isaacallen73

Hey everyone, I've been lurking around these forums for a long time since i got my car, but this is my first time posting

Just as an intro, I have a 2006 A4 2.0T 6MT. At 124,800 miles now. Last oil change was at 120,500 (4,300 miles ago). Oil used was Castrol 5W40 Euro Blend.

So... A couple of days ago was the warmest day of the year around here (95 degrees f) and I was in some stop and go traffic on the highway due to a construction zone on an uphill. I had 3 people in the car, 3 heavy mountain bikes, and a whole bunch of gear, so the car was definitely loaded down. I saw the coolant temp creep up to 220 degrees (when the radiator fan kicks in) and right as the radiator fans kicked in the low oil pressure light came on. Being in a construction zone (1 lane and no shoulder), I wasn't able to pull over. Soon after this, traffic started moving and once i got up to 20 mph the light went off. I pulled over at the end of the construction zone, let the car cool off for a few min, and checked the dipstick. The level was right in the middle of min and max. Regrettably, I kept driving, but i was extra careful to be easy on her. Ended up driving about 50 more miles that day. Fuel consumption didn't change a bit, no noises.

When I got home, I started researching low oil pressure in these engines and realized that it is more serious than i thought. None of my local auto parts stores had an oil pressure gauge so i had to order one off amazon. After riding my bike to work for two days, i finally got the gauge in the mail today. Here are my readings:

Immediately after start: 62 psi
cold idle (coolant temp 118) 30 psi
cold 3k rpm 67 psi

warm idle (coolant temp 200) 11 psi
warm 3k rpm 63 psi

When revving, the gauge bounced around quite a bit, so those numbers are averages.

So, my question is what should I do from here? It seems like my pressures are a bit low at warm idle... From what i have read, that tends to be wear on bearings in the engine (cringes). For only having 125k miles, it seems a bit early for that.
Also, from what i have read, sludging is a common problem, but that affects pressure at high rpm which doesn't seem to be my case.

It is also worth noting that i just came back from vacation where i did some big highway climbs and was really pushing the car on a hot day. Is there any chance i cooked the oil doing that? Didn't turn off the car right after pushing it or anything, but was wot for a good amount of time. Would it be worth just changing the oil and filter? Im 700 miles away from my next oil change.

Thanks for reading this mega long post. I appreciate any help.
Isaac

A4Audi4Fun

Difficult to diagnose - changing the oil and filter early sounds like a good idea though; if there is slight blockage that might clear things out. see what impact absolutely fresh oil has on the pressure readings.