Hey guys

This is a quick little question which i hope wont annoy too many people. I have had my 2000 A4 1.8 (No Turbo) for 2 years now and love it. Its mileage is high - 130k, i bought it at 112k. I had it serviced at the Audi dealership i bought the car from at 120k and now want to try my hand at servicing it myself to save money.

I have really looked around this site for a basic guide to servicing but haven't found it. Is there a guide that someone could link to please?

I looked into getting a hayes manual but they only do one for a Passat / A4 1.8T. Would this be ok for the non turbo engine?

Cheers for your help and i will put up a guide myself once i figure out how to do it.

 

In the US we go by the father of all service manuals, the one and only Bentley Audi A4 Service Manual. Looking through what it covers, it doesn't seem to cover the 1.8 non-turbo, it should be the same though, just minus the turbo.

 

Cheers for the info, I actually have a copy of the Bentley Service Manual. It assumes a certain level of prior knowledge I feel. Simple things like how to change the oil / Oil filters are not there, or at least are hidden by so much other information to render it useless. I placed an order for the Haynes book from amazon, at least now i will be able to change the oil every 5k miles.

Looking at the service book I got with the car it seems like an awful lot of checks are recommended. My option is to pay a dealership €390 for a full service or skip these checks and just change the simple things myself. Any thoughts on how necessary these checks are? The Timing belt is 70k miles old now so im going to leave that for another 10k.

 

Sorry to repeat myself here, but can someone let me know if the benefits of getting a full service in an Audi dealership outweigh the price at 131,000 miles?

 

What services are you planning to do? Let us know and maybe we can help.

Most of us here are from the States, in which the 1.8 non-turbo isn't available here.

 

here u go this should do it http://www.audidiy.com/b5a4.html

 

Well my haynes manual just arrived, and that link for audidiy.com is excellent. My problem is that i am very new to all this, even though i am a qualified mechanical engineer. My main problem is if i inspect something, how will i know if its not as it should be? Hopefully the haynes manual will help me here. Another problem is how do i know if the spark plugs need to be replaced?

Which of the following should i wait until they start failing before getting fixed, Which should i look at now and which really require a more experienced, and expensive, eye?

The service schedule requires:

1. Engine oil changed, oil filter renewed
2. All components that influence exhaust emissions checked visually
3. Exhaust system checked for leaks or damage
4. Battery acid level checked and topped up with distilled water as necessary
5. Coolant checked + topped up
6. Dust and pollen filter for vehicle interior renewed
7. Data stored in fault memory of self diagnosis systems checked
8. Brake pad thickness checked
9. Brake system visually checked for leaks or damage
10. Brake fluid level checked, depending on brake pad wear
11. Engine, gearbox, final drive, C.V. joint boots visually inspected for leaks and damage
12. Steering knuckle ball joint sealing boots inspected for leaks and damage
13. Track rod ends checked for play and looseness' sealing boots checked
14. Door arresters and lock cylinders lubricated
15. Road test final check

And then the additional 40k miles stuff
16. Air filter element renewed and housing cleaned
17. Spark plugs replaced
18. Hydrolic fluid level checked

Every two Years:
19. Brake fluid changed (preferably at same time as service if possible)

Every 2 years after first 3:
Emisions test

 

I would recommend the Haynes manual for this car for you.. it's quite good.
Whatever gaps and holes it has can be found on the internet.

Inspecting all of this does not take a very long time.. .pay a friend who knows more about cars to do it with you, it's quite easy.
I recommend buying a KN panel filter on ebay, pollen filter from dealer. Coolant from wherever. I'm using Castrol Magnatec 5w-40 for mine, which has proven to work good (1.6 euro). Take off all wheels and look at the brake pads, on both side, to check for uneven wear, and for them being close to worn out. Check your CV boots for holes. Any odd sounds from it?

Would definately not go to a dealer for this, it's too expensive for this car.

 

spark plugs will need to be change when there dark black

 

thats excellent guys, cheers. Going to try it myself. As for saving money? No chance, tools are expensive. Might be able to borrow some from work at least.