Guys.

I'm fast aproaching the 43K mile service and the clocks are giving me the countdown.

Now I always service my cars myself (after a few run ins with previous unscrupulous dealers) and need to know the following:-

1. DO I need VAGCOM to rid the service timer or is there a button like on the GM/Vauxhalls?

2. Other than the usual filters etc what else will need doing? As Skoda want £300+ for this service.

Thanks in advance.

GC

As you say the usual filters:

Oil,Air and Fuel filters at 40K is reqiured.

No you don,t need VAGCOM to reset the service indicator.

If your on the fixed interval servicing then you don't need vag-com (not 100% sure on the procedure, but sure somone in the know will be along soon), however if you are on variable servicing then you will need vag-com to do the reset.

I don't have my book to hand, but I have done all the servicing so far on mine (inc the cambelt at 120k, which was a bit of a pita).

When is brake fluid due 60k/3 years?

2 years but not sure about mileage.

Brake fluid is 2 years regardless of mileage, because the limitting factor is water content, which is a factor of how long it's been out of the sealed container, not of how much it's been used.

Excellent, then it must be a bloody expensive brake fluid in there for the main dealer to charge that much, I mean filters are pence and it dosent take that long. However how do you reset without VAGCOM?

Cheers to all who have posted thus far.

As mentioned you don't need vagcom to reset the counter. HOWEVER, it won't be a full service as you can't scan all the systems and won't know of any problems developing.

...

1. Add oil flush additive, warm engine and run for 15 minutes to remove sludge and deposits

2. Drain engine oil, remove old oil filter and suction clean out oil from oil filter housing

3. Fit new oil filter, fill engine with fleet high quality oil (API SH or better grade), semi synthetic Tdi, Fully Synth PD

4. Add anti leak treatment to engine oil, designed to keep oil seals supple and prevent expensive leaks

5. Change air filter and clean housing of debris

6. Petrol models gap and fit new spark plugs with copper grease & service distributor cap and rotor arm as required

7. On diesel models change fuel filter and bleed system

8. Add injection cleaner additive to fuel tank.

9. Change cabin pollen filter where fitted, vacuum housing for leaves/debris

10. Check and top up as required PAS fluid, brake fluid, washer fluid, cooling fluid, battery water (if not sealed)

11. Tension aux (fan) belt as required and replace as required (cost of belt extra)

12. Lubricate all locks with PTFE or Teflon ‘dry’ lube

13. Lubricate all hinges with spray grease

14. At customer's request fit new wiper blades if required, no labour charge (cost of parts charged extra)

15. Check lights and replace any blown bulbs, no labour charge (cost of parts charged extra)

16. Check tyres and set pressures.

17. Clean/adjust rear drum brakes, inspect and report on disk brakes and CV joint gaiters

18. Strip cambelt and tensioners, check for shaft oil leaks, check tensioner condition and lubricate tensioner bearings where possible, refit new cambelt or cambelt and tensioners (kit, extra cost) if required, tension and time belt and refit covers/pulleys.

19. VW/Audi group 1.9 tdi engines with Bosch pump (pre-PD) computer check and adjust injection timing

20. Run engine and general check/report on general vehicle condition, advise as required

21. Older carb vehicles (non-fuel injection) check fuel mixture via electronic CO meter and tune up as required

22. VW TDi models with electronic computer, reset service computer and read & clear fault codes with printout of any fault codes & explanation with suggestions given to customer

...

Greg.

Guys.

I'm fast aproaching the 43K mile service and the clocks are giving me the countdown.

Now I always service my cars myself (after a few run ins with previous unscrupulous dealers) and need to know the following:-

1. DO I need VAGCOM to rid the service timer or is there a button like on the GM/Vauxhalls?

2. Other than the usual filters etc what else will need doing? As Skoda want £300+ for this service.

Thanks in advance.

GC

Edited 23 July, 200817 yr by RobClubley
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Hold down trip button, turn ign on, release trip button, turn clock button till --- apppears, short press trip button, repeat, power (ign) off, power on, done.

