First Oil Change, cold weather

I have been gone for about 6 months, wife left at home with her new Q7. Finally got back in time to change to winter wheels/tires and do first oil change.

Not being home, I have as yet to get a Q7 factory manual of any kind. In fact, I can not seem to FIND the Bentley or Audi manual for first gen TDI anywhere. For me, ALL service stats with the factory shop manual, so I am left a bit high and dry. Anyone have the solution??

When I did a bit of searching online, it was suggested that an oil evacuator would work, so I bought one (Mightyvac). The first 5 litres came out of the dipstick tube just fine, but I could not get it to pick up the last 3, so off with the second cover and out with the sump plug. A bit surprised that my local filter shop did not carry a German element, so had to buy from VW (fair price). Found that probably from "emissions fix" VW fixers had broken some of the plastic bits in the underbody covers, so not thrilled about that on a brand-damn-new car.

Had a bit of fuss finding some 507 oil in town. VW carries Castrol, and Wakefield is not exactly at the top of my list (former lubricants manufacturer). Wound up with Lubri-moly in 5w-30. Was SHOCKED to find how little service information is easily and fully presented in the owner's manual.

Next came the issue of engine heat. I bought a 125W stick-on from VW (Temro) but even carefully sanding the paint off of the hot sump and pre-hyeating the pad (per Temro instructions), it did not stick worth a damn, so I reverted to high temp RTV - not greatest solution, but at least for now in place. Adding 2A smart charger/maintainer to that combination can stay plugged in all night on really cold days, BUT: where the hell do you guys and gals run the cord to get it out from inside that very well sealed engine room>?>?

Service manuals written by car makers and available to the public are things of the past. Nowadays, they are considered TOP SECRET material that must not, under any circumstances, reach the car owner. The explanation is simple - given the complexity of modern cars, dealers would be undermining their own revenue stream model if they made them readily available. When I bought my 4Runner last year in July, my first question after handing over the check was how much is the service manual? Not surprisingly, the answer was "what manual, silly?" After a few minutes, they figured out I could, in fact, get a manual from them, but as an on-line subscriber service only for a period of time (1year), at a cost of $ 700 or some ridiculous figure like that. Of course, I declined. However, if you Google car service manuals, you will find a few web sites that offer 1-year subscription for about $30. However, your vehicle has to be a couple of years old. If you want a service manual for the present model year vehicle, you are out of luck.

As far as evacuators are concerned - I think they are just a marketing gimmick. You still (in most cases) have to go down there to remove the oil filter, so what is the big deal with removing one more bolt and draining ALL of the oil, instead of just SOME of it? I would suggest you buy a Fumoto valve for your vehicle. It makes oil changes almost mess-free, and you no longer have to worry about over tightening the bolt or replacing the sealing washer at every oil change.

My suggestion for the oil is your local dealership, unless you have some particular aversion towards Castrol. Here in the US, it was the least expensive option when I still owned my TDI, and since Castrol is a respected brand name, I stuck with that product for as long as I owned the car, and never had any issues related to engine oil quality. This grade of oil wasn't in stock in vast majority of stores like Advance Auto or O'Riley, and since my nearest VW dealer is only 4 miles away, that made my decision a no-brainer.

He is after service manual, not owner's manual.

This is where I got all my Audi service info.
https://erwin.audiusa.com
$35 for 24hrs of access with printing rights
Amazing accurate information directly from Audi.
Also did the same thing for my VW sportwagen. However it is a
separate site with separate subscription fee.

viper550 said:

This is where I got all my Audi service info.
https://erwin.audiusa.com
$35 for 24hrs of access with printing rights
Amazing accurate information directly from Audi.
Also did the same thing for my VW sportwagen. However it is a
separate site with separate subscription fee.

Click to expand...

Everything is pdf format.

viper550 said:

$35 for 24hrs of access with printing rights
Amazing accurate information directly from Audi.

Click to expand...

Come to think about it, the $700 figure I mentioned earlier was, in all likelihood, a monthly fee, not an annual one. BTW, how many pages can you print from the Audi manual in, say, one hour? Does Audi set any limits on that? Would it be physically possible to print the whole manual in one day?

soot1 said:

Come to think about it, the $700 figure I mentioned earlier was, in all likelihood, a monthly fee, not an annual one. BTW, how many pages can you print from the Audi manual in, say, one hour? Does Audi set any limits on that? Would it be physically possible to print the whole manual in one day?

Click to expand...

You probably could print everything for one or more models in one day.

However everything is a PDF file.

I manged to find a CHEAP pdf file for factory manuals. $19.90 Cdn (Black Friday price??)
one time download, but holy sheet shyte Batman, it IS the factory manual and it IS downloadable.
Not sure if any copy protection

easymanuals.co.uk

Pat
Try factory-manuals.com, they are VIN # specific. I am considering purchasing one.
Does the 125 watt oil pan heater work for you? Do you notice if engine warms up quicker with it?
How long do you need to run heater for before start up, 3-4 hours?

125 watts is very low. I think you would need to run it at least 6 hours or constant if extreme cold.

Finally cold enough to plug in, but still have not found a good way to get power cord from inside to out.

Yes, 125W is tiny, and the intention is to run that and a battery maintainer overnight when it is really cold (-30 and down)