joedroid78

Just bought this 05 allroad for a reasonable price with 56K miles on motor. Although not perfect, I'm planning on using this car for the next 3 years at least. I'm new to the Audi world and from what I read, I expect to keep aside some $ for maintenance. However, I'm planning on doing some maintenance (e.g., oil change) by myself.

Q1: I have a shot of the engine oil filler (with cap removed) and this is what I see.

Is what I see normal for 56K miles engine? I do see some thin dark brown crust on the high side of the plate visible immediately once the cap is open. Haven't done any oil change before. Does this raise any flags?

Q2: I'm trying to buy oil change kits online and currently I'm looking at the ones from Blauparts (they are selling Ravenol - not much info in the internet) and europarts.com (Liqui Moly, Pento, etc). Any recommendations? I'd prefer to buy oil locally from Advanced Auto or Autozone, however, not sure whether I will get the RIGHT oil filter or drain plug bolt. Do you recommend that I buy these kits online or should I buy from local stores? Appreciate recommendations.

Thank you all for the time/
__________________
2005 Audi allroad Tip 2.7T
Mechanicsburg, PA

ivonius4.2

Daily driver? stock or mod, etc? Tell us this and suggested budgets will follow.
ByTheWay: Messiah College grad here. I just spent a Friday might at Williams Grove (living in Cincinnati).

ivonius4.2

--after a very bad personal parts failure experience. Look around the forums for others' experiences and decide for yourself. Local is good for routine stuff. I use Mobil M1-301 oil filters from local Autozone. You can re-use your drain bolt. And soft metal washer is good for a couple of oil-changes. you can purchase replacement metal washers online or at a local Audi dealer.

ivonius4.2

I personally use Royal Purple zinc fortified, but I am over-the-top and may be a sucker for marketing hype. Pennzoil, Mobil, Castrol, etc. all make very high-quality synthetics.

joedroid78

Good to know u lived around this area & also Messiah grad - Congrads. Hope you had a nice time last Friday.
Weekend drive, occasional weekly use - driven mostly local & its stock, except for susp. coil conversion.

1. Is that crust in the oil filler normal?
2. Autozone says Mobil M1-204 fits, however, M1-301 doesn't fit.
3. The car has new Havoline (regular, not synth Havoline deposit shield). Should I change to synth immediately or run it for a few months before change? During change, should I need to flush, or should I just pour the new synth over the existing regular?

Thanks

G0to60

That crust is normal. A little oil splashes up and dries there so it's no big deal.

I use Mobil 1 synthetic with a Mann filter that I buy at my local parts store.

You will be fine with the oil that's in there and just change it out with synthetic when you are due for your next oil change. You don't need to flush out the whole system just continue changing at regular intervals (I go about 5000 miles between changes) with the synthetic of your choice.

I also spend the time to look around under the car to see if I can find anything out of the ordinary. Leaks, tears, broken parts, loose parts, etc.

ivonius4.2

As far as maintenance $$$: 1) I would immediately replace the viscous clutch fan with a clutch and fan for an A6 2.7t. This plastic fan blade on our allroads suddenly breaks and wrecks havoc with the radiator, so best to get ahead of that. If the entire car only has 56k miles you might get a couple of years yet out of the front air suspension airbags, but this will be the big expense. Somewhere around 10 years of age and/or 75,000 miles you are going to see the car sitting lower in the front each morning. It will, of course pump up when you start the car, but you want to fix this promptly (dont let it go for weeks) or the air compressor will burn out from running more than it should. So WHEN this happens you can either purchase cheaper Arnott air bags (which are guaranteed for life, but have some failure issues as related on these forums), or you can bite the bullet and buy the expensive AUDI OEM bags and know you will not have to deal with it for another 6-8 years. I replaced my struts at the same time but this was a waste. The original front struts can last for 130,0000+ miles. Do your homework; see what that's going to cost; and prepare. Other than that... after-run coolant pump might develop a leak. CV boots split, control arms need to be replaced, tie rod ends wear out... usual stuff. Turbo's routinely last 130,000+ miles if you run synthetic oil, don't go full boost on cold engine, and don't go full boost less than 5 minutes from home, so they can cool down. Some day when you replace the timing belt & thermostat, install a metal thermostat housing for the B5 S4 2.7t. Our allroad housing is plastic and has been known to suddenly burst/fail. This ain't a Camry! Enjoy.

allroaddave

Why not buy your filter from your Audi dealer and make sure you get the one engineered for your car?

I use Mobil 1, and change once a year as our car only averages about 5-6K a year. If it were driven more I'd go out to 10K a year with good synthetic oil. Running turbos you want a good synth oil in there, I buy the 5 qt jugs on sale at Wal Mart for $22, but be aware you'll need close to 7 quarts on a change..

ArnottDoug

Arnott thinks the Gen II air bag issue has been resolved. It was a faulty component from one of our vendors but they quickly fixed the problem and we haven't had any problems with it since. Our Gen I bags did not have this issue.

https://www.arnottindustries.com/par...17_pid124.html

Use code AUDISAVE12 to save up to 10%* off the retail prices on Arnott® replacement air suspension products for your Audi®. You can place your order online at the Arnott Web Store or by calling Arnott Customer Support at 1-800-251-8993 X 804 Mon – Friday from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET. Orders placed by 2:30 ET are typically shipped out the same day.

*Max savings $75 per order, not valid with any other order or on shipping, taxes or core deposits (if any).

joedroid78

Thanks folks for the response. I just received the maintenance history from the dealer of the 1st owner, updated them in my signature. Crossed the first 200 miles, I and better half LOVE this car. Replaced the engine oil filler cap to the updated/vented "F" type as recommended in one post here.

Now, the inspection went through, but the indy shop pointed out 2 things
1. Battery test was poor: Measured 193A, rated for 760A, 12.41V. Battery stays at about 14 when car switches on. Last Wednesday, accidentally left front lights ON from 8 AM will 1 PM, still was able to start the car with NO problem. Indy suggests Interstate Battery @ 180 + 60 install. I want to install as it seems relatively easy. Unfortunately, don't have the radio codes or owner's manual. Having a 2005 allroad, I think its Symphony II - would I run into problems if I try to replace battery myself? or should I provide temporary power while replacing battery - any pointers? I'm planning to reuse the old battery to store solar power, but thats a thread by itself.
2. Tyre wearing unevenly, need to replace both rear in 6 months, front seems good.
3. This I noticed this morning when I looked into the passenger side wheel bay (pic attached).
Is this the tie rod that is deteriorating? Or am I looking at something else? Is this a simple DIY? No sounds or problems handling wise.