My Oil Change On 2006 A8L @ 89k Miles
03-08-2014, 11:53 PM
#1
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
My Oil Change On 2006 A8L @ 89k Miles
OK, I did it today, it was a nice day and the car got some TLC. This car was one owner, same area, and only serviced at Santa Monica Audi dealer and 1 reputable audi shop in West LA, screws missing, stripped.
When I'm too old to do my own work on my car any more, I'll buy an electric car, I will never take my cars to any mechanics anywhere, the chance to have the car mis-handled in inevitable. I've seen it with even my new Q7 only serviced with dealers only.
- The oil evacuator worked well.
- The oil filter from Amazon sucked, but NAPA near home had one for $15, luckily.
- Spark plugs after 30k miles, still look good.
- Timing belt is like new at 89k miles - I'll check again in a year or so.
- Again, this is my car and this is how I did it...
Cheers,
Louis
When I'm too old to do my own work on my car any more, I'll buy an electric car, I will never take my cars to any mechanics anywhere, the chance to have the car mis-handled in inevitable. I've seen it with even my new Q7 only serviced with dealers only.
- The oil evacuator worked well.
- The oil filter from Amazon sucked, but NAPA near home had one for $15, luckily.
- Spark plugs after 30k miles, still look good.
- Timing belt is like new at 89k miles - I'll check again in a year or so.
- Again, this is my car and this is how I did it...
Cheers,
Louis
03-09-2014, 06:27 AM
#2
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Yea the oil change procedure on the 40 valve 4.2 sucks. I did mine on my 04 and I was like holy crap. This is the longest oil change I've ever done. Glad you finally did yours. I gotta do mine within a month since it needs it. Mine only has 88K and i'll do the plugs, oil change and filter, fuel and air filter. I inspected my timing belt too when I first got it at 87K and it still looks good. If it ain't broke don't fix it. If it had 100K miles or more when I bought it then that timing belt service would've been the first thing I do. Since it still looks good with no stripped teeth or cracks inside the teeth and outside i'll hold off for a bit unless he thermostat happens to take a crap on me then i'll do it. I fully believe that's why Audi recommends the timing belt and water pump change at 75K because they know the thermostats they put in there won't last long, so they figure once you're in that deep, might as well do it all. Most OEM thermostats go bad around 30-50K and I see some of them don't go bad until around when it's time to changes the timing belt.
On my 04 I did my timing belt service because it had 110K miles and it's never been done so I had to do it. On this one like I said I'm going to hold off unless I have overheating problems. The 04 I had was actually a good car and held up very well but I wanted something with lower mileage and more features. It had the original air shocks, suspension parts(except for the control arm bushings),and the original battery which I finally changed out after 9.5 years. The problems I had with that car was issues with the power trunk and my cam chain tensioners were leaking which is normal wear and tear and common problems.
That's good that you're old school and you change parts when it really needs it. No point of spending unnecessary money if you don't have to.
On my 04 I did my timing belt service because it had 110K miles and it's never been done so I had to do it. On this one like I said I'm going to hold off unless I have overheating problems. The 04 I had was actually a good car and held up very well but I wanted something with lower mileage and more features. It had the original air shocks, suspension parts(except for the control arm bushings),and the original battery which I finally changed out after 9.5 years. The problems I had with that car was issues with the power trunk and my cam chain tensioners were leaking which is normal wear and tear and common problems.
That's good that you're old school and you change parts when it really needs it. No point of spending unnecessary money if you don't have to.
03-09-2014, 07:33 AM
#3
AudiWorld Super User
I must disagree with you. Visual inspection of a short part of timing belt can be deceiving. Thermostat and water pump can and will live you in the middle of nowhere. Here is how it looks when it is too late:
03-09-2014, 07:41 AM
#4
AudiWorld Super User
As someone who has performed 17 or 18 oil changes on my '04; welcome to the club. I buy my filters from a dealer or Import part specialist over the counter along with my oil.
As for the timing belt, my factory one still looked good at 112,000 miles whe my thermostat failed in the closed position in the Summer. See my other threads about the poor quality, not very durable water pump, timing belt and esp serpentine belt I got sucked into buying from Blau Parts. Never again.safety -related or engine critical parts are Audi dealer TRUE OEM for me going forward.
As for the timing belt, my factory one still looked good at 112,000 miles whe my thermostat failed in the closed position in the Summer. See my other threads about the poor quality, not very durable water pump, timing belt and esp serpentine belt I got sucked into buying from Blau Parts. Never again.safety -related or engine critical parts are Audi dealer TRUE OEM for me going forward.
