A4 1.8T Q (B6)- SLUDGE problem confirmed
Arthur Marks
aamarks at cox.net
Wed Aug 3 02:58:38 EDT 2005
----- Original Message -----
From: Tony Hoffman
To: Arthur Marks ; quattro at audifans.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 8:07 PM
Subject: Re: A4 1.8T Q (B6)- SLUDGE problem confirmed
Art,
Ok, I'll start by saying I just quit working at the local Audi dealership, and got some very interesting news on this problem while I worked there.
First of all, each dealership handles these cases differently. Ours was more than happy to replace the engine given that the cam bearing surface was scored. If not, they would replace the oil pump and pickup tube, and anything else that might have needed it. Audi in no way recommends flushing the engine, but that doesn't mean you can't do it.
The reason for the sludging[...]
Most salesmen don't know about turbo cool-down periods, much less to explain it to a customer. Therefore, we have a bunch of 1.8T cars that were run hard on conventional motor oil with 10k oil changes and zero cool-down. Tell me if that doesn't sound like a recipe for problems. All I can say is this, flush it, and try to have the oil pump replaced. As for the 10% over on mileage, if it's the case, I can see why the dealer could have problems with it.
Oh, and Audi only changes the oil when recommended, not before. That is why it wasn't changed at 18k.
I just wish you the best of luck,
Tony Hoffman
Tony, thanks for the inside info. Would it be asking an ex-employee too much to know how prevalent the problem is and whether it exists for cars that had their oil changed within 10% of the mileage spec? I'd love to see their computers to find out what percentage of all their customers have all of their oil changes within 10%. I'd venture to guess it is low and that is how they came up with that variance.
I feel the 10% is a cop out. As you state, you must be over the mileage spec before they will do the service. A person that drives a lot and doesn't get into the dealer until a week or two after the service reminder can easily go over 10%.
I suppose it could also be argued that in my case the sludge problem was caused by a defective oil pump (replaced at 24k miles).
Thanks.
--Art
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