R36 Oil Change Q's

[brad]

Snerlo
There's no rocket science in it. It's no more technical than the Falcon and probably better laid out / more logical. If you managed a Falcon without covering the floor with oil you'll manage a VW.

[Jakeys]

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.

It doesn't, it lists 504. Technically it also lists 502 without longlife, but my understanding was VW recommends longlife oils are used in Australia even when not using longlife servicing regardless due to our conditions. Whether that is valid, that's their guideline so 504 it is.

I already have done this though, I understand all this and I am happy using the retail Edge meeting that spec, I am more curious with the differences in the oils just as an interested owner, that's all. Not because I am worried retail Castrol Edge is insufficient, I am certain it is fine, I just always like to know these details, and it is a bit interesting... to me, anyway.

[Passat R36]

Mobil1 ESP 5W-30 from eBay seller in Sydbey!

[brad]

Mobil1 ESP 5W-30 from eBay seller in Sydbey!

GL Lubricants? I've bought from him. It's good oil. ESP 5w-30 is in the Octavia & my mower at this very moment.

Jakeys: My manuals pretty specific too but it's for an EA888. For petrol engines: QG0/QG2 is OK with 502; QG1 needs 504.

I've never seen anything written that says AU should use LL oils regardless. I'd be interested to see that addendum to the manual.

Technically, you can use 502 on 15k service intervals & this made sense when 502 was $50/5L and 504 was only available from the dealer for $90-$130/5L but now it's not worth faffing with when you can get 504 on special for <$60.

This may aid your curiosity
https://sites.google.com/site/1810ma...ce-information

[Jakeys]

Snerlo
There's no rocket science in it. It's no more technical than the Falcon and probably better laid out / more logical. If you managed a Falcon without covering the floor with oil you'll manage a VW.

Agreed. Just finished, overall a very simple and easy process. No more difficult than any regular car, just need to take the splash guard off to access the filter which is only seven hex screws. Only downside was the drain on the filter cap was partially stripped and although I tried my best to be careful with it, it's extremely soft and stripped even further. So I had to just dump the filter, which of course is very messy indeed. I put down a bunch of plastic sheeting beforehand though so no dramas.

On the plus side, there was a part number on the cap, so next time I do this I'll just order a new one. Whole process took me a couple hours with cleanup, but being my first time, next time should be quicker.

[Umai Naa!!]

Undo that clip on the left of the pic, and you can move the harness out of the way. There's enough give in it, to hang it over a bracket that's directly above it.

[Jakeys]

Undo that clip on the left of the pic, and you can move the harness out of the way. There's enough give in it, to hang it over a bracket that's directly above it.

I did unclip it and try to move it far enough out of the way but as stated the drain was stripped so I had to pull the filter instead. It got messy.

[snerlo]

Ooooh, that's no good. I hate it when it gets messy!

[JB's Dub]

Ahh yes, that lovely piece or wiring! Good work mate.

[Jakeys]

So looking into it, the stripping of the soft drain plug is very common. The replacement filter cap + drain is the same price on ECS Tuning as their aftermarket billet one, which has a stronger plug. So I thought maybe next time I'll just buy that instead.