DIY oil change advice

[Steviedakota]

My car (1.4tsi ACT) is well outside warranty now so going to be doing my own oil changes from now on.  I'll be using an oil extractor but the oil filter is low down requiring putting the car on ramps and removing the underbody tray to gain access, does this sound right or is there a way at it from above?

 

Also any tips on how to do the service reset?

[Danoid]

If the oil filter is low down and have to remove the plastics, then you might as well just undo the sump plug and buy a new one to be honest

[sherlocks VRS]

Oil extractors are a waste of time as you cannot guarantee getting all the oil out of the sump, you’ve got to take the under tray off so just buy a sump bung and do it properly 

[ApertureS]

23 minutes ago, sherlocks VRS said:

Oil extractors are a waste of time as you cannot guarantee getting all the oil out of the sump, you’ve got to take the under tray off so just buy a sump bung and do it properly 

This is just hearsay. If an engine is made to have oil sucked out, such as the new Mercedes engine, the amount of oil left in is basically none, lots of videos on YouTube covering it.

 

not sure about the 1.4act engine if it is made to do it, I believe the 2.0tsi is though

 

 

[310golfr]

best to drain it properly,  when your under there, you can check for other problems , ie inspect driveshaft boots etc and look for any oil leaks on engine or gearbox.

if you have a good quality jack, there is no need for ramps, 

i've stopped using my ramps as i always feel it's easy to drive right over the back edge of them, especially with a dsg box

i jack 1 wheel up 4 inches and put a pre made wooden box under the wheel, release the jack and go round to the other side and jack it up 8 inches, put the 8 inch box under the wheel, then go back round to the other side and jack up to the same 8 inches and put another pre made box under the wheel, job done

for me this way works better and no ramps required.

[Ootohere]

Sucking out is pretty good for those doing lots of oil changes and those DIY.

That is draining 'Hot engine oil'  safely & cleanly removed,

then the sump plug removed and replaced and the last of any oil is removed if the car is at the right angle.

 

If your car is new to you or you are doing someone else's there might be sludge but really if your car has been maintained that is doubtful.

None of it is rocket science really.

 

Make your choices. 

  If you sucked the oil last time and changed the sump plug and found there was no dribbling oil the next time you might leave the sump plug well alone. 

[numskull]

An oil extraction pump is compatible with the EA888 engine however, at least 250-500ml is left inside the engine after it’s drained, so unless you have it a completely flushed with a pressurised mechanical engine flush machine, equipment which very, very few dealers and independents in the U.K. have, cruddy oil residue is left in there at every change.
 

Incidentally, on an engine which is compatible with one, you’ll get more oil out of the sump using a pump. If you want to, you can the leave oil in the engine to carry on draining into the sump for a couple of hours after it’s no longer extracting oil as you’ll then get a few more ml out. 

[Ootohere]

& many have had problems / issues with hydraulic timing chain tensioners with some engines because of those doing oil changes that have not a clue.

That includes at Main Dealers. 

Care needed when drain hot oil because you can easily balls things up.   The timing jumping a tooth is not a good thing.

 

Even leaving an engine draining cold oil for a long time can be an issue for the hydraulic chain tensioner.

Edited 1 May, 2022 by roottoot

[J.R.]

And on my last 2 engines with inverted oil filter housings I could use the suction tool to remove a significant amount of dirty oil remaining in the filter housing and also draw more oil than what was visible so perhaps from the pick up pipe, the oil pump or an oil gallery, I dont know where but it is a significant quantity of the old oil that would otherwise remain in the engine.

[numskull]

27 minutes ago, roottoot said:

& many have had problems / issues with hydraulic timing chain tensioners with some engines because of those doing oil changes that have not a clue.

That includes at Main Dealers. 

Care needed when drain hot oil because you can easily balls things up.   The timing jumping a tooth is not a good thing.

 

Even leaving an engine draining cold oil for a long time can be an issue for the hydraulic chain tensioner.

That’s a worry. How does one do a oil change correctly?

 

I was only starting the 280 once a month or longer whilst I was ill and not driving for 6 months, so I presume that would give the same effect as draining cold oil after removing most of it? 
 

 

[Ootohere]

Warm the engine and change the oil & filter.  

Oil out and oil back in.

 

Engine flush if you want, or just hotter oil drained when doing the job.   ( I do not use engine flush with engines i run and changed the oil on regularly.)

I have used cheap oil to flush run an old engine after draining the crap it came with, then drain the cheap stuff and put in good oil.

 

Know the engine as a mechanic or tech should but a Fitter might not. 

Be that at a Dealership or a Tyre & Exhaust / Service Centre. 

