Audi A4 Avant - First oil change

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Wed 11 Apr 2018 02:23
Audi A4 Avant - First oil change - Longshanks2018

Hello

Looking for a bit of advice please. Bought a 2006 Audi A4 Avant about a month ago. Told by the guy he had "done" the oil and water etc so I didnt bother to check it until 3 days ago. Silly me. The oil level was about an inch over the max on the stick so after advice today i changed the oil and filter.

Never done it before but researched ALOT and all went well in the end. Until the refilling, I was told by an ex-machanic to put a 3rd in run for 10 seconds add a bit more and repeat. The car holds 3.8 litres of oil, I put in 1.5 litres, ran for 10/5 secs added another 500 ml ran for 10/15 secs, waited couple of mins added another 1 litre waited 10 mins added 200 'll and finished.

Question is would running with just That 1.5 litres have caused any damage ? Only ran it, didn't drive it anywhere.

Bit worried now ??

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Longshanks2018 on 11/04/2018 at 02:24

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Wed 11 Apr 2018 02:27
Audi A4 Avant - First oil change - Longshanks2018

Also on the first start after the 1.5 litre was added to empty engine for about 5 seconds there was a sound of liquid going through pipes, similar to when you turn on a hose pipe, am I safe to assume that was the new oil travelling round ? Or is it a bad sign. it's a 2l tdi if that makes a difference.

Took it for a brief drive up and down the road after and nothing seemed amiss, no lights or knocking noises.

Cheers

Edited by Longshanks2018 on 11/04/2018 at 03:09

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Wed 11 Apr 2018 07:48
Audi A4 Avant - First oil change - RobJP

I wouldn't be concerned by either the running the engine for a few seconds on a partial oil fill, nor the 'sloshing' sound.

I would be more concerned - or rather 'cautious' about the oil level being very high to start with.

This engine has (I believe) a DPF, and the DPF does 'active regen' by pumping extra diesel into the cylinders to basically start a fire in the exhaust system and burn off the ash. If the regen is interrupted, that extra diesel sinks into the sump, contaminating the engine oil and raising the oil level. If the oil level gets high enough, the engine can suffer a 'runaway' where it bounces off the rev limiter until it blows up.

So, check your oil level now - preferably it should be on the mid point, rather than the max point. Then check it every week for a couple of months to see if it's rising or not.

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Wed 11 Apr 2018 10:37
Audi A4 Avant - First oil change - gordonbennet

Well there's a first time for everything, and that's the first time i've heard of putting a splash of oil in then running it up and so on after refil.

Put it this way that is the very last way i would refill engine oil, you put almost the required amount in, bringing it at least half way between the min and max points on the dipstick, then you run the engine up for few seconds (some people take measures to ensure the car doesn't start initially to allow the oil to circulate with the starter motor only turning the engine) then stop, allow the oil to settle and top up to almost the max level.

I doubt if you've done any damage this time, but would never run an engine on such a small percentage of oil.

To allay your fears a little, back in my kerbside cowboy days i serviced a Granada 2.8V6, no oil showing on the dipstick, i managed to get less than 1 litre, yes 1 litre, of filthy carbon/treacle out of the drain plug, no leaks at all so this car had gone for months without any oil to speak of in the sump.

It ran sweetly and went on to give years of reliable service, showing no signs of its previous neglect.

The sloshing sound you descibe possibly points to air in the cooling system, so i'd be looking for air locks there and keeping on eye on all levels for a while.

Edited by gordonbennet on 11/04/2018 at 10:42

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Wed 11 Apr 2018 13:55
Audi A4 Avant - First oil change - Andrew-T

I doubt that running a just-drained engine for a few seconds will cause any damage - all mating surfaces will be well coated in oil, which doesn't instantly disappear. If you know the size of the recommended refill, I would add about 90% of it, run the engine until the oil-pressure warning goes off, then let things drain down and check the dipstick (I assume the car is fairly level). Top up near the Max mark and monitor the level occasionally.

Back about 1980 I was driving down a grassy farm track, heard a bump, and noticed in my rearview mirror a trail of oil. A bar from a farm gate was hidden in the grass and had knocked the filter housing off the engine of my Maxi (a design fault perhaps, but handy for changes). I immediately stopped and awaited rescue. No lasting damage.

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Wed 11 Apr 2018 14:17
Audi A4 Avant - First oil change - Longshanks2018

Hi everyone

Sincere thanks for taking the time to answer, by the look of things I've got away with it this time. Thanks for all the help, I was quite enjoying the process until the question popped into my head. Now I know for next time.

Thanks again.

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