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Just ordering up items for my oil change today and got a good deal through NAPA. Normally NAPA is one of the more expensive parts stores but they are the only ones that have the oil filter in stock vs any other place near me, so I went through them. They are also offering a 20% AAA discount on online shipping or in store pick up orders of 3 items or more. Not sure how long that promo is going on but I went for it.
I decided to go with Mobil1 0w-40 which is an approved 502 spec oil and a Mahle OEM spec filter. I think I got a decent deal considering the oil was on sale plus the AAA discount. After all the carbon removal work that was done on my upper and lower intakes recently, as well a several new oil seals, I think an oil change is absolutely due. I’m including a screenshot of my parts order & total cost for the oil change materials just for comparison reference. Not sure what everyone else has paid between doing it yourself and having it done by a shop. Anyone else ever run the Mobil1 0-40 oil and have any feedback? I’ve run both Mobil1 & Castrol for years, along with Valvoline and Quaker State. Mobil1 and Castrol have always been my go to first choice if it’s not outrageous on cost.
They sell the Mobil 1 0w-40 in 5 gal jugs at Walmart, and often it's on sale for ~$24. I don't use it on my 4.2, but I do use it on my e55. Yakima and Wenatchee both have a Walmart superstore.
Sorry I didn’t clarify better but I actually ordered 2 of the 5 quart jugs of the 0w-40. I guess this engine takes 9.7 quarts for a change?
Damn that’s a lot.
They sell the Mobil 1 0w-40 in 5 gal jugs at Walmart, and often it's on sale for ~$24. I don't use it on my 4.2, but I do use it on my e55. Yakima and Wenatchee both have a Walmart superstore.
We have a big Walmart near us in Bonney Lake, only about a 20 minute drive away. I’m sure they have the 0w-40 full syn oil but what about the filter? Did you have any trouble getting the right filter from Walmart?
Got the oil change done today. Had a hell of a time finding the drain plug and man that was a major pain in the *** trying to get it out with the stupid hex design. There’s no room in there to get your wrist at the right angle to twist a hex key. Ended up having to use pliers while holding the hex key so I could get enough torque to unscrew it. Then while draining the oil it just pisses out all over the plastic sound dampener panel.
The oil filter replacement was easy considering it’s right on top of the engine. Only hard part was trying to get the old filter to snap loose from the filter cap housing. It really locks in there!
I’m not sure what oil was in the motor previously but it was black and gritty as hell. I can already feel a smoother idle with the fresh clean 0w-40 in there.
I need to put down a piece of cardboard and make sure I’m not getting any leaks around the plug. It was even harder to try and tighten it back down because of the limited hand space to get in there.
Did you not remove the front and rear lower plastic belly pan? Do you raise the car the “off road” depend on your body size it’s generally enough space to get under there to acces the drain plug. I threw my hex drain plug out a while ago in favour of a magnetic sump plug that suits the 4.2 available online for about $7 and is tightened via 16mm head on it. Much eaiser then using an allen key. Maybe pencil that in for your next oil change.
Did you not remove the front and rear lower plastic belly pan? Do you raise the car the “off road” depend on your body size it’s generally enough space to get under there to acces the drain plug. I threw my hex drain plug out a while ago in favour of a magnetic sump plug that suits the 4.2 available online for about $7 and is tightened via 16mm head on it. Much eaiser then using an allen key. Maybe pencil that in for your next oil change.
I did not remove the front plastic panel. I saw two bolts near the rear of the panel that slightly popped it down but it looked like a ton of t25’s near the front and I didn’t feel like dealing with it. Guess that’s my stupidity.
Wish id known about the magnetic drain plug. Do you have a link for that plug that fits the pan in the 4.2? If so I’ll order that now so I have it for the next round.
Replacing Sound Dampener Foam on Plastic Skid Plate
ASKING FOR SOME ADVICE ON THIS RETROFITTING CONCEPT FOR MY Q7 4.2 PLASTIC SKID PLATE:
Bit too late now but I removed that plastic skid plate panel under the car that covers the underside of the engine tonight. It actually was a lot easier than I thought. Two bolts in the rear and about ten or so T25’s around the front. I wanted to see if I had my oil pan plug snugged down properly and it was impossible to get good torque on that bolt with the skid plate in the way. Also wanted to clean the underside of the engine and get a better eye on the last of the oil leaks I haven’t tracked down.
