on previous ramblings It will be a cold day in hell before I put 5w30 oil of any spec in my engine no matter how fantastic it's 'spec'..
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