DIY: 2.5L Oil Change with Pictures

[edisonr]

This oil change DIY is just for reference, there is more information around, but I felt that there were not enough pictures of the critical steps (if you can say that).

This is not a guide and I am not resposible for any damage to your car caused by following this DIY.

I did my wife's 2005 2.5L Jetta first oil change at 5K miles and this is what I did:

1. Raise the front of the car by either using ramps or a jack stands.

2. I used Mobil-1 0W-40 since it complies with VW standards.

3. You need to remove the lower cover, a standard torx bit would do.

4. Here is a picture of the rear drain plug and the oil filter housing

5. Remove the oil cap on the top of the engine. Drain the oil by removing the drain plug, be careful since it can be hot. To make this easier, run the engine before hand, since hot oil will flow easier.

6. This is the drain plug, notice the washer is part of it and can not be replaced. The dealer told me the drain plug can be reused and should be replaced every third oil change.

Screw back after the oil has been drained out of the engine.

7. To make my life easier, I bought a 74/76mm oil filter cup. It works like a charm

8. Drain the old oil by pushing in the little nob on the filter housing (you have to remove the small cap to see it)

9. Remove the filter housing using the filter cup

10. Replace the o-ring inside the filter housing, the new oil filter should come with it.

11. Insert the new filter cartridge.

12. Screw back the filter housing to 25Nm tq.

13. Pour new oil (6.2qts)

14. Check oil level

15. Start engine and check for leaks.

16. Have a

Let me know if the pictures are too big and need to be resized.


Modified by edisonr at 5:31 PM 4-25-2006

[Dan Halen]

FAQ'd- thanks for taking the time to write this up.

[acrossthepond]

Thanks for the write up / photos .. useful aid.

[BrianGriffin]

Quote, originally posted by edisonr »

Gotta love Juan Pablo on the Mobil!

Great DIY - Keep up the good work!

[Yevi]

Grear DIY, out of cusriosity how much would you spend for oil, and filter rather than take it to the service

-Yev

[digitalhippie]

Quote, originally posted by Yevi »

Grear DIY, out of cusriosity how much would you spend for oil, and filter rather than take it to the service

Filter is about $10-11 (www.germanautoparts.com)
Oil, for Mobil1 0w-40, about $30-35 depending on where you get it (Autozone, walmart, whatever)

Dealer will charge between $70-90 for the same service.

Plus... on my GTI... did my first oil change 2 weeks ago, put Mobil1 0w-40 in... and I'm getting better gas mileage than I was on the factory oil

Good DIY, intersting that the filter housing is different than the GTI's... but I do believe the filter element is the same!

Also, for anyone who wants to put a magnetic drain plug in... the drain bolt is 14x1.5mm


Modified by digitalhippie at 2:38 PM 4-24-2006

[Shrek2005]

Thanks, this is great. I'm going to reach 5K miles soon and bought Motul 0W-40 oil. I am wondering if it is a stupid idea to get the tool in the attached picture because it is $79.50.

Obviously you should drain the filter housing prior to removal but I am concerned about getting oil all over the place without using this drain tool but I really don't want to spend the money.

[digitalhippie]

The tool is a TOTAL waste.

Use a screwdriver to push the center piece of the drain valve up-and-over... you can catch it on the lip of the housing and the oil will drain straight out. Once done, just push it up again, and let it snap back into place. No big mess, not worth $70-90 for that tool.

[Shrek2005]

Quote, originally posted by digitalhippie »

The tool is a TOTAL waste. Use a screwdriver to push the center piece of the drain valve up-and-over... you can catch it on the lip of the housing and the oil will drain straight out. Once done, just push it up again, and let it snap back into place. No big mess, not worth $70-90 for that tool.

Yeah but does the oil run down the screwdriver and drip all over your hand?

[digitalhippie]

Quote, originally posted by Shrek2005 »

Yeah but does the oil run down the screwdriver and drip all over your hand?

Nope. You don't leave the screwdriver there while draining, just a quick push to open the valve... then another push to close it... as I already said, no real mess. That tool is a waste of $80.