03-09-2014, 09:25 AM
#5
AudiWorld Member
Thanks for yet another video ltooz. Some of your electrical stuff is way over my head, but cool to watch.
Fortunately for the 2009 a8 , the oil filer has been moved to above the engine. I like the oil extractor idea because time before last I had my oil changed, the mechanic did not properly tighten the oil drain bolt or use a good crush washer. So the oils started to leak on my driveway and i had to go back a second time. Yah, it seem like the best person to trust to do it right is yourself if you can.
Fortunately for the 2009 a8 , the oil filer has been moved to above the engine. I like the oil extractor idea because time before last I had my oil changed, the mechanic did not properly tighten the oil drain bolt or use a good crush washer. So the oils started to leak on my driveway and i had to go back a second time. Yah, it seem like the best person to trust to do it right is yourself if you can.
03-09-2014, 09:27 AM
#6
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As someone who has performed 17 or 18 oil changes on my '04; welcome to the club. I buy my filters from a dealer or Import part specialist over the counter along with my oil.
As for the timing belt, my factory one still looked good at 112,000 miles whe my thermostat failed in the closed position in the Summer. See my other threads about the poor quality, not very durable water pump, timing belt and esp serpentine belt I got sucked into buying from Blau Parts. Never again.safety -related or engine critical parts are Audi dealer TRUE OEM for me going forward.
As for the timing belt, my factory one still looked good at 112,000 miles whe my thermostat failed in the closed position in the Summer. See my other threads about the poor quality, not very durable water pump, timing belt and esp serpentine belt I got sucked into buying from Blau Parts. Never again.safety -related or engine critical parts are Audi dealer TRUE OEM for me going forward.
03-09-2014, 09:45 AM
#7
Banned
Hello Louis
I just watched your latest video "My Oil Change On 2006 A8L @ 89k Miles " very good !
I have to say I personally would not push that timing belt, even though it may look grate BUT there may be ware unseen to the naked eye.
I just watched your latest video "My Oil Change On 2006 A8L @ 89k Miles " very good !
I have to say I personally would not push that timing belt, even though it may look grate BUT there may be ware unseen to the naked eye.
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03-09-2014, 10:18 AM
#8
I've never used an extractor but I bought a topsider to use on my first diy oil change, coming soon. I'm curious how much oil might be left after extracting so I plan to open the drain plug afterwards for peace of mind. If there's not much left I'll be an extractor from here on out.
03-09-2014, 02:12 PM
#9
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
You did a good job yourself and bad parts... amazing
As someone who has performed 17 or 18 oil changes on my '04; welcome to the club. I buy my filters from a dealer or Import part specialist over the counter along with my oil.
As for the timing belt, my factory one still looked good at 112,000 miles whe my thermostat failed in the closed position in the Summer. See my other threads about the poor quality, not very durable water pump, timing belt and esp serpentine belt I got sucked into buying from Blau Parts. Never again.safety -related or engine critical parts are Audi dealer TRUE OEM for me going forward.
As for the timing belt, my factory one still looked good at 112,000 miles whe my thermostat failed in the closed position in the Summer. See my other threads about the poor quality, not very durable water pump, timing belt and esp serpentine belt I got sucked into buying from Blau Parts. Never again.safety -related or engine critical parts are Audi dealer TRUE OEM for me going forward.
I read on the forum, 50k miles service (screwed up totally... finger pointing and a walking wounded engine), 75k miles service, again. What the heck are these services? If the car runs, everything works... It's just like my legs are running fine, but they're old now, replace them with wooden ones... Do you change the remote control batteries every 3 months or you wait until they're dead?
When the gas mileage drops 2-3 mpg, and the car runs rough, I'll replace my spark plugs - How many times people change spark plugs and one brand new one burnt in a day after the service?
Again, my A8L is my disposable car, it does sound bad, but I've been doing this for many years now. Here is my goal with my 2006 A8L:
-$17k + $1 retrofit stuff = $18k .
If I go out and lease a Honda, Toyota, BMW 3 series, Mercedes, ... etc, at least $300/month $3600/year and 12k miles only a year without the great comfort and options like my A8L. Really, everything costs more than $300/month.
-$18k/$3600 = 5 years or 30cent per mile.
- My A8L will have to last 5 years or 60k miles without any additional cost.
- So after 16k miles = $4800 depreciation - my car now only worths $13,200.
- After 5 or 6 years, I'll <a href="http://forums.quattroworld.com/a8/msgs/48268.phtml">sell the car or donate</a>.
Again, this is how I think of my cars, I'm sure some people are in love with their cars and think differently. I only love something that don't give me problems and I break the rule or belief of "love is unconditional" again... Oh well...
Cheers,
Louis
