Had to take the S6 in for an oil change today (my single car garage is storing my passat with a non-op engine in it, so no space to do it myself). Took it to the first shop, and they said the drain plug threads were stripped, so they wouldn’t do the oil change and didn’t have time to fix the drain plug hole.
So, drove it to another shop, and they showed me that the drain plug and threading were fine, the other shop was on crack. Great. So they perform my oil change, and I ask if they’d be able to do a de-carb for me soon, and they said sure, that’s easy! Hmm, “easy”? Seemed suspicious, so I asked how they do it, and they said they disconnect the fuel line, and run cleaner through the engine. I said the engine is direct-port injection, the cleaner wouldn’t clean off the valves, and he argued and said sure it would… Well, 2 shops down, time to keep searching. Unfortunately, the only other shop in town that I had high hopes for is off the list as well - They quoted me $3000 to replace my chain tensioners in my Passat a few months ago. After taking the valve cover off myself, it turns out they just need new guides, which are $14 on amazon. Too bad my old Subaru shop doesn’t know squat about Audi’s, they were really awesome… oh well, the search continues. Anyone else have shop incompetency stories?
Sad that some “mechanics” don’t understand the basics of fuel routing.
No issues here, I have a highly competent indy.
That’s bad. And like it was said. So many shops don’t know much more then just talking better then the average person.
Here is a whopper for you
http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=2804.0
where are you located maybe some of the guys know some good indy shops out your way.
Or learn your self! I am going to pick up a few things like this
I am planning on making a gasket to fit the inlet for the shop vac should be really easy. actually something like an arm band would probably do the job nicely in a pinch. but a gasket would not be hard to make get the dimensions of the intake inlet some paper Mache some silicone rubber mold mix put the inlet for the shop vac in the mold pour the rubber around it boom instant gasket. Actually the videos of this in use show some walnut shell dust still escapes a gasket would probably make a tighter seal and less dust. Heck if it works well enough maybe ill just start making my own. I am sure there is a market considering all direct injected vehicles with carbon build up.
Ya unfortunately my garage is tied up so I can’t do much work myself currently. Which is the reason why I took my car to a shop for a simple oil change for the first time in my entire life. Although, this weekend I’ve had some spare time so I’ve been ripping apart the engine on my passat so I can get hopefully get it running soon and back it out of the garage to make room for project S6. Clarification: I live at an apartment that has an attached single-car garage, and I can’t park a non-op in the outside parking spaces. So it’s stuck in there til she runs, and the Audi is stuck going to a shop for any work that requires anything beyond an oil top-off. Obviously, my preference would be to perform all work myself in the future.
Anyways, to answer a previous question, I’m in the Sacramento area. I think I may have just found a good shop in the area, but that’s just speculation based on, well… those of you that read the thread linked above will laugh at me… Yelp reviews. lol. Performance Motor Works in Rocklin, CA. I’ll give them a try next time something comes up, maybe I’ll test the waters by asking them about carbon cleaning a v10 and see what they say and/or do.
Scott f that. Your located by Jhm. That’s the big score. They are the top shop for na builds. You can get a TCU tune on top of spacers all the goodies. I would reach out to them.
For oil changes get yourself a good oil extractor. It pulls the oil out the top rather than needing a lift or jack stands etc. No mess no trouble. Just buy a new filter at audi for 20 bucks or the requisite Mann filter and you’re laughing.
That’s exactly what I do. Piece of cake.
And the best part is, you don’t have to:
a) make appointments
b) drop your car off or wait
c) pay for someone else’s time while you waste your own time
d) worry about someone not taking appropriate care or making mistakes
e) miss out on doing some hands-on maintenance with your beautiful automobile
Which one do you have DD? I have a Pela14 however it is a bit annoying in that if you empty it out too aggressively the handle and mechanism gets oil in it, and everytime you then push the handle down oil sprays or oozes out of it. I haven’t seen anywhere online where there’s a DIY to fix that. It seems like it’s contaminated for life frigging thing.
Mityvac 7201 Fluid Evacuator Plus
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SR7TC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I’ve had zero issues like what you mention. Actually zero issues overall.
It can handle an rs4? That’s why I bought the 15 qt pela
Hey, thats the exact one I bought. Still in the box, in the garage.
Saki, if you want to try it out sometime, just let me know.
Not in one shot, you have to empty it out once.
However, it is very simple to empty. Release the plug at the top, tilt to allow it to pour out of the spout. Nothing awkward or messy about it.
You guys should make a oil change thread
Maybe a dumb question, but why is that better than draining the oil out the drain plug hole? It seems like gravity would do a better job of getting crud out of the oil pan than hand-pumping the oil out from the top. Is it just a cleaner way to do it? Or does it get more of the old oil out?
You dont have to jack your car up
You dont have to get under the car
You dont have oil going everywhere when you unscrew the drain plug
And on youtube, the videos I saw show this method actually gets more of the old oil out than the drain plug, on most cars
Sold!
Hypothetical question. I think it was brought up.
The oil gets darker due to deposits and age. If you ever look at the oil pan if you do it the old way you will notice dirt and deposits that came out during the oil change. Wouldn’t this leave behind those deposits. Remember when you drain the oil the oil is like water down a drain as it drains it brings any of that debris with it
Interesting. Honestly, I dont think you would know which is better in that regard unless you did a test. And even then, every model car might react differently.
My plan was to do one oil change with the extractor, and then do one at the shop, and then next at home, and next in the shop, and so on.
If I did that, how often should I be doing the oil change on the v10, and do I have to do a filter on each one, or every second?
If you get your oil change done at the same time as other stuff, they really arent charging you that much for it. And they take care of disposing the oil.
BTW, I heard that any place that deals with disposing oil (i.e. any garage) is obligated to take your dirty oil, without charge (Canada Law apparently).
I’ve got ramps in my garage, so I just drive up and I’ve got a good 18 inches of clearance, not too worried about that part. I dunno, it just seems like more work using the pump, but they seem cheap enough so maybe I’ll give it a shot.
Filters are only $20 or so, oil is like $90, so my opinion is to just change the filter with every oil change even if it doesn’t need it.
In CA, they charge for disposal, but I think it’s only 1 or 2 bucks. It’s a pain to recycle it yourself, I hate taking a bucket of used motor oil for a ride in my trunk. So I usually just pour it down the storm drain 
(kidding)