1.8T oil pressure

[t4 camper]

Hi,
I am trying to find out the correct oil pressure spec for my wifes A4 B6 1.8T.
The oil light came on the other day when she was driving, thought it was low level warning (yellow). After she consulted the book she told me it was the pressure light, red.
I measured the pressure this morning and it is surprizingly low.
Cold was 25-30lbs (180-210kpa)
when engine was hot 20-25lbs (150-180kpa).

My searches so far have not revealed the specs.
The car is a 2003 done 80 000k.
I was suspecting a faultly sender but tested the pressure before blindly replacing the sender.

If it is low, is the pump and pressure relief valve accessible from underneath by dropping the sump?

Thanks Neil

[Golf Loon]

Its an epic mission to drop the sump on that car. check out where the subframe is mate.

Change the sensor and see if that fixes is, or flush the engine oil with a bit of diesel or engine cleaner, blocked oil lines etc are common on those cars.

[Jmac]

Mate that oil pressure doesnt sound good. Cold minimum you should have 1.3 Bar which is 18psi odds at 2500rpm. Hot max at 3500 should be 4.5 bar which is 65psi . i think the pressure switches are doing their job properly there. Strainer on the oil pump bad for blockages mate and this reqs like Loon says the sump dropped and the sump off
Jmac

[t4 camper]

Thanks Jimmy,

I searched and found an extract of an AudiVAG manual somewhere on the net that nominated 29psi as the standard.

I was relieved when I read that but also surprized that is was so low.

Where would you suggest I go to for parts?

If I am going to drop the sump I will more than likely fit a new oil pump and pressure relief valve and clean the strainer and sump properly.

After finding the 29psi reference I took it for a drive up the street, the oil pressure light seems to come on when going up hill or acceleration, indicating blocked strainer at the back.
Oil level is full or slightly over.

I measured it at the sender at the top rear of the oil filter housing.
There is another sender lower down and to rear, below oil filter housing directly into the block.
What is that for?

Thanks for the help Golf and Jimmy.

Neil

[Golf Loon]

You have to drop the front subframe and support the engine with lifting gear to remove the sump on that car.

Not to be attempted by the faint hearted or with minimal tools at home.

Good luck with it.

[gmx]

Might be a sludge issue..?

[GHW]

Hi,
I am trying to find out the correct oil pressure spec for my wifes A4 B6 1.8T.
The oil light came on the other day when she was driving, thought it was low level warning (yellow). After she consulted the book she told me it was the pressure light, red.
I measured the pressure this morning and it is surprizingly low.
Cold was 25-30lbs (180-210kpa)
when engine was hot 20-25lbs (150-180kpa).

My searches so far have not revealed the specs.
The car is a 2003 done 80 000k.
I was suspecting a faultly sender but tested the pressure before blindly replacing the sender.

If it is low, is the pump and pressure relief valve accessible from underneath by dropping the sump?

Thanks Neil

Hi Neil, you need to get the oil feed running to the heads checked as this model has a known oil sludge build up issue. The oil feed is about the size of a 20c piece according to an Audi tech I spoke to and, in is words "pathetic for a performance engine"(it was subsequently increased in size to overcome this "non-existent" issue in later models, Audi deny this has ever been the case). go to audioilsludge.com and check for yourself. Audi in the US increased engine warranty after the fix but still deny the engine is seriously flawed, yeah right! oh, and if it does let go? about 16-20k should see you right or buy a second hand engine.

[Transporter]

Hi Neil, you need to get the oil feed running to the heads checked as this model has a known oil sludge build up issue. The oil feed is about the size of a 20c piece according to an Audi tech I spoke to and, in is words "pathetic for a performance engine"(it was subsequently increased in size to overcome this "non-existent" issue in later models, Audi deny this has ever been the case). go to audioilsludge.com and check for yourself. Audi in the US increased engine warranty after the fix but still deny the engine is seriously flawed, yeah right! oh, and if it does let go? about 16-20k should see you right or buy a second hand engine.

Did they have a sludge problem in Europe? Most likely NOT.
It could be the US only problem, since IMO they've ignored the maintenance schedule and many engines were using not approved oil (they used "Meet only" oils).
The same happened to MB in US they failed to specify "use only fully synthetic oil in the engine and many people in US used mineral oil and were using Long life service regime that was designed for fully synthetic oils. It went to court, MB lost and had to extend the warranty on the effected engines and pay for the repairs.

The same could apply to AU, since even today there is not approved oil widely available and you have to be looking for it.

[auditwmba]

Morning all,

The oil sludge issue is specifically maintenance based; if you use sub-standard (read non-synthetic) oil AND don't change at the prescribed interval, the oil suction screen in the sump can be gummed-up. Removal and cleaning is the only solution although an aggressive de-sludger may work.

It would appear that B5 Passats suffered from sludge build-up more than A4s - not sure why.

And, yes, for a turbo-charged engine, there isn't much oil in reserve in the sump!

regards

Rob

[Transporter]

Hi,
I am trying to find out the correct oil pressure spec for my wifes A4 B6 1.8T.
The oil light came on the other day when she was driving, thought it was low level warning (yellow). After she consulted the book she told me it was the pressure light, red.
I measured the pressure this morning and it is surprizingly low.
Cold was 25-30lbs (180-210kpa)
when engine was hot 20-25lbs (150-180kpa).

My searches so far have not revealed the specs.
The car is a 2003 done 80 000k.
I was suspecting a faultly sender but tested the pressure before blindly replacing the sender.

If it is low, is the pump and pressure relief valve accessible from underneath by dropping the sump?

Thanks Neil

Try to flush the engine; replace oil filter before you do it. Use good quality engine oil flush I would try Liqui Moly I think they call it Engine Detox - from Supercheap Auto and than put fresh 5W40 (approved) oil in the sump. See what happens?