Aaron Lang

Hi everyone.

I recently sold my 2004 audi a6 3.0 because some vandals came to my house and burned down my 2003 volkswagen passat glx and smashed the body and windows to my 2004 audi a6.

So i'm still new to audi cars. I've gone to school for auto's and i know most general information and i take good care of my cars.

I bought this car with 1 owner 0 accidents with 147k miles on it.

I have no issues with the car, no check engine, fully maintained as far as i can tell. I help run a used car dealership so i get to play with these luxury cars often and sell them to customers in and around my state.

So my question is what are some things i need to look for. What maintenance do i need to have checked. I heard of something called SeaSalt to clean the engine, would anyone recommend me cleansing the engine? i did find some black build up of clumpy black oil under the oil cap after purchase. Thats why i think this engine has had the wrong oil changes or just not frequent changes. I did two recent oil changes within 1000 miles with mobil 1 5w30 extended life brand and mobil 1 advanced oil filters.

Besides the regular maintenance, what do i need to look out for ? What are some common turbo issues?

Also is there a safe way to clean the outside of the engine? The method people around me like to use is spraying the engine while its running with water after spraying degreaser all over the engine bay area. Then a car wash afterwords. I do have a steam cleaner but i havnt seen great results in the engine area unless degreaser is involved. I love cleaning my car so i just want to make sure im safe when i do so i dont create any issues.

jcman

Sorry to hear about two trashed cars, sounds like something right out of a Ferguson neighborhood community gathering meeting.

If you went to auto mechanics school then you should have a good insight on the basics and that's a good start with any car and Audi's really are no different with the exception to procedure and specific's as you will find out, just can't use any power steering, brake or trans fluid for an example.

Sea Foam might not be a good treatment to do now until you know what its for and how to apply it , many pro's and cons and I consider the stuff in the 'Snake Oil" category.

Take my advice: "Don't Run Water On The Engine" AT ALL!
Clean what you can and you can see with a rag, I always found that cleaning a engine with cleaner and rinsing with water will cause problems down the road with seals and electrical wiring connections and components.

You're on the right track with the oil but do remember that turbo engines should have the best synthetic brand within Audi specs, very much info on oil here.

Most of all use all the resources available, Search the Forums aka STF, use the Tools tab on the top of the page.

Good Luck!

Aaron Lang

Awesome advice on helping me use the website more resourcefully and for the advice in taking care of my Audi. I love to find this info out and il continue to explore and learn and challenge myself here and with my Audi.

Thanks again human for taking the time to write an impressive reply.

A A Ron out

Aaron Lang

I meant to say
"Thanks again jcman for taking the tune to ....."

My phone auto corrected and idk how to edit posts -.-