# DIY V8 oil change **PICS**



## jdixon (Nov 4, 2006)

*DIY V8 oil change with pictures*

I've noticed that there are people interested in changing their own oil, but they are turned away by its complexity. As the Touareg ages and decreases in value, it will increasingly fall into the hands of owners who will not or cannot pay $100+ for an oil change. So, there should be more and more people doing this on their own. I promised myself that I would take pictures at my next oil change to help people out. This oil change is messier and has more steps than any other that I've done, but it is not that hard. If you normally do this for your other vehicles, you should be able to do the Touareg.
I will preface the pics by stating that I am not a mechanic. Other than doing my own routine maintenance, I have no mechanical background. I sell drugs (legally) for a living so that I can afford for my wife to drive such a nice vehicle.
*Excellent instructions were written by liv2ryd and can be read here:*
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1138757
I would have been intimidated by the project if it were not for these instructions, so many thanks to liv2ryd. *Print these directions and keep them in the glove box with the receipts for your oil and filter purchase.*
Some advice:
Give yourself a couple of hours if this is the first time. Gather all the tools listed and have them ready before you start. Get a large open-topped oil drain pan or a 5 gallon bucket. A flat piece of cardboard will come in handy, as will several shop towels you don't care about. After you finish the oil change run the engine and check for leaks before re-installing the bell pans.

Here we go.
Firstly, even if you have air suspension (which we don't) I don't see how this can be done without lifting the front of the vehicle. Also, note the open-topped drain pan to the far right in the picture below.









Below is what the underside looks like with the belly pans. You will need to remove these. Torx-25 and a 10mm socket worked for me. Also in the background you can see a perfectly good piece of flat cardboard. I didn't use it because I don't care if my driveway has oil spots.









Below you see the pans removed.









In the picture below, the black circle on the left is the cap of the oil filter canister. The silver plug in the center takes a 6mm allen according to the instructions, which I left out of my "tools used" photo lower on the page. For the black canister section, a 36mm six point socket would be really handy. I would only use a six point as the canister is plastic.









I don't know why there are two drain plugs, but they are labelled in the photo below. Tool is 10mm allen.









The picture below is of the transmission pan. It is flat. If you are looking at it, you are too far back on the vehicle to be changing the engine oil. Ther was a post earlier by someone who mistakenly opened this up and added $230 to the oil change by making a transmission service necessary. No offense at all intended toward that poster; I just wanted others to avoid this.









Finally, you can see most of the tools I used below. Other tools may be substituted in some cases, I just wanted to illustrate that the ones I used are readily available. As I mentioned earlier the 6mm allen is missing as well as the 36mm socket. I don't have a 36mm socket and I cheated. I wouldn't recommend the tool I used because it can damage the canister, so I left it out of the picture. I used the hammer to tap the 10mm allen when loosening the drain plugs. It can also be used as the thing to throw when you get mad. I can tell you from experience that hammers are probably the most fun common tool to throw in anger.









If I have left anything out, feel free to add it. I purposely didn't mention oil or filter brands. I have my favorites but you should have your own. There are discussions on that already. See the FAQ area for more.
If this has been done before, I apologize. I didn't see anything with pitures. 


_Modified by jdixon at 2:48 PM 7-15-2007_


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## henna gaijin (Jun 30, 2005)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (jdixon)*

Nice write-up.
Just a couple of notes on required torque values:
- Oil filter cap drain plug: 10NM
- Oil filter cap: 25NM
- Both Oil drain plugs: 50NM
Be sure to replace the washers on the both oil drain plugs - they are not re-usable.
Also, be sure to replace the O-rings on the oil filter cap drain plug and on the oil filter cap.
Proper torque, new washers and new O-rings will assure no leaks appear in the future.
HTH


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## mrbeavin (Mar 5, 2007)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (henna gaijin)*

Nice write up. I'm wondering what the function is for the NACA scoop on the rear cover, it looks like it directs air to the CAT.
One other thing I'd add, you can drain the oil from the top through the dip stick tube. I use a Marine oil-change kit from West Marine, it uses a vacuum to pull the oil up the drain tube and into the cannister. They work perfectly for marine V6 or V8s so I imagine there is enough capacity for the Touareg V8. I use it for my Golf TDI and Volvo S70. You'll still need to get under the Touareg to change the filter obviously but its not as messy pulling the oil out of the top and you don't need to replace the drain plug washers unless of course they are leaking. 
Just my two cents.


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## VegasMatt (Aug 30, 2006)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (mrbeavin)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mrbeavin* »_One other thing I'd add, you can drain the oil from the top through the dip stick tube. I use a Marine oil-change kit from West Marine, it uses a vacuum to pull the oil up the drain tube and into the cannister. They work perfectly for marine V6 or V8s so I imagine there is enough capacity for the Touareg V8. I use it for my Golf TDI and Volvo S70. 

I'd be leery of doing this on a V8, since it actually has two low areas in the pan, hence the reason for two drain plugs. Chances are you would get the old oil out of one of the sumps, but not the other. I'm not sure exactly how it's plumbed, but I'd be worried that there would still be one sump that is full of old, used oil waiting to contaminate your fresh oil. Also, if you put in the specified amount of oil, and have some in a sump, you'll be overfilled. I don't think we need to discuss how bad that is for the engine.
I could see this working on a V6 though, since there is only one sump/drain plug. I'm still not gonna try it though.
Just my thoughts and concerns.
Matt


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## khaug (Jun 5, 2007)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (VegasMatt)*

I agree with Matt! The TUV, Germany's standards organization, years ago conducted a study of the percentage of crankcase oil removed by the "topsider" oil extractors, and concluded they are inherently inferior to simply pulling the drain plug. I've tried and failed to locate this on-line.
That said, I quail at the thought of 14 Liters of used diesel oil (which is the nastiest stuff on the planet) cascading out of our TDI egg into my 3-gallon drain pan, and will probably take the car to our dealer for its oil changes. No doubt a sign of creeping old-fartism, alas. 
BTW, kudos to jdixon for the nice writeup w/pix. I particularly appreciated the detailed explanation of the BFH!


