oil filters question!!

[SaulV]

Hello, im new to the board, new to my S4 and certainly new to piston engines...long history as a rotary owner..

My question is where would i be able to get oil filters and stock maintenance supplies so i can do the oil change and routine maintenance myself.

I called the dealer and just for an oil change they want $56.99 which is just stealing...anyways, is there any special tools or anything special i would need.

Im doing my research as we speak but it would be nice to hear what other people are doing and where they get their parts from...online should be fine.

thanks
Saul V

[derek]

i get my filters from pure motorsports


nothing out of the ordinary in terms of changing the oil for our cars. simply take off the belly pan (iirc 8 fake plastic screws) and under the driver's side front bumper is the filter and drain plug. i do change the crush filter during each oil change

[mullarks]

$57 really isn't too bad for an oil chnage on this car, if they are using mobil 1, which almost even one uses, because it takes almost 7 quarts of M1 at $5 a quart and the OEM filter is like $9 or so, comes out to $44 just for the oil and filter. But it is a very very easy DIY job, once you take off the belly pan the oil plug and filter are right there.

[SaulV]

Originally posted by derek
i get my filters from pure motorsports


nothing out of the ordinary in terms of changing the oil for our cars. simply take off the belly pan (iirc 8 fake plastic screws) and under the driver's side front bumper is the filter and drain plug. i do change the crush filter during each oil change

yeah, i just talked to a couple of people via AIM online and they guided me in the right direction. $14.37 for an oil filter and $.43 for a crush filter.... and where do they get $60 for an oil change??? thats ridiculous ...

what other routine maintenance should i be considering ??? fuel filters??? water pump?? timing belt?

[derek]

Originally posted by SaulV
yeah, i just talked to a couple of people via AIM online and they guided me in the right direction. $14.37 for an oil filter and $.43 for a crush filter.... and where do they get $60 for an oil change??? thats ridiculous ...

what other routine maintenance should i be considering ??? fuel filters??? water pump?? timing belt?

well..i haven't reached the mileage to even think about timing belt/water pump. fuel filter change would be nice but i have not done it yet. have to make sure dealer does it b4 my warranty is up.

[mullarks]

Originally posted by SaulV
yeah, i just talked to a couple of people via AIM online and they guided me in the right direction. $14.37 for an oil filter and $.43 for a crush filter.... and where do they get $60 for an oil change??? thats ridiculous ...

what other routine maintenance should i be considering ??? fuel filters??? water pump?? timing belt?

Your forgetting the most important and expensive part, the oil, Mobil 1 synthetic is $5 a quart and the S takes almost 7 quarts. $5 per quart x 7 quarts = $35 for oil + $14.37 for filter + $.43 for crush washer = $49.80 for the parts and oil alone.

[aussie_s4]

Originally posted by mullarks
Your forgetting the most important and expensive part, the oil, Mobil 1 synthetic is $5 a quart and the S takes almost 7 quarts. $5 per quart x 7 quarts = $35 for oil + $14.37 for filter + $.43 for crush washer = $49.80 for the parts and oil alone.

That's about right. My Audi dealer charged me about $47 including filter ($16.58), 2 washers ($0.48) and $30.10 for labor. They use Castrol Syntec , so I supplied the Mobil 1 0W40 ($37), total $84

My service advisor said they never change the S4's fuel filter under warranty. He said he's never seen an S4 have one changed. It's huge and is not easily accessible back near the tank. I've never gone looking for it, but a lifetime fuel filter doesn't sound like a good thing to me. Is this guy full of it?

[biturbo hero]

a fuel filter will never be a lifetime item, i dont care what anyone says. i changed my fuel filter and its a PITA, for sure. there is an article on AW if you want and the directions are on point. BUT after changing mine the bango fitting on the outlet line kept leaking fuel. not alot, but just enuf to piss me off. i put back in the stock washers, buffed them, buffed the new ones etc,but after a couple of hours they appeared to seat themselves and no mo leaks.
buena suerte with this one.....

[funkadelic]

go to www.impexfap.com (aka VWParts.com) to buy the oil filter. part # 078-115-561-J

they stock the audi/vw branded filter for $9.94/ea and the Mann version for $7.50/ea (Mann is the OEM for the Audi/VW filters but it's the same filter as far as I believe)

just changed the oil & filter this morning as a matter of fact. like others have said, it's pretty straighforward.

[SaulV]

NOw here is the golden question!

Ive seen a lot of you guys use Mobil 1, but my question is what is the biggest different about Mobil 1 and other 5w30 synthetic oil's????
There is a few good brands out there, anybody else uses something else or what do you guys recommend?

[derek]

i'm running amsoil 0w30 and my car runs ~5-10 degrees cooler than with M1 0w40.

[funkadelic]

Originally posted by SaulV
NOw here is the golden question!

Ive seen a lot of you guys use Mobil 1, but my question is what is the biggest different about Mobil 1 and other 5w30 synthetic oil's????
There is a few good brands out there, anybody else uses something else or what do you guys recommend?

i've been using M1 0W40 for the last 20k miles, and the previous 20k miles, Redline 5W30 (@ 71k miles now). I don't think you can go wrong with either (or Amsoil). I switched to M1 0W40 since it was cheaper & easier to get a hold of than Red Line.

some posts on audiworld of my oil analysis results:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/1557316.phtml
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/1053678.phtml

[derek]

i agree with funkadelic ... any of the big companies should be ok. M1 is very easy to get a hold of and is realtively cheap

[SaulV]

Originally posted by funkadelic
i've been using M1 0W40 for the last 20k miles, and the previous 20k miles, Redline 5W30 (@ 71k miles now). I don't think you can go wrong with either (or Amsoil). I switched to M1 0W40 since it was cheaper & easier to get a hold of than Red Line.

some posts on audiworld of my oil analysis results:
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/1557316.phtml
http://forums.audiworld.com/s4/msgs/1053678.phtml

so what does all that mean???
M1 0W40 is the best thing to use on S4's???

should i just say screw Mobile 1 5w30??? what about in winter or hot....

or what about other oils...like pennzoil, castrol..any of those any good??