Edited 1 May, 2022 by roottoot

[sherlocks VRS]

3 hours ago, ApertureS said:

This is just hearsay. If an engine is made to have oil sucked out, such as the new Mercedes engine, the amount of oil left in is basically none, lots of videos on YouTube covering it.

 

not sure about the 1.4act engine if it is made to do it, I believe the 2.0tsi is though

 

 

For the sake of about 3 quid for a new sump plug why would you bother, it’s got to have the under tray removed to get to the filter anyway and it’s not a merc, you can do it on the 2.0 tsi but that still

leaves a amount of oil in, with that engine being a act engine I wouldn’t want to risk it with the oil galleries being so fine and the oil fed act system being run at such fine tolerances, but each to there own, these are just my thoughts from doing this job for nearly 40 years and trying to help and guide others and I’ve seeing some muppet repairs over the years as well from Sunday DIYers

[numskull]

1 hour ago, roottoot said:

Warm the engine and change the oil & filter.  

Oil out and oil back in.

Great, well that’s a relief as that’s what I’ve been doing for 50 years on bikes, cars and tractors! On wonders how that could be undertaken incorrectly? 

[numskull]

 

22 minutes ago, sherlocks VRS said:

For the sake of about 3 quid for a new sump plug why would you bother, it’s got to have the under tray removed to get to the filter anyway and it’s not a merc, you can do it on the 2.0 tsi

Well, not everyone has a ramp or lift and the filter is on the top of the EA888 series engines. This is one of the reasons why more dealers are using oil extractors as they’re just as efficient as the  (maybe more) and they save time so better profit % to revenue. Save 30 mins and that saves a chargeable £65. 

[numskull]

54 minutes ago, sherlocks VRS said:

you can do it on the 2.0 tsi but that still leaves a amount of oil in, with that engine being a act engine

Incidentally, the EA888 is not an ACT engine. 

[sherlocks VRS]

2 hours ago, numskull said:

 

Well, not everyone has a ramp or lift and the filter is on the top of the EA888 series engines. This is one of the reasons why more dealers are using oil extractors as they’re just as efficient as the  (maybe more) and they save time so better profit % to revenue. Save 30 mins and that saves a chargeable £65. 

The act engines filter is on the front of the block which you access  from the underside, (steel canister type), Skoda has the 2.0 tsi engines (Octavia and superb etc) filter is on the top which is a paper element type, so the original question was regarding a 1.4 act engine which would need doing from underneath, incidentally I do work at a main dealer and we don’t use extraction systems as we go underneath every car to do a health check so it’s a waste

of time not doing it  by draining it properly and also changing the filter whilst your there 

[sherlocks VRS]

2 hours ago, numskull said:

 

Well, not everyone has a ramp or lift and the filter is on the top of the EA888 series engines. This is one of the reasons why more dealers are using oil extractors as they’re just as efficient as the  (maybe more) and they save time so better profit % to revenue. Save 30 mins and that saves a chargeable £65. 

 

[Ootohere]

@sherlocks VRS  You are just what people need for so much help.   

 

Does the Dealership you work at advice people with a VAQ Diff that they require oil changes @ 30,000 miles/ 3 years

& with Haldex do you clean filters or replace or just do oil changes, or give customers the choice?

[sherlocks VRS]

1 minute ago, roottoot said:

@sherlocks VRS  You are just what people need for so much help.   

 

Does the Dealership you work at advice people with a VAQ Diff that they require oil changes @ 30,000 miles/ 3 years

& with Haldex do you clean filters or replace or just do oil changes, or give customers the choice?

When we do a Haldex service  we don’t just change the oil we also remove the pump and wash the gauze off and clean the pump housing out, we then flush the unit out with a little Haldex oil before putting the pump back in and refilling the system, to be honest it’s false economy just doing the oil, it’s amazing just how much crud there is when the pump is removed,   Pointless just changing the oil without cleaning the gauze and housing because if the gauze gets too blocked it could burn the pump out eventually. 

[Ootohere]

Good. 

What a shame this is not common across Skoda UK Main Dealers or Motor Groups.

 

?

What about VAQ servicing, are you doing many? 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/494489-front-differential-service-vrs-245/page/2

 

 

Edited 1 May, 2022 by roottoot

[sherlocks VRS]

33 minutes ago, roottoot said:

Good. 

What a shame this is not common across Skoda UK Main Dealers or Motor Groups.

 

?

What about VAQ servicing, are you doing many? 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/494489-front-differential-service-vrs-245/page/2

 

 

We do see some but not many, very easy to do, new oil and 2 plugs, 1x drain and 1x fill plugs

[Steviedakota]

Thanks all the responses, very useful information. Just checked with my local main dealer and at €150 might just leave it to them for now.