Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

I recently bought my wife a new TDI Jetta Wagon.
>I've always liked to change my own oil and was wondering if :
>
>1) you knew how to remove the noise suppressor to gain access to the oil filter
>
>&
>
>2) can't seem to locate the oil drain plug. I found the drain plug for the
>transmission fluid and would assume it would be visible.
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>Also found it strange that the dip stick for the trans fluid cannot be found.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Paul

there is no oil dip stick for the trans. you can not check it your self. you will have to take it to a vw dealer & they will hook it up to a computer & it will tell them the oil level. i hope this helps.

jerry

For the 2004 TDI you must use the recommended oil- not available most places. Check with you dealership or VW prior to taking up servicing of this vehicle.

First off you'll HAVE to wait until your car hits 5000+ miles. The engine NEEDS dyno oil to properly seat in all the engine parts. Then you'll need to go to a CH4 rated SYNTHETIC oil. There are a few. The general concensus is that either Amsoil Heavy Duty Diesel oil, or Mobil DELVAC 1 are the two best oils available for your car.

I use Amsoil. It's available on line. If you join (20$ per year) as a prefered cusotmer you can get a very good discount on their products. Neither of these two oils is cheap. The quality is such that you dont need to change them as often as dyno oil though. In the long run it comes out pretty even.

I took off my noise plastic piese and never put it back on. You dont need it. Mostly it helps the engine warm up in the winter time. The drain plug is UNDERNIETH the plastic wind deflector under your car. You'll need a torx bit to take all of them off to get off the deflector.

Dont worry about the transmission. Unless you've got an auto, the synthetic fluid in that manual trans is good for your life time. Seriously.

TB

the only oil that you can use in a 2004 tdi has to meet vw 505.01 spec.amsoil does not have a oil that will meet vw 505.01.

jerry

TDIJerry is right on the money - the 2004 TDI is NOT the same TDI as 1999-2003 TDI's. It is a new engine called a TDI-PD engine -the only thing it has in common with the old TDI engine is the TDI name and the 1.9 displacement - everything else is new. Using any other oil than the special 505.01 VW formulated oil can cause catasthrophic engine failure at highway speeds - as per the warning sticker on the car and the advice from the VW technician. The injectors are mounted under the valve cover and each has it's own pump activated by the camshaft built-in. The TDI's to 2003 compress the diesel to 3300 lbs approx for the computer controlled injectors to inject. The 2004 injector pumps compress the diesel to 33,000 lbs and each injector has 6 holes for the fuel to be shot from. Using anything other than 505.01 grade oil will result in severe damage.

European synthetics are available in Canada if you look hard enough (Lubrimoly, Elf, etc.). Castrol makes a 505.xx suitable too, although it is second-drawer. =>I can't believe that if it is available in Canada that it won't be in the U.S. somewhere. Look for an independent VW/Audi specialist that has a good rep with tdi - and see what syn-oil they sell...and pay any reasonable price premium.

The problem is that many dealers don't even use oils that are good enough for tdi's. My understanding (and it may be totally wrong) is that the TDI isn't as popular in the US, so dealers often aren't very experienced with the VW diesels and their needs. Even here in Canada, dealers aren't considered very tdi-reliable.

My understanding in re PD engine diff is that it is mostly related to fuel injectors and related kit, but an identical block.

if you're going to diy, don'T forget to drain the water separator.

Apparently the TDI engine was designed partly with an oil evacuator in mind. You can use a "mightvac" or "topsider" to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube and oil filter area (cartridge style oil filters).

I don't know the specifics but hopefully a netsearch can help you guys out.

Steve

Here's a 12 minute 25 meg video. I think I'll just stick with an IDI after seeing this. hehe

http://pics2.tdiclub.com/video/cincitdi ... ction.html

Steve