Service Intervals and Maintenance Tasks above 100K miles 2005 A4 1.8T

[Timcognito]

My son has an A4 Avant 1.8T that now has 130k miles. We/he bought it from a mechanic at 115k miles with "recent major service". Of course, as a college kid away from home nothing has been done and the dash light says service. The car runs great. Before contacting someone to work on it I would like to understand the required intervals and maintenance above 100k miles. Can't seem to find a table anywhere on the internet or here, though I just got here. Please point me towards it, if it exists. Thanks in advance.

[eljay]

Welcome to Audizine!

Here's the answer to your question: http://www.bentleypublishers.com/ima...ance.sched.pdf

The "Service!" light may be on because it was never reset. The best indicator of what service needs to be done next is documented service history. If you can list what was done at that "recent major service", knowledgeable folks here can tell you what to check next.
Another recommended step if you have not done so yet, is to take the car to a trusted Audi specialist who can check the car thoroughly and give you an honest rundown of what needs attention asap, what will need to be done in the near-term and what looks like it has been recently replaced. A good shop that knows these cars will know what to look for based on where the car has lived throughout its life. Seeing that you are in California, you will likely have less severe rust issues due to winter salt, but most of the rubber components would have been subjected to heat effects and may be deteriorating faster than in a mild climate.

[Timcognito]

Thanks Eljay,

I have that table and will follow your advice. The table only goes to 105k. Do we just extrapolate out with the same tasks and dates incremented proportionally? It nice to know when/what has been and will be done.

[CyberPMG]

Here's what I've done with my 2004 A4 1.8T (currently at 330k+ miles)....

Every 5k miles:
- Oil change
- Oil filter change

Every 30k-40k miles:
- New spark plugs
- New air filter
- New charcoal cabin filter

Every 60k miles:
- Full timing belt change (timing belt, water pump, valve cover/spark plug gasket, accessory belt, tensioner, coolant flush)
- New fuel filter

Every 90k miles:
- New fuel pump

Every 100k miles:
- Power steering fluid flush
- Transmission fluid flush
- Differential fluid flush

Every 200k miles:
- Oil pump replace (mine went at 237k miles)

Every 2 years regardless of miles:
- Brake fluid flush (DOT 4 fluid)

All other items will be wear and replace items that can be inspected every 10k-20k miles and determine if replacements are needed:
- Brake pads
- Brake rotors
- Vacuum lines
- Coolant lines

The table is a good guide to follow (I prefer oil changes done sooner). Since it ends at 105k, simply wrap around to the beginning and carry forward your miles to determine the next service interval.

[ZERO FRAME GRAB]

You should change your screen name to Preventive Maintenance Guy. HOLY SHIT

[Timcognito]

Thanks to all. I wish my kid loved his car the way CyberPMG does. I feel that if I had this kind of car when I was in college it would had been kept a showpiece. Instead I had a 63 Dodge Dart w/ push button tranny that could not be killed and I wrenched everything on it myself. No chips off this block. I think to follow CyberPMG my son will perceive a loss of beer money but so will a major break down. I will extrapolate from the chart for a check list, follow our soon the chosen mechanics advice and help the boy watch bank his account given his disposition on the car hoping his love for this great machine will evolve . More sound advice on this topic is still welcome from this great group. Thanks again.

[old guy]

You should change your screen name to Preventive Maintenance Guy. HOLY SHIT

CyberPMG is right on the money. That's pretty much the same maintenance interval that I have used since I purchased my B6 in 2003. I'm currently at 225k miles and my engine is stronger now than when I purchased it new. (The F21L does help a little:)

The only thing I haven't done is replace my oil pump. I plan on doing it some time in the next few months as a preventive measure. It really isn't excessive at all considering the consequences of a timing belt or oil pump failure. I'm still holding excellent oil pressure but I would bet money that by now the tensioner on the oil pump chain is totally shot. Why wait for it to fail completely?

[eljay]

Excellent post cyberPMG!
I would just add control arms and engine and transmission mounts to the wear item list to check if these were not addressed.

[123lilc]

- Oil pump replace (mine went at 237k miles).

I have a stupid question... How did you know your oil pump went out? Did the oil pressure dummy light turn on? or do you have an oil pressure gauge or something?

[CyberPMG]

I have a stupid question... How did you know your oil pump went out? Did the oil pressure dummy light turn on? or do you have an oil pressure gauge or something?

I had no light and no code. As it hit the end of life, I started hearing a ticking noise from the cam chain tensioner. The pump was putting out enough pressure to stay above minimum, but barely. When the shop opened it up to address the cam guide, they saw the scoring on the cam lobes and saw oil starvation. Replaced the cams and still saw oil starvation. Replaced the oil pump, and saw lots of smoke coming out (damage already done to the cylinders). Compression tests shown total loss in cylinders 2 and 3 to render the engine done. There was nothing blocking the oil in the sump or pickup tube. The pump simply ran out of life. No sludge.

I figure that I still got good life out of the oil pump at 237k miles. So I would say it's likely good preventative measures to replace it a bit sooner... like at 200k miles... to avoid any engine disasters... assuming you are staying on top of routine maintenance, using the correct fluids, driving normal, etc.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Here's what I've done with my 2004 A4 1.8T (currently at 330k+ miles)....

Good guide, with the longevity to back it up! Thanks for posting.

Since I'm at 120K on the original fuel pump, thinking I should replace that. I've got an early-build 2002; isn't there an upgrade I should be considering from a later model?

[CyberPMG]

Good guide, with the longevity to back it up! Thanks for posting.