_Modified by khaug at 8:16 PM 8-13-2007_


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## jdixon (Nov 4, 2006)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (khaug)*

I got alot of help from the internet forum for my Dodge/Cummins when I first got it, so I thought I would try to help out where I could here. Given modern technology, sharing information like this is easy. By the way I don't know what you meant by BFH. I can make "H" the hammer. If I'm right about that then I probably don't want to know what "BF" is. 
Khaug, if you're ever in our area we could probably work out a deal where my wife can cook you some good food in exchange for letting me drive any of you listed vehicles. Her food is much better than ramen noodles.


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## henna gaijin (Jun 30, 2005)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (mrbeavin)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mrbeavin* »_
One other thing I'd add, you can drain the oil from the top through the dip stick tube. 

This procedure is specifically NOT allowed/recommended for the V8.
Just another example of what a good idea it is to have/read the Bentley manual









HTH


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## depiry (Feb 16, 2005)

You can pump the V6 and V10,but the V8 leaves abput 1 liter in the other part of the oil pan and is not recommended. (as per HTH)


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## khaug (Jun 5, 2007)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (jdixon)*

Jdixon, you are most welcome to drive any of our stable any time you're in the Lansing, MI, area. Just give me a day or two lead to get everything configured!
Right now, Bernd is sitting in his trailer, dirty, with beaucoup track rubber marks on his hide, and I'm lazing out doing the necessary work to get him back to pristine condition!

_Modified by khaug at 9:50 PM 8-14-2007_


_Modified by khaug at 9:55 PM 8-14-2007_


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## 356130 (Sep 27, 2007)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (jdixon)*

I just completed the first oil change on my '07 with the 350HP ("BAR" Engine code) V-8. There are, as expected, significant differences between the older V-8 and the new one; Here's my attempt to show them. I would assume that the T2 V-8s (2008 and later) will be similar to the '07 as they have the same engine. But I can't confirm. Anyway:
First, the oil filter. It's not where you think it is. It is in fact on the TOP side of the engine, kind of like the V10 TDI but way in the back, under the rear engine cover. Don't ask me how long it took me to find it!! The engine cover snaps off easily, just pull up and a little toward the front to get it loose.
Any of you boys seen an oil filter around here?








Wait a minute, what's that back there?!








Aha! That's where the clever b******s hid it!








Now we're cooking; just unscrew the cap (Sorry I don't know what size the hex is, but it's NOT 36mm, more like a 30 or 32mm. My channel locks fit it just fine. So screw off the cap, the old filter comes out with it, pull (Pretty hard) to get the old filter off. Putting the new filter (Same part number as the earlier V-8 filter, thank goodness) in is a little tough because with the car up on ramps or stands it's hard to see back there. I stood on a handy cooler (I won't say why it was handy!) and was able to get it in OK. There is a little nipple-thing on the filter that has to fit into a socket in the filter housing, so the filter has to be correctly oriented, you can't really do it without being able to look down into the hole. Sorry I did not get a picture of that. Anyway, once the filter is in, put the new o-ring on the cap, lube it with a bit of grease, and screw it back on. Filter done!
Now for the bottom side, the bottom cover is just like the older models (except it does not have that cool NACA scoop, but the cutout and rivet holes for it are there; I guess they decided to save a few bucks). Take the covers off and you'll see the oil pan (This picture was shot from the rear looking forward and up, sorry it's not very clear, I did not have much space to work in):








There is only a single drain plug (as far as I could tell), which takes a 6mm allen wrench (an allen socket works better). Also note that the plug is on the rear of the pan, so it should be OK to change the oil with the front end raised:








Position your BIG oil pan under the plug, unscrew it (make SURE you have the allen wrench all the way into the oil plug, you don't want to strip it out), and out comes the oil. Place the pan well to the rear, it comes out as a pretty strong stream and goes further to the rear than you might think. Don't ask me how I know. Now look in that cooler and find something to keep you busy for 5 or 10 minutes while the oil drains out. Replace the washer on the plug (you DID order a new one I'm sure) (But I don't really see any reason not to reuse the old one), screw it back in, tight but not too tight. Now fill the crankcase with 9.6 quarts of expensive synthetic oil. Start the car and check for leaks; Replace the bottom cover (Have a flashlight ready because it's now after dark and finding the bolt holes by feel is not easy) and you're good. Take the car down from the ramps or stands and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes then check the oil level to be sure it's correct.
Hope this helps somebody out!
T--Man


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## WHOISBIGMAN (Mar 8, 2007)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (jdixon)*

Something to add... about the huge oil flow that panics everyone when they pull out the corks. Get your shop vac and place it on the oil fill hole... turn it on... unscrew the cork. The vacuum will hold the oil back until you release the vacuum. See how smart I am







no more mess.


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## action2020 (Oct 12, 2005)

*Re: DIY V8 oil change with pictures (jdixon)*

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
Excellent instructions.. Thank you!!!


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