Filters are not pence, the fuel filter alone is about £12 and the cabin filters are around £10 each. Oil/air more reasonable. Oil can be up to £30 depending on type, then there is the cambelt kit if a major service - the kit alone is about £110 trade price. Done slowly and carefully it's at least a days job with the cambelt. If it isn't, then less items must have been covered is all I can say.

Talking to a VAG specialist independant (bigger one) the other day and he too takes about 5 hrs to carefully do a cambelt (without the rest of the service).

Dpends if you clean out all the bolt holes, clean down the engine for grease, grease all threads, use a torque wrench etc, or just 'slap' stuff on.

We work for our money to beat the dealers, both in quality & price

Greg.

Excellent, then it must be a bloody expensive brake fluid in there for the main dealer to charge that much, I mean filters are pence and it dosent take that long. However how do you reset without VAGCOM?

Cheers to all who have posted thus far.

Just as a note Skoda and indeed VAG recommend not using additives or any kind of flushes especially on a PD engine. The oil does a vital job of lubricating the high pressure cam lobes and thts why the oil is expensive, thining the oil down with anything is only going to alter those properties and induce wear onto these vital areas.

I don't slap anything on, but it don't take me anywhere near 5 hours to do a cambelt..lol

That's a fair point, however if we wish to get technical - this is the same VAG who recomend not changing the gearbox oil on 01M's, it's well established that at 80k by oil analysis that oil is shot and is the cause of the majority of failures in that box. But VAG highly recommend not changing the oil.

It's the same VAG who recomend the longlife oil and longlife changes. Yet PD camshaft failure seems to be happening only on longlife oil with longlife changes from what I can tell. Not so much the oil is bad I suspect, as the changes are silly long. Moral of the story, just because VAG says it, it's not gospel.

Further - thinning oil doesn't automatically reduce it's lubrication properties. Those long chain polymers which give the wear contact protection are not damaged by adding oil flush. The carrier medium gets a bit thinner and it can dissolve the sticky stuff and drain out easier though. I agree with you, I would be cautious using flushing oil on a PD (a complete change of oil to a lightweight flushing oil, typically SAE30 with flushing additives) but I'd have to see some evidence or calculations to think that an additive is going to cause an issue. You also have to factor in that you don't rev the engine, it idles. At idle, the loading on cam lobes and bearings is a magnitude less than what it experiences at high rpm and under load. So essentially, a drastically worse spec oil would give enough protection at idle.

Just discussion, everyone has their own way of doing things I guess. Even vag

Greg.

Just as a note Skoda and indeed VAG recommend not using additives or any kind of flushes especially on a PD engine. The oil does a vital job of lubricating the high pressure cam lobes and thts why the oil is expensive, thining the oil down with anything is only going to alter those properties and induce wear onto these vital areas.

I don't slap anything on, but it don't take me anywhere near 5 hours to do a cambelt..lol

Em, SAE30 is at the light end of "normal" for the 100C temperature of VAG recommended oils, so why is it regarded as a "light oil" for flushing purposes? I accept that there can be "other stuff" in flushing oils, but my question is about why there's a claim that SAE30 is light.

Just looked up one mfr's flushing oil, got this:

"Flushing Oil is a combination of highly refined light mineral oils and detergent/dispersant additives to enhance removal of sludge and lacquers. Flushing oil can be used where a system’s history is unknown or the service fill lubricant may have been used beyond its oil drain interval. This product can also be used if the service fill lubricant has to be drained because of a contamination problem.

Flushing Oil can be used in petrol and diesel engines, hydraulic systems and compressors.

Viscosity @ 40c =22

Viscosity @ 100c = 3.6"

Probably I remembered the SAE30 wrongly, either that or it was a different brand which relied on the detergent and emulsifying agents more.

The above is THIN!

Greg.

Em, SAE30 is at the light end of "normal" for the 100C temperature of VAG recommended oils, so why is it regarded as a "light oil" for flushing purposes? I accept that there can be "other stuff" in flushing oils, but my question is about why there's a claim that SAE30 is light.

Yep, that is thin!! I'd not advise doing anything much more than idling the engine on that , certainly not driving any distance unless a short trip is needed to warm the engine up.

