I decided today that instead of taking the car for an oil change at the dealer and them charging me several hundred euros, I took my hand to change the oil myself.
However, I don’t have the luxury of a driveway or the space to jack the car up and put it on jack stands, I have to do mine either in my parking space in the community garage or on the side of a quiet road.
HELLO PURISTS
Before you get your knickers in a twist, yes, i know that changing the oil from the sump under the car is the “best” way, but we all have different circumstances and work with what we have got.
Here is the bit you need to read real carefully if you are running an older Touareg R5, 2.5 TDI
This specific model needs a certain oil type. Its no joke, you have to be SUPER CAREFUL which oil you put in.
This car needs the following oil:
0W-30
506.01
Synthetic
I have explained in a bit more detail here.
Pros and Cons of Doing an Extractor Style Oil Change Yourself
Pros
- Much cheaper than compared to taking to a garage.
- You can change the oil more regularly.
- No need to jack up the car.
- Takes less than an hour to change the oil.
- That feeling you have done something worthy.
Cost Advantage
In terms of cost, if I take it to the dealer/mechanic they will charge top dollar for the oil plus labour which can come out to €350+
All I have to pay when I do it myself is the cost of the oil which is appx €100 and the oil filter which is €5. So for appx €100 I can put fresh oil.
Cons
- You need some tools to do the job yourself.
- It’s not a “full” oil change. There will still be some residual oil in the sump (Although I did manage to extract close to 9 litres of oil during the process, so is pretty close).
- You have to dispose of the oil afterwards (Every Wednesday a council truck in our area comes around and collects the oil for free).
Oil Change Strategy
I would probably do a “full” oil change every 15,000km and do an extractor change every 5,000km. So for every 3 oil changes, two will be extractor types and 1 would be full oil change.
What you need for your roadside extractor pump oil change
- 8.9 litres of 0W-30 506.01 (usually you will buy 2 x 5 litres)
- 1 x MANN or Crossland Oil Filter Part Number 501440288 / L10106UE
- 1 x Draper Pump (Manual Oil Extractor Part Number: 77057)
- 1 x 1-litre Jug (so that you can measure out 1 litre of oil)
- 1 x 36MM socket (this is for the oil filter cap)
- 1 x 25nm torque wrench (with an extension)
- 3 x oil rags (I use cheap micro fibre towels)
- 9 x coins (To keep track of how many litres you put back in the engine)
General Shopping List
Repsol RP135V55 Elite Turbo Life 50601 0W-30
In Spain this is appx €51.00 for 5 litres.
Original MANN-FILTER HU 719/7 x
Draper 77057
Steps for Changing The Oil
STEP 1 – Get the engine temp up to 60c
Idle engine for few minutes until you see the oil temp in the dashboard between 60-90c. The oil comes out easier when its warm.
STEP 2 – Turn off the engine
Do not change oil whilst the car is running.
STEP 3 – Take off the Oil Cap in the engine bay
This provides some extra air flow when pumping out the oil.
STEP 4 – Insert the draper pump hose into the dip stick hole
Gently push the clear pipe all the way to the bottom of the sip stick hole.
Force it GENTLY until it does not go any further.
STEP 5 – Pump the draper pump handle a few times
This was the part that surprised me, you do not need to continuously pump the handle.
You can pump it 10 times and the suction in the pump will pull the oil out.
So every few minutes just pump the handle to keep the suction going.
To empty the oil of 9 litres, probably took less than 10 minutes.
ONLY PUT IN WHAT YOU TOOK OUT.
If the oil in the draper pump says you took out 8 litres, only put 8 litres back in.
I managed in the end to take out close to 9 litres so put the recommended 8.9 litres back in.
STEP 6 – Change oil filter
Remove the oil filter and put in the new one.
When I put in the oil filter, I put in 400ml of oil so there is fresh oil in the filter.
DON’T FORGET
Wipe some new oil around the rubber o ring. This is to keep the rubber ring fresh and not dry out.
Tighten the oil filter cap 25nm (it literally says it on the top of the oil filter cap)
STEP 7 – Prepare the coins
In order for me to easily keep track of how many litres I have put, I use 9 coins.
Each time I fill one litre I move a coin from one side to the other.
This means in between fills you can have a little rest and not worry about remembering how many litres you have put in.
STEP 8 – Start filling the oil
You will need 8.9 litres of oil so use the 1-litre jug to fill up the oil.
AGAIN, if you took out 8.9 litres of oil, put 8.9 litres of oil back in.
The oil cap is quite high up on the engine bay and the bonnet blocks you from using any large funnels.
STEP 9 – Oil filling completed
Now that you have finished filling the oil, close the cap and run the engine for a few minutes to get the oil temp back up again.
STEP 10 – Check Oil Level
Now the engine has had time to warm up and have some oil run through it, you need to check the oil level in the dipstick to make sure you did not underfill or overfill.