[Shrek2005]

Quote, originally posted by digitalhippie »

The tool is a TOTAL waste. Use a screwdriver to push the center piece of the drain valve up-and-over... you can catch it on the lip of the housing and the oil will drain straight out. Once done, just push it up again, and let it snap back into place. No big mess, not worth $70-90 for that tool.

Yeah but does the oil run down the screwdriver and drip all over your hand?

[digitalhippie]

Is there an echo in here? I already answered your question

[lateral_g]

The 2.0T is it at 5 quarts?

[Anand@4induktion.com]

Quote, originally posted by lateral_g »

The 2.0T is it at 5 quarts?

Yup, 5qts brings it to the upper 1/3rd of the "OK" area

[camjr]

Quote, originally posted by digitalhippie »

Filter is about $10-11 (www.germanautoparts.com) Oil, for Mobil1 0w-40, about $30-35 depending on where you get it (Autozone, walmart, whatever) Dealer will charge between $70-90 for the same service.

My dealer charged $59.95. for the service with Castrol Syntec 5w-40, plus a wash, top off washer fluid.

Worth it!

Modified by camjr at 12:23 PM 5-6-2006


Modified by camjr at 12:23 PM 5-6-2006

[mujjuman]

Quote, originally posted by camjr »

My dealer charged $59.95. for the service with Castrol Syntec 5w-40, plus a wash, top off washer fluid. Worth it! Modified by camjr at 12:23 PM 5-6-2006 Modified by camjr at 12:23 PM 5-6-2006

x2 personally

[dwilkinsjr]

Quote, originally posted by edisonr »

6. This is the drain plug, notice the washer is part of it and can not be replaced. The dealer told me the drain plug can be reused and should be replaced every third oil change.

Is this really necessary to change the complete drain plug? It does not look any different than a MKIV plug and what we did when I worked for VW as a tech was to take a pair of dykes, cut the original washer off and put a replacement washer on. The dealer should have replacement washers to do this. Replacing the whole plug seems a bit excessive to me.

[gotta_jet]

Quote, originally posted by camjr »

My dealer charged $59.95. for the service with Castrol Syntec 5w-40, plus a wash, top off washer fluid. Worth it! Modified by camjr at 12:23 PM 5-6-2006 Modified by camjr at 12:23 PM 5-6-2006

ehh...we've all heard too many horror stories to allow anyone but ourselves do something as seemingly simple as change the oil

[Happy CampeR]

Quote, originally posted by gotta_jet »

ehh...we've all heard too many horror stories to allow anyone but ourselves do something as seemingly simple as change the oil

Plus letting the dealer wash your car is dangerous! Don't get Thread or Brian started....

[dudleyrabbit]

I read on another thread that the oil filter cap threads are reversed ie. to remove the cap have to be twisted in CW rotation. Is that true or the guy who said it was just trying to screw anybody up?
Does the filter unscrew CCW or CW?

[electricme]

Quote, originally posted by Anand@4induktion.com »

Yup, 5qts brings it to the upper 1/3rd of the "OK" area

The manual says 5.8 quarts? That what I put in the car and it is right where is is supposed to be! The 1.8t's were 5 quarts!

[electricme]

They are NOT reverse threads... the picture on the housing is decieving... I tryed it reverse and almost broke the nut part of the housing off!

[VW-fani]

I guess its worth it but comparing Syntec 5W-40 to 1 0W-40 is like comparing bananas to apples!!! They are completely different kind of lubricants and Syntec is only a semi-synthetic lubricant (correct me if I have it wrong). You should compare Mobil 1 0W-40 price to Castrol's fully synthetic 0W-30's price in order to compare similar kind of products.

[electricme]

Quote, originally posted by dwilkinsjr »

Is this really necessary to change the complete drain plug? It does not look any different than a MKIV plug and what we did when I worked for VW as a tech was to take a pair of dykes, cut the original washer off and put a replacement washer on. The dealer should have replacement washers to do this. Replacing the whole plug seems a bit excessive to me.

