R36 Oil Change Q's

[Passat R36]

For less messy

[Umai Naa!!]

It drains the filter housing. It's just a small aluminium plug in the bottom of the canister. When the 6mm hex hasn't rounded-out by a bafoon, it's a neat way to avoid making a massive mess everywhere when you undo the cansiter.

[Jakeys]

Makes sense. Smart! Smarter than making the dipstick black, heh.

[snerlo]

Good call mate! Makes it hard to see where the oil level is hey!!

[Jakeys]

Also get yourself a new sump plug as well. It'll come with a new captive washer.

DOH! I knew I forgot something. Need the washer too ah fark back I go, unless anyone knows if the correct type can be bought from a generic auto store

In other news though, as suggested by someone here, it sounds like Castrol Edge SLX Professional LL03 is the dealer oil and isn't available to the public, Longlife 3 is the Volkswagen branded oil that is available to the public and I suspect it is probably just rebranded and way overpriced Edge SLX Pro although nobody seems to know exactly, and Castrol Edge (Also called Edge Titanium) is the off the shelf retail version. There are probably slight variances between the retail and dealer oils as this was the case with the same scenario for BMW (Someone did an oil examination test on the two) but both meet the 504/507 spec and I am comfortable running the retail Edge given the massive price difference and the fact I do changes at 7500km anyway, both are rated for 15,000km.

[brad]

but both meet the 504/507 spec and I am comfortable running the retail Edge given the massive price difference and the fact I do changes at 7500km anyway, both are rated for 15,000km.

504/507 are rated for variable service regime up to 2yrs / 30,000km.

502.00 is rated for 15,000km intervals. If you are doing 7500km changes then 502 is more than adequate quality but most people use the 504/507 as the price difference is minimal these days (about $20 more for 5L - it used to be $70 difference back in 2007).

[Jakeys]

504/507 are rated for variable service regime up to 2yrs / 30,000km.

502.00 is rated for 15,000km intervals. If you are doing 7500km changes then 502 is more than adequate quality but most people use the 504/507 as the price difference is minimal these days (about $20 more for 5L - it used to be $70 difference back in 2007).

Interesting. My book says 504/507 is the required oil spec, and that changes are done at the 15km services. Bit of a contradiction it would seem.

[Umai Naa!!]

Let's not overthink things here. 504/507 is what VW specifies for the Australian market. 502 is simply just a suitable alternative.

Also, new plug comes with new washer. You can't buy one without the other, as the washer doesn't cone off.

[brad]

Interesting. My book says 504/507 is the required oil spec, and that changes are done at the 15km services. Bit of a contradiction it would seem.

Because Australia doesn't do / understand Variable Service and only does 15k/12m unless you meet the list of "harsh conditions" (short trips, towing, etc) then you have a chat to the service advisor for a recomendation on a more suitable (frequent) service regime. Australian service schedules contradict the "International" service schedules quite a lot - eg: spark plug change intervals, timing belt change intervals, etc.

If it was the UK/Europe, Variable Service would be the norm and if the dealer put in 504 at a fixed service interval the customer would be appoplectic because hey've paid a few dollars more than what they needed to.

I'm sure your book lists more oil specifications than 504/507.

Anyway, just use 504/507, then you are at maximum protection while meeting VWs requirements.

re: the washer/plug. I snipped the aluminium crush washer off & fitted a fibre washer I had in the parts box. It does the job and I've got a dozen of them I want to use up. The genuine ones are cheap as chips though. If you just want to buy a washer at Repco, I think the thread diameter is 14mm.

[snerlo]

Will be keen to hear the final wrap up of this Jake as I used to do 7.5k interval changes with my XR8 but I am a little apprehensive with the R given I haven't done one yet and that these things are a lot more technical than my trusty old XR8 ever was. You might inspire me to keep going with the 7.5k interval oil changes.