The important of changing oil.
#1
01-07-2008, 12:44 PM
The important of changing oil.
Reg 96 Audi A6 FWD
When my daughter came home for Christmas and I found that the lifters on her A6 were making a bit noise when she first started it. The oil was a bit dirty so I changed it and the lifter noise went away so I figured everything was OK. While I was at it, I replaced the right front half shaft and wheel bearing, and told her that I would need to do a bit of brake work in a few weeks. (Probably pads on all four corners.)
On New Years day, she called and said that the car had stopped running. After a tow to my favorite garage, we learned that one of the cam bearings had seized, the cam had broken, and the timing belt was a mess. You can guess what it did to the motor!
So a 1996 A6 with only 170,000 miles is off to Audi Heaven where it will get to play with the Audi 90’s, 100’s, 200’s, 4000’s, 5000’s and Ur Quattro’s of old. Too bad, it didn’t go 350,000 like my 200QT!
Looks like I'll have to remove the 96 A6 from my signature.
PS Someday I’ll tell you about out poor experience with AAA, but for now I’m too mad to talk about it.
When my daughter came home for Christmas and I found that the lifters on her A6 were making a bit noise when she first started it. The oil was a bit dirty so I changed it and the lifter noise went away so I figured everything was OK. While I was at it, I replaced the right front half shaft and wheel bearing, and told her that I would need to do a bit of brake work in a few weeks. (Probably pads on all four corners.)
On New Years day, she called and said that the car had stopped running. After a tow to my favorite garage, we learned that one of the cam bearings had seized, the cam had broken, and the timing belt was a mess. You can guess what it did to the motor!
So a 1996 A6 with only 170,000 miles is off to Audi Heaven where it will get to play with the Audi 90’s, 100’s, 200’s, 4000’s, 5000’s and Ur Quattro’s of old. Too bad, it didn’t go 350,000 like my 200QT!
Looks like I'll have to remove the 96 A6 from my signature.
PS Someday I’ll tell you about out poor experience with AAA, but for now I’m too mad to talk about it.
#5
01-09-2008, 03:04 AM
RE: The important of changing oil.
Regards for the loss......
People dont understand the importance of oil changing. At the independant shop that I take my Audis too there are two 03 Audi 1.8ts both getting new motors due to lack of oil changes. The 1.8s have such a small oil screenpickup andwhen it gets clogged with sluge the top of the motor is starved for oil(what happened to both the cars in the shop). One of the cars had 58k miles and the other had 71k. I couldnt believe it, such a nice car just abused. Anyway, just thinking about this type of thing gets me fired up, better stop now, i have tons of related stories!
People dont understand the importance of oil changing. At the independant shop that I take my Audis too there are two 03 Audi 1.8ts both getting new motors due to lack of oil changes. The 1.8s have such a small oil screenpickup andwhen it gets clogged with sluge the top of the motor is starved for oil(what happened to both the cars in the shop). One of the cars had 58k miles and the other had 71k. I couldnt believe it, such a nice car just abused. Anyway, just thinking about this type of thing gets me fired up, better stop now, i have tons of related stories!
#7
01-09-2008, 07:58 AM
RE: The important of changing oil.
Yes, unmentioned is the type of oil used in the oil change. Too heavy a weight of oil during a cold spell will give the above results.
Interstingly, though, too good of an oil can also give the same result! If an engine has sludge build up and a high detergent oil is used, it will loosen up the sludge, which can then act like the above too heavy oil and cause the same problems. That's why, on occasion, the over-priced and generally useless "engine flush" at your local quick oil change place is actually a good, useful deal!
Bob
Interstingly, though, too good of an oil can also give the same result! If an engine has sludge build up and a high detergent oil is used, it will loosen up the sludge, which can then act like the above too heavy oil and cause the same problems. That's why, on occasion, the over-priced and generally useless "engine flush" at your local quick oil change place is actually a good, useful deal!
Bob