Just looked up one mfr's flushing oil, got this:

"Flushing Oil is a combination of highly refined light mineral oils and detergent/dispersant additives to enhance removal of sludge and lacquers. Flushing oil can be used where a system’s history is unknown or the service fill lubricant may have been used beyond its oil drain interval. This product can also be used if the service fill lubricant has to be drained because of a contamination problem.

Flushing Oil can be used in petrol and diesel engines, hydraulic systems and compressors.

Viscosity @ 40c =22

Viscosity @ 100c = 3.6"

Probably I remembered the SAE30 wrongly, either that or it was a different brand which relied on the detergent and emulsifying agents more.

The above is THIN!

Greg.

Agreed. In fact, I won't even rev the engine - certainly not drive. Load on bearings at idle is nothing compared to under load putting power down to move a vehicle. It does say on all of the tins just to idle the engine, do not drive. As lummox says there are some pretty high pressure points in the later engines, having said that I'm happy to use additive/flush but only in this context of a gentle idle then drain. It's not failed me in 15 years but has resulted in some very clean engines after a couple of services that were previously in quite a bad state inside.

I'd add a note of caution for SEVERELY gunked engines, doing this can loosen it up and then it can thicken the oil or block a galler or more likely the oil pickup. In severe engines multiple flushes and a sump removal to check inside/clean the oil pump strainer is advised, followed by an oil change after a few hundred miles.

I once had an engine that was full, completely to the camcover, of crud. The rockers had carved a little arc in the crud like a cave where they worked.....

It came into me because it had a sticking valve :eek:

Yep, that is thin!! I'd not advise doing anything much more than idling the engine on that , certainly not driving any distance unless a short trip is needed to warm the engine up.

I pointed out Skoda/VAG recomendations for vehicles in the warranty period if taking cars outside the network that was all.

Flush can kill 1.8T engines, especially on the Passat/Superb. Loosening the carbon inside the engine which then doesnt drain out and then blockes the oil pump pick up. This also happens when switching from semi to synth to many times.

I have no facts, figures or fancy phrases for this, only my own experience.

Hey buddy,

Your experience counts for a huge amount, I for one think you must be about the most knowledgable VW tech out there!

You also have a major advantage over me, you get to see lots of vehicles. I see a couple a week.

However, I do get to spend a lot more time on stuff and get to 'play'. I advise different service skedules which would avoid all these long life failures. It's my belief that longlife and long cambelt intervals, as well as 'no change' gearbox oil is all driven by marketing to fleet managers for lower service & off road times. The actual manufacturers of the gearboxes and the belts give much shorter guidelines, but not officially as they can't be seen to make a mockery of VAG's wisdom.

I'm aware of the 1.8T issue, but for what it's worth, one has to ask why it's getting such a build up in there in the first place. Considering it's on manufacturer approved oil and skedule. To my mind, their oil or skedule or service routine must be wrong or the problem wouldn't be there, just like the PD camshaft issue.

On my own vehicles (I run a 1.8T) I use oil flush additive every time and do 5k oil changes (essentially an oil change between services). You should see the inside of my engines

I would argue that NOT flushing the engine and not changing oil enough, causes the 1.8T's issue.

I would also absolutely 100% agree with you that if it's got in a bad state, you can't just flush and go (is that toilet humour???). I'd either flush several times, drop the sump if it still looks to be a problem, and perhaps do a further oil change after a few hundred miles and go from there depending what the oil looks like. Just leaving it on the longlife skedule won't cause a short term problem, but the sludge can continue to build up in galleries and on the pickup IMHO, leading to failure later down the line.

What do VAG have you do if you get one in that's missed a longlife service and is in a real bad sludged state, bearing in mind it's just booked for a longlife service?

Greg.

I pointed out Skoda/VAG recomendations for vehicles in the warranty period if taking cars outside the network that was all.

Flush can kill 1.8T engines, especially on the Passat/Superb. Loosening the carbon inside the engine which then doesnt drain out and then blockes the oil pump pick up. This also happens when switching from semi to synth to many times.

I have no facts, figures or fancy phrases for this, only my own experience.