I use the Dikes and 0.99 washer form the dealer... no need to replace the plug!

[SeaBiskit]

Quote, originally posted by electricme »

I use the Dikes and 0.99 washer form the dealer... no need to replace the plug!

And you're supposed to replace the washer EVERY oil change. It's a crush washer. N-013-849-3!!!!!!

[glock005]

Is it neccessary to drain the filter housing before removing it?? Since it's upside down, I figured if just unscrewing and removing it slowly would be just as effective w/o first draining it (thus making it simplier).

[freezermink]

Quote, originally posted by glock005 »

Is it neccessary to drain the filter housing before removing it?? Since it's upside down, I figured if just unscrewing and removing it slowly would be just as effective w/o first draining it (thus making it simplier).

you can see that the filter itself sits much higher than the housing is tall once it is removed, so there is a bunch of overflow. also the angle that it sits at will make things really messy. its just simpler and cleaner to drain it all first.

[loonbyn]

I take it you bought the washer from the dealer? I took my 2006 GLI into the dealership yesterday for it's 5000 maintainence service and found out all they were going to do for $90 was to change my oil and top off any fluids. $90? I said 'forget it' and took it to a Jiffy Lube place (oh please don't flame me for saying that). As it turns out, the Jiffy Lube place said they couldn't change the oil in my car because they didn't have the right tool to remove that cap!

[papaTDI]

Quote, originally posted by Shrek2005 »

I'm going to reach 5K miles soon and bought Motul 0W-40 oil.

how much a qt. for dah MOTUL ?

[edisonr]

Quote, originally posted by dwilkinsjr »

Is this really necessary to change the complete drain plug? It does not look any different than a MKIV plug and what we did when I worked for VW as a tech was to take a pair of dykes, cut the original washer off and put a replacement washer on. The dealer should have replacement washers to do this. Replacing the whole plug seems a bit excessive to me.

I guess that's an idea. I said that before because the washer is part of the drain plug and it cannot be removed. You could also add an extra removable crush washer.

[loonbyn]

gee, i just found out the oil cap tool for a 2006 gli is quite different than the one pictured above for the jetta. and of course this was after i bought the tool, the filter, and the oil. drianed it out, popped that thingie on the end of the cap to drain the oil out of the filter 1st, THEN found out it's a different cap than the above. there's also an arrow etched on the cap which seems to indicate it's a reverse thread. i am now going to see if i can find the removel tool on the internet. i guess i'll just fill er up with the new oil, and when i get the tool repeat the whole process so i can get the new filter in!
now to figure out if i really need to replace that drain plug every time

[loonbyn]

now that project should go quicker the next time around. the oil cap takes a 36 mm socket, and it's NOT reverse threaded. i wonder why they etched that clockwise arrow on it? anyone know why VW changed the orientation of the drain plug from slanting downward like on the 2.5 to to the parallel-to-the-ground orientation that the 2006 GLI has?

[joeoregon]

Quote, originally posted by SeaBiskit »

And you're supposed to replace the washer EVERY oil change. It's a crush washer. N-013-849-3!!!!!!

Correct! you are supposed to replace at EVERY! oil change. Although the part number n-013-849-3 is for the Aluminum washer for Aluminum oil pans.

Steel or Hybrid pans such as the one pictured above require a Copper drain plug washer Part number N-013-849-2

Just FYI!

[Mattj63]

On my '96 Jetta 2.0 I re-used the copper washer 2 or 3 times before changing. As long as you don't go Hulk and crush it too much you're probably OK. All it has to do is not leak.

I don't like the idea of putting 2 washers on. That doubles the number of surfaces it can leak on.

QUESTION: This DIY is for 2.5L engine. It seems the 2.0T is the same/similar. Am I correct? I have a 2007 GTI now.

[benjaminlin]

Dose anyone know the spec of oil filter housing wrench and drain plug wrench? I wanna buy the right torque wrench and use it when I change oil in my Rabbit 2007. Thx~


Modified by benjaminlin at 6:36 PM 11-30-2006