preserving the motor

[Ricochet]

realised the weekend that the 1.2 6v '02 Polo (awy engine ) had done 7000 miles inthe last 3 months! so I changed engine oil and filter and flushed it .

i will do this every 3/4 months , what else should i do to keep it going?

i wondered about changing the g/box oil but Haynes doesn't show the filler plug , and mentions a special tool which does not seem to be your ordinary torx bit,

any ideas ?

[sep_rider]

Best you can do as a DIY thing at home is make sure it gets regular oil changes and periodic filter changes.

Decent G12 Coolant bled properly into the system.

Give it a little time to tick over on these cold mornings, its only a small engine!

Clean out the Airfilter Element/Replace - No point on replacing the oil on an engine that cant breathe properly is there!

Get it checked out with VAG Com/Hand Held scanners every now and then to ensure problems are caught early and are not allowed to develop further.

[Ricochet]

Best you can do as a DIY thing at home is make sure it gets regular oil changes and periodic filter changes.

Decent G12 Coolant bled properly into the system.

Give it a little time to tick over on these cold mornings, its only a small engine!

Clean out the Airfilter Element/Replace - No point on replacing the oil on an engine that cant breathe properly is there!

Get it checked out with VAG Com/Hand Held scanners every now and then to ensure problems are caught early and are not allowed to develop further.

oil/filter+flush changes all planned, small sump means quality oil works out reasonable cost (not like the family oil burner - 6L!)

looks like original VW coolant which i'll leave alone .

ahhh, time to let it tick over in the morning, one can dream.

air filter replaced, not to dirty , especially compared to the cabin/pollen filter.

the scanner shows faults with the air con flap motors ? and something to do with what we think is the Lamda sensor , although it can be cleared and passes MOT,

i'm still wondering about changing the g/box oil, any ideas on the tools?

ihad different quotes for spark plugs <£10 and ~£30, puzzling

any other routine jobs you guys would reccomend?

[david burton]

Some gearboxes have a normal 17mm hex socket, others (GT) have a torx bit. I would think yours is the 17mm one.

On a regular basis just the oil and filters, but at that age I would renew the brake fluid too.

[RUM4MO]

I would reckon on the rate of mileage increase per quarter, that you are doing a lot of longish journeys, so the oil is not geeting messed up so much as it would be with short runs. So, I'd drop your oil changes back to twice a year and use reasonable quality synthetic oil GSF sell Fuchs Titan Supersyn SL 5-40 at a good price.

Gearbox oil, unless you are having a big issue with quality of gear change, I'd think that there is no good reason to change it (I'm thinking that "newer" oils will be improved oils that is all).

Sparkplugs, I'd think that VAG fitted NGKs at the engine plant - and I've always used them with NGKs at replacement time - I tend to do this at 30,000 miles for no good reason! Maybe look on the NGK website and check on which plugs NGK think you need - you will find the same numbers and maybe VAG ones stamped on the circular metal section at the plug's base. Once you have this info, Google is your friend as Ebay traders do tend to sell them - and maybe if you also try the VAG code Ebay might sell you NOS - maybe old branding on the box but so what as long as you get the correct items and save money (well that is my thinking anyway!).

Lambda Probe trouble - have you got an exact number for the fault code that was logged - that is always handy to keep instead of a rough idea of what was found also you would need to know which probe it was B1 S1 or B1 S2 - normally Lambda probe problems only end up going one way - ie getting more frequent faults logged or failing altogether, so its handy to know what have been causing these fault codes to appear. Maybe there was a "flash update" required to prevent this - is so VAG will charge for this - that is just a hunch based on what I've read somewhere and not fact - my Lambda probe odd problem ended up with the B1 S1 heater circuit failing - a common fault - which meant replacing the pre-cat probe - again VAG tend to use NGK or more correctly NTK (I think) is the name of NGK's heater and probe group.

Air cleaner element, I tend to hoover mine out - reverse direction every year and just stick to changing it every 30,0000 miles as VAG do tend to over size these items. I always just use VAG elements.

I flush using Comma Petrolflush every year on both cars from new (2000MY B5 Passat 2.8 and 2003MY 9N Polo 1.4) - and change the drain plug now and again (both these cars have aluminium sumps so it makes no sense in finding that the plug leaks and needs tighened up a bit more than it should need to be).

Petrol filter, is it time to think about changing that yet, I seem to remember that VAG gives no indication as to when it should be changed - but I'd always try to do this round about 70,000 miles - I'm only quoting that mileage as that was when I changed the Passat one and the Polo has not reached that mileage (quite) yet!

[ihpj]

RUM4MO knows what he's talking about.

The message here is use quality OE level components when working on your car. This goes for all types of components, filters and fluids. I wouldn't be tempted to over-pre-emptively service the car; as that would be a waste of money. Modern day OE components have very high tolerances and will generally last the life span indicated without problems. Meaning I wouldn't change the spark plugs every 2 years, but rather every 4.

[alexperkins]

Generally, the new VW gearboxes use a far superior oil which is as such 'filled for life'. It contains certain additives and chemicals which keep it fresh and clean

Fuel filter is a 2 year change > its a secondary major service item so every 50-60k (dependant on quality of fuel that you are using it can be shorter or longer).

[Ricochet]

thanks for all your ideas.

fuel filter has been changed, looked like original one.

Brake fluid change sounds good, to be rersearched!

g/box oil ,probably leave this well alone, unless any one has other views.

Spark plugs , at this annual mileage i think i'll use the reassuringly expensive choice.

fault code : 16804 - Catalyst system; bank1; efficiency below threshold P0420 -35 -00 - -.

re changing the oil frequently, i wondered if this would help guard against 'ssh ' timing chain probs , and any way warm oil down your arm is psycologically satisfying.

[RUM4MO]

fault code : 16804 - Catalyst system; bank1; efficiency below threshold P0420 -35 -00 - -. - is this a current failure code or an old one that you have found when you scanned it?

[Ricochet]

fault code : 16804 - Catalyst system; bank1; efficiency below threshold P0420 -35 -00 - -. - is this a current failure code or an old one that you have found when you scanned it?

engie light comes on .code read as above , clear code, then light out for afew weeks ,then on/off intermittently, then on permanently till cleared again.
It passes MOTand it seems to go OK (fingers x'd).

looked at front O2 sensor , lead looked undamaged, tried to remove the plug fom its connxn .to make /remake clean but it seemed stuck, will try again when fingers are warmer!