That panel was so completely caked with oil and gunk that I ended up having to completely remove one of the foam sound panels near the rear of the shield. The front foam panel nearest the bottom of the radiator area was nearly spotless and still had that nice gray factory foam look to it; appeared completely dry. The foam at the rear of that plastic tray was so saturated with oil and grime that I had to actually remove it by just tearing it away from the little heat plastic press weld spots. The neoprene looking foam is so saturated I don’t think there’s any saving that poor thing so it went straight to the bin.
I’m actually thinking of ditching this old foam sound dampener and finding a way to place some 12”x12” oil absorber squares in place of that foam sound dampener so as to catch the small amounts of oil that still leak to the bottom of the engine. Then when the oil absorber panels get full I can just drop the panel and replace the absorber sheets and problem solved preventing the drips on my driveway. I feel like there’s supposed to be another plastic panel that connects from the rear of the engine panel and covers the transmission too but either I’m wrong or that panel is missing. I know the transmission pan gasket was replaced before I bought it so I’m wondering if whoever did the work just forgot to screw the panel back on and it likely got tossed out. I might be able to find a place to order a replacement transmission cover panel. Tomorrow I’ll add some pictures of what it looks like under there and maybe someone can advise if I’m missing a panel.
Anyway, I’m highly considering making some modifications to this lower skid plate cover allowing oil absorber pads to be placed in that space so any oil that leaks will just be safely absorbed in the pads and can be disposed of properly. Also I can stop leaving my oil stains in business parking lots and friends houses..... Personally I hate it when someone parks their leaky *** car in my nice clean driveway and I have to spend days trying to clean their mess up. I don’t wanna be that guy. Yes I know, the right way is to properly fix the leaking seals but I’ve replaced multiple gaskets and I’m done replacing more on this motor unless some type of catastrophic leak occurs. The leaks I have now are minor but annoying.
I just need to find a way to properly fit the absorber pads in that skid plate. I also noticed there are some little holes in that skid place that I’m not sure what they are for. There’s no screws in those holes and I can’t find any spots under the engine bay that would indicate any screws were missing. I was thinking about just filling them in with some bondo or plastic resin and painting over the entire skid plate with some of that flex seal spray as it’s also rated for high temp use. I’m wondering if those little holes are to aid with water drain that could collect on top of the skid plate but the drain holes are so small they become useless when they clog up with oil and road grime. Not to mention if you do have a oil leak, like I do, that those mystery holes end up just channeling out the oil and creating multiple drips all over the ground which makes it look like you have tons of leaking spots when you actually don’t. Makes sense to have those drain channels (if that’s what they are) but with an oil leak it makes it hard as hell to diagnose where it’s coming from and makes a fat mess.
My only concern with adding oil drip absorber pads to that skid plate is that if I go through a car wash it could saturate the absorber pads with water and I’m not sure how effective those pads are as far as absorbing oil if they get saturated with water. The oil pads will also serve as a great sound barrier, likely even better than the thin plastic heat welded foam that breaks down over time. I don’t see those absorber pads as a fire hazard since the factory foam was more than saturated and pooling with oil, so if that didn’t burst into flames then I think the absorber pads will be perfectly safe. Also considering they don’t come anywhere near making contact with any exhaust pipes.
In my head right now I’m highly considering adding these absorber pads to the skid plate and think it’s a fantastic idea to help catch the oil drips, I just need to figure out how to make this work properly. Great thing is that those absorber pads are cheap as dirt and can be replaced as often as needed with no crazy cost.
This upcoming afternoon we are due to have nice hot weather so I’m planning on giving this skid plate a heavy pressure wash with another degreaser scrub down just to have a nice clean oil free slate to work on. I’m also planning on jacking up the front end as high as I possibly can and pressure washing as much grime out from the bottom of the engine bay as I can. Top of the engine bay is way more risky (learned that the hard way with the non water tight seals on my coil packs).
Was also thinking that after sealing the skid plate with flexseal that I might either paint it a nice shiny chrome or maybe even a bright red which would give that slightly visible section under the front end a really stylish sporty addition that would offset my Daytona Pearl Gray body color in a stylish way. Just a little cosmetic upgrade for fun.
Anyway, what do you guys think about retrofitting oil absorber pads in place of that old saturated sound foam? Any harm in giving that a shot?
if you venture walmart often you can find 0w40 on clearance lol...
last year they clearanced castrol 0w40 for whatever reasons. I use brickseeker and grab as man as I could, it was down to $12 for 5 quart container.
also the high end 0w40 pennzoil platinum and pure plus I got for $12 each too lol.
I also grabbed 0w20 for same price for my other car this year they clearanced the castrol 0w20 and 5w20.
05-24-2019, 05:30 AM
2008 Audi Q7 Oil Change
