I attempted changing the oil for the first time tonight and ran into some issues.

The belly pad was simple. 9 or so torx screws and dropped.

Draining oil, simple as pie. Loosen, drain replace.

Then came the oil filter. I was actually looking around for the filter and couldn't find it. I finally found it behind a bunch of hoses.

My first thought was, "WTF is that filter doing there?" My 2nd thought was, "How the hell am I suppose to take that thing out?!?!?"

After 30 minutes of struggling with the filter, I am now a blood brother to my car. That thing is impossible to use any tool that I have to remove the filter and it left me with scratches on my hands.

Oh wait, its not over yet. After taking the filter off, I couldn't get the filter out of the engine bay. It was simply trapped there. Not only did the lower part of my engine drenched with oil, my garage floor is as well.

After moving some hoses around, the thing FINALLY falls out from a moved hose.

Someone PLEASE tell me a better way to remove the filter and not make a complete mess.

 

Ya, have Barrier or UAVW do it....

 

to see if it was easier to take out from under the hood? (I confess I haven't even looked under the shrouds, but some filters are removed from the top.)

Also, it used to be good practice to not replace the drain plug until the filter was released.

Or, do what many others do. Take it to the dealer with 5qts of Mobil1. :-)

 

No way from top side...I always change my own oil but after looking at TT...off to the shop to do..

 

we dont' need no stinkin' dealer! :P

 

Having a good oil filter socket and extender w/ a flexible racket attachment helps at least loosen and tighten the oil filter. There is only one orientation that the filter seems to come out from the bottom a little struggling and you will discover it.
They should have at least made a little flap you could open to get to the filter and extended the oil filter down 6 inches. It really wouldn't have taken much to make it a lot easier.
Most quick lube places will not change your oil because it is such a PITA.

 

Once you have the filter removed (unscrewed) from the bottom find a place that the filter will stand upright by itself. Now go to the topside and reach in and pull it out. Reverse for the install. Place filter so its in a upright position from the top and go under the car to screw it on. I even pre fill the new filter with oil and have very little mess to clean up. I usually spill more oil draining the oil catch pan than the oil change itself. Try this next time and I hope it helps.

 

I do the same thing, put finger in filter hole so no spillage.

 

Audi 2001 TT 180 Quattro, oil/filter change report:

Tools: t-25 torx driver
Short fat stubby screwdriver
19mm socket or box wrench.

Summary: no big deal if you are experienced at under car work. It's less time to do it myself, than drive to dealer, and at the 10K change, all they really do is oil and filter anyway. Here are the details:


raise car. My ramps are too steep and too tall, need to put a pair of 2X6 ahead of ramp for car to drive on, to elevate the front of car, before front wheels touch the ramp. With the 2X6, car climbs ramps easily.

Remove lower engine cover:
There are 12- torx screws plus 4 short ¼ turn captive screws, all need removal before cover comes out.
Start with the 4 ¼ turn captives. These screws are not easily visible, they are on front at left and right edges of the cover, on a vertical extension of the cover, that rises up a couple of inches . No room for a long screwdriver, but a short fat one will easily fit Just ¼ turn, and then you pull them out of their receptacles with just finger pressure.

Then the 12 torx. Start with the front ones, since the front of the cover is held in place by tabs, and once the last 2 on the rear end are out, the whole cover just slides back a couple of inches, comes right out.

Oil drain plug. Facing rear of car, 19mm wrench. Trajectory of oil flow fairly long, since it flows rearward not down, at least a foot back, so place your oil receptacle with that in mind. I reused the gasket, not sure if it's supposed to be replaced with new.

4. Filter: location is not excellent, try a variety of filter removal tools, see what fits. Mine was in my opinion over tightened by the dealer, very difficult to remove, in fact one of my filter removal tools deformed the filter, and it still didn't budge. Finally I unscrewed it. And it spilled quite a bit of oil. Best removal technique, after it's unscrewed, appears to try to keep it vertical and move it forward ahead of a big transverse hose, which will move out of the way enough get filter out.

Reinstall cover: slide tabs on front , first. Put just 1 torx screw in rear most hole to hold cover in place while you check for the multiple alignments that are necessary for it to go back in: at the 4 captive screws up front, and the front corner edges need to fit on top of the bumper edge.
Tighten captive screws first. It's not that easy, since the receptacle is on a flexible plastic sheet, so you need to put your hand behind the receptacle, then push the screw in, then give the ¼ turn.
Then install the torx working from rear forward, since the alignment of the holes isn't that perfect, and its completely blind.

overall, took less than an hour and a half including plenty of time to look around underneath. Try it, its not hard.
Mel G.