Yeah then you defintely have an 'add oil' light and not a low pressure oil light, the low oil pressure warning sound will continously go off while your driving and wont stop until you shut off the engine. More than likely, if you have the correct amount of oil in the car, it will be your oil level sensor that needs replacing/cleaning.

 

I second that.

 

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the help. The shop can't get me in this week, so I'm really glad it's not urgent. Since it can't hurt, I'll SeaFoam it, run it easy for a bit & take it in for a quick oil change. (I don't have anyplace level enough for a jack)

 

Auditech,

Now that you have me scared $hitless, and wishing I never bought this A4 for my wife, I guess the next thing to do is ask you the best method for preventing the sludge. What should I do with it?

I have a 2002 1.8T Quattro. The car has been great for me. I bought it with 49,000 miles on it. The girl who had it before me had it dealer serviced the whole time she had it. When I took it over, I immediately changed the oil with Royal Purple Synthetic. I work for Summit Racing Equipment, so I get Royal Purple products at cost. Therefore, I have changed the oil every 3,000 to 4,000 miles since I bought it with Synthetic. So, it does get clean Synthetic very frequently, because it is easy for me to afford at my cost. I also use the oversize filters every time. It now has 67,000 miles on it. We baby the car. It is driven by my wife 34 miles a day. Never raced, no punk kids whipping on it. It purrs like a kitten. No ticking. No turbo problems. No whining. Never seen so much as a check engine or oil light. Knock on wood.

Tell me aboutremoving this oil pickup tube. Is it good preventative maintenance? Should I have it removed and cleaned or replaced? What is the best bet to keep it running a long time. I am open to anything. I have a lot of resources. I work at Summit, and live 5 miles from ECS Tuning. I am game. Tell me what to do.

Thanks,

Chris

 

whoahh you are stressing about nothing!

if you have kept all your receipts for oil and filters, you are warrantied to 100k

im at 78k now and use mobil 1 and big filter every 5k and just did my valve cover gasket and it was clean....

people who use small filters, dyno oil, drive very short stretches, run 10k between oil changes need to be worried..... not you

 

Papachistou is not correct about your situation. First of all, mileage has no effect on the TSB. I've replaced an engine for free that had 180k on the clock, he of course had all his reciepts for every 10k miles at least.
Second Royal purple is a very good semi synthetic oil, (not full synthetic) like what crazyhawk does which i think is a great idea is to pour a couple ounces of seafoam into the crankcase and run it for a little while before each oil change. That should keep all the componets clean. That or pour half the can in there every 20k like i previously wrote in my post.

NOTE: Having reciepts for oil and changing it yourself does not apply to the TSB so have someone else change it for you and keep the reciept.

 

awww. no clutch removal advice tech?

i just did my VVG, 78k,clean as a whistle

 

WTF are you talking about?

 

I only put the seafoam in at 130K mi. for the first time.
I had grit in the oil, and now it's smooth. I use Mobil 1 10W-40
high mileage which meets ACEA A3. I use Mann W940/25 filters.
Remove the oil filler cap and move a finger around. If the
oil is smooth you're good.

 

Sorry to keep poking away at the issue here, but i'm a little confused after reading this particular post. A red oil can indicator with only an initial warning sound is most likely an oil levelsensor?? Is this the same oil can that shows up when it's a pressure issue? I only ask becausemy car did the initial beep andi dont have a manual to check