Articus

Hey guys. I just picked up my first Audi. An 01' A4. Gave the previous owner the side eye for neglecting to change the oil in the last 9,000 miles....I know the timing belt is on borrowed time as well. Terrified driving it home the other day. But I'll order the kit from ECS really soon and replace it myselg before driving any further.

I've been looking through the forums and I just want to confirm some things about the car.

1) Oil: Castrol Edge 5W-40 right?
- and how much oil do I need to use with the larger of the 2 OEM oil filters?
(i've read 3.7 quart, 4.2 Quarts, 4.5 Quarts on various places). But just to avid overfilling anyone have any experience with the big OEM oil filter?

2) Coolant: Reservoir says VW G12 - What is G12+ and G12++?? Should I continue with G12? Or is G12+ etc..going to be an improvement.

3) Once I confirm the coolant, what recipe are you all using? 50/50 Water to Antifreeze ratio? I'll have to go get some distilled water from a grocery store.

-Speaking of, what volume of coolant do I need to prepare to refill the system.

4) Gas is 93 Octane right? (Super, Ultra, Premium or whatever they call it near you?)?

Articus

Finally, does anyone have a PDF of the maintenance schedule for the '01 A4? I found the official Audi document the other day but lost the link to the site/can't find in browser history. This was the next best thing: 2001 AUDI A4 + S4 Maintenance Schedule | 3ZERO3 Motorsports Blog

twentysevenlitres

G12+ and G12++ are improvements on the original G12.
All are compatible.
You are fine to use whichever is easiest to find for you (you probably won't find G12 in isolation on spec sheets anymore, all will have + or ++).

If you don't know whats in the car, give it a flush through first.
Capacity should be in the vicinity of 7 litres. Most flushes throughs will use about 6 litres (difficult to completely drain block and heater core).
Use 7 litres as your mix ratio though 50:50 or better concentrate to distilled water on final fill.

Best way to drain engine is through drain tap on bottom left of radiator (right hand side when facing car) behind the lower bumper/foglight grille on that side.

SmoothJimmo

Are you running the 1.8T or the 2.8 v6? If the 2.8, the oil capacity with filter change is 5+ quarts. You can get the Mann OEM filters at various online outfits and I have even seen them occasionally at WalMart

Articus

Oh sorry my mistake. I have the 1.8T (AWM)

Articus

Also does anyone have a wiring diagram for the tail lights? There are spots for 4 bulbs but I don't know which is what the upper most bulb needs to be.

twentysevenlitres

It varies by year on these, as there's at least 3 distinct tail light designs on the B5.
The top bulbs on yours are probably the rear fogs.

Best way to tell is a visual inspection of the bulb base panel/backing plate.
Where that particular bulb mounts does it have one or two little tabs at the bottom?
One tab in the centre would indicate a fog light bulb (single filament 21W).
Two tabs slightly off centre would indicate a dual filament bulb (combination brake/tail 21/5W).

Articus

Thanks Marty that's what I suspected after hearing about Audi's single rear fog light design. If I'm looking for a replacement tail lamp section, will a 2001 tail lamp be the only kind that fits my car? Including the connector, fitment into body and all? Or can I take a tail lamp section from a 99.5 MY onwards A4.

twentysevenlitres

I think all Facelift B5's used the same tailights. So you should be ok with anything post '99.5.


A common mod with these is to hook the fogs up to the brake light circuit for extra brake lights. Not sure how you go with the bulb warning circuit (my '97 didn't have it), though it should be looking for low resistance, not higher! Also be careful if your region suffers from thick fogs, where high intensity tail lights are needed.