Since I'm at 120K on the original fuel pump, thinking I should replace that. I've got an early-build 2002; isn't there an upgrade I should be considering from a later model?

No upgrade required unless you're going with a really big turbo. There was a recall on 2003 built fuel pumps that have since been replaced. All new OEM pumps are fine to use.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

No upgrade required unless you're going with a really big turbo. There was a recall on 2003 built fuel pumps that have since been replaced. All new OEM pumps are fine to use.

I wasn't thinking so much an upgrade in flow volume, but rather some sort of reliability/configuration upgrade. Details are sketchy in my head, hence the vagueness. Maybe I'm hallucinating.

[CyberPMG]

There was a defect in the building of the fuel pumps back in 2003 that resulted in a recall. All OEM fuel pumps built from 2004 on are all fine and built to the same specs. There are aftermarket high flow fuel pumps, but for reliability for an A4 that has not undergone a major upgrade to the turbo and engine, the OEM fuel pump will do just fine. The key to reliability is to replace the fuel filter to get rid of any trapped particles (which will cause stress on the pump). Other practice is to not wait until the gas tank is at empty to fill up. Do a fill up when at 1/4 tank or higher. The less fuel in the tank, the more stress is placed on the fuel pump.

[eljay]

I wasn't thinking so much an upgrade in flow volume, but rather some sort of reliability/configuration upgrade. Details are sketchy in my head, hence the vagueness. Maybe I'm hallucinating.

Sorry for OT, but you sir have all the right toys in your collection! XR4Ti, 930, and 164! Very nice.

I had no light and no code. As it hit the end of life, I started hearing a ticking noise from the cam chain tensioner. The pump was putting out enough pressure to stay above minimum, but barely. When the shop opened it up to address the cam guide, they saw the scoring on the cam lobes and saw oil starvation. Replaced the cams and still saw oil starvation. Replaced the oil pump, and saw lots of smoke coming out (damage already done to the cylinders). Compression tests shown total loss in cylinders 2 and 3 to render the engine done. There was nothing blocking the oil in the sump or pickup tube. The pump simply ran out of life. No sludge.

I figure that I still got good life out of the oil pump at 237k miles. So I would say it's likely good preventative measures to replace it a bit sooner... like at 200k miles... to avoid any engine disasters... assuming you are staying on top of routine maintenance, using the correct fluids, driving normal, etc.

Would oil pressure test/gauge be able to detect oncoming failure? I know that the oil pressure light is a simple above/below threshold switch. But would consistent falling oil pressure trend predict the pump failure or are they bust and done type items?
Thanks!

[CyberPMG]

Would oil pressure test/gauge be able to detect oncoming failure? I know that the oil pressure light is a simple above/below threshold switch. But would consistent falling oil pressure trend predict the pump failure or are they bust and done type items?
Thanks!

When I put in my new engine, I added a new gauge that would measure oil temp and oil pressure along with boost and AFR info. I found out that the oil pressure varies across the RPM range and load. I remember Old Guy posting a link to an article that had a chart listing oil pressure values based on RPM and gear selection. It wasn't for an AMB engine, but was something similar. To me, watching the oil pressure values dance everywhere was getting on my nerves even though it was operating perfectly normal (new engine and new oil pump). I later changed gauges and no longer keep track of the oil pressure, but do keep track of oil and coolant temperatures which will help keep track of cooling (and flow) to give me more info and hopefully early warning.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Now that our cars are all 10+ years old and most have over 100K miles, I got to thinking about preventative maintenance items that should be replaced which could otherwise fail suddenly and leave you stranded. The two items that pop up here are fuel pump/filter and oil pump/pick-up. Especially so when you take into account the fact that the factory essentially considers these "lifetime" parts without any stated replacement interval.

Are there any other items that fall into that category?

[eljay]

Are there any other items that fall into that category?

Yes. Pretty much the whole car needs to be replaced if you want to be preventative.

And I'm only half-joking as besides the body frame, the only thing left to replace on my car is the engine itself and the rear subframe.
OK, it's not that bad, but things won't last forever. It's hard to say what you must replace as it varies based on how and where the car is driven.
Rubber hoses, suspension bushings will be first victims, typically.

[9744RR]

We have a 2003 REVO stage 3 (GTRS Eliminator since 2007 at 40,000) with over 145,000 miles now. The car has been driven form Canada to Florida several times and everywhere in between. Only replaced 2 check valves, transmission oil/filter (80k), 2 MAF's, 2 o2 sensors, timing belt at (75k and 135k), a few sets of coil packs and plugs, one fuel pump/filter, motor/trans mounts, changed power steering oil only once and flushed brake fluid, shocks and brakes pads and a few small maintenance items during the life of the car. Car still runs like a champ but has a leak in the radiator and needs new bushings and mounts. The car is now being driven by our daughter.

Overall the B6 has been a great car. It still looks good and is fun to drive.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

It occurred to me the other day that the earliest B6's (my Dec 2001-built car included), are now 20 years old! Given that, and coupled with CyberPMG's detailed post above, I thought it was worth bumping this thread. Since I last contributed to it, I have replaced the fuel filter, but I'm still running on the original pump, now at 152K miles. I definitely need to put that on the list of things to pro-actively replace.

Any thoughts on whether wheel bearings should be preventatively replaced? I've already done the fronts, but rears are original.

Feel free to add to the pro-active parts replacement list if you feel like we're missing something.

[9744RR]

Since my last post on this thread in 2018, I've only replaced the oil, filter, plugs and fuel filter. Still need to replace the bushings, mounts, brake pads and wiper blades. Heater core needs to be flushed and for some reason the leak in the radiator mysteriously disappeared. Car needs a good wash and wax as well.