[s4Rye]

Mobil 1 0W40 should cover your summer and winter months.

[SaulV]

Originally posted by s4Rye
Mobil 1 0W40 should cover your summer and winter months.

what about other brands??? like pennzoil that make 0W40 as well but isnt gonna take $40 to have an oil change.

aybody use something else??

[indyxtype]

you want to run the 0w30 that the factory tecs recomend in the manual. Using an 5w... will not give you the cold weather start up protection as 0w... and runing a viscosity over 30 will put too thick of a film on the pistons and therefore cause more friction to occur yeilding more heat generated which can be bad for the engine longevity if you really get on the throttle in the summer months. Furthermore the reason why oil is changed so often (5k) isn't nessisarily for the engine internals but rather for the turbos that are easily damaged. A thicker oil that will not be able to run through the small passages within the turbos as a thinner one will. Only the factory designiers that built the motor will know the viscosity that is thin enough to flow easily, but thick enough for proper protection. They call for 0w30, that's what I run all year long.

[jkimspe]

incase you guys didnt already know. pepboys has some calendars for $1 and inside there is a coupon for mobil 1 synthetic oil buy 3 get 3 free. also if you use the coupon and you get luckly like me (lady @ the register was a newbie) she charged me for 3 bottles of regular mobile oil. so 6qts for $5 not bad

[imola_Jon]

Originally posted by mullarks
. But it is a very very easy DIY job, once you take off the belly pan the oil plug and filter are right there.

I wish I could change my own, but there is a claus in my aftermarket warranty that states I have to get my oil done by a commercial facility & maintain copies of my reciepts. I've already tried calling them to see if I could save my reciepts for my oil & do it myself, but they said they had too many false claims.

I'm trying to find some kind of Mom & Pop place that can print me out a reciept saying they did it, if I promise to buy all my oil from them and/or throw them a 5 spot on the side. Anybody know a place like this in the Waldorf area??

[cj-S4]

I use K&N oil filters. Advance Auto sells them. I used to use Mobile one filters. But switched to the K&N because they have a valve to keep oil from draining down through it as the car sits turned off. So then you have lots of oil up in the heads on start up.

[imola_Jon]

^^^cool I'll have to try one out next time^^^

[kamasu]

I run the castrol synthetic and I have had no problems. I just hit 91k and everything is a O.K. I use to change my own oil in my 300zx twin turbo until I watch 20/20. They had a story on "do it yourself chores that cost you more money than you save". Now I just take it to Jiffy-lube and it comes out to 52.99 which is almost what I would spend if I bought everything myself. Its actually cheaper than changing it myself when you factor in driving over to get the stuff, cool down time of your car, your own actual labor, then driving somewhere to dispose of the used oil. I rather spend the $10 bucks extra of money and have the 45 minutes extra of my life to do something else. To each there own what ever works for you is cool.

[S-fear]

THat is great if you bring your own filter. I would not use one of their no name filters in my S4. Still, I usually get a few bucks off when I bring my own filter in.

[aussie_s4]

Originally posted by cj-S4
I use K&N oil filters. Advance Auto sells them. I used to use Mobile one filters. But switched to the K&N because they have a valve to keep oil from draining down through it as the car sits turned off. So then you have lots of oil up in the heads on start up.

The K&N website doesn't have an oil filter for the B5 S4. Do you know the part# ?

[dramaticstatic]

Originally posted by indyxtype
you want to run the 0w30 that the factory tecs recomend in the manual. Using an 5w... will not give you the cold weather start up protection as 0w... and runing a viscosity over 30 will put too thick of a film on the pistons and therefore cause more friction to occur yeilding more heat generated which can be bad for the engine longevity if you really get on the throttle in the summer months. Furthermore the reason why oil is changed so often (5k) isn't nessisarily for the engine internals but rather for the turbos that are easily damaged. A thicker oil that will not be able to run through the small passages within the turbos as a thinner one will. Only the factory designiers that built the motor will know the viscosity that is thin enough to flow easily, but thick enough for proper protection. They call for 0w30, that's what I run all year long.

Are you sure you don't mean 0w40? M1 0w40 has a long positive history with the S4. And I don't know where you get the 0w30 info from, I recently took my car to the dealership for an oil change because I didn't have time to do it myself and they said their oil choice for the S4 is M1 0w40 as well.

[illusive45]

Castol Syntec 0W30 european formula. Made in Germany. Good stuff. I can only find it at Autozone.

[One Nice Audi]

Aussie, were you THAT bored?

[aussie_s4]

Originally posted by One Nice Audi
Aussie, were you THAT bored?

Nah, I didn't go looking through the archives, I looked at an old bookmark. Oil change coming up!

[ny02s4]

im running Mobil-1 5w30... from what i got out of some light research, 5w30 is a solid all season oil, atleast in the NY area. My next change i plan on using an OEM oil filter and not the Fram $hit i had put in for the last change.

[Rev. Po-Jay]

By Crush Filter, I assume you mean the washer on the drain plug?

I live in AZ and this thread brings up a good question... 0W40 is not a M1 weight that I have ever seen. I have such a hard time sourcing Redline, AmsOil, or Royal Purple that I just use 10W40 M1. Anyone got a link for a good deal on any of the major synths?