grambles423
Automotive Engineer
I always hand tighten the oil filter
My factory plug was 18mm, and the dealer one was 19mm as well. My factory bolt definitely had a washer, though. I hope yours wasn't stuck to your pan or something weird.Ok, just changed my oil and here are some observations.
Normally I try to fill my new filter with as much oil as I can so that there is as little time of "dry" engine running on startup after the change. I could not get more than a tablespoon's worth of oil in the filter. That sucks.
Normally when you loosen the drain plug you have several turns before any oil begins to leak out. On ALL of my previous cars (mostly GMs, but never again) I could actually unscrew the plug completely without a drop coming out, then quickly pull the plug out and avoid any mess on my hands. With the GTI the second I completed 3 rotations of the plug it started dripping oil all over my Mechanics gloves. At least next time I know to wear my latex ones for the plug.
Not sure if this is related to the above, but the factory did NOT use a washer on my plug either. On a related note, the plug from the factory was an 18mm socket head, the one from the dealer was a 19mm??? What in the world is going on?? Are they making this stuff up as they go along? LOL
Finally, I really must protest the capacity of 4.6L. Using only a part of a bottle is bad enough, but .6? At least if it was .5 I could easily just dump that .5 bottle in at the next change. but having .4 left over, I STILL have to buy 5 bottles next time, there is no time when the remainders will equal what is needed. Seriously, how hard would it have been to make the pan a LITTLE bigger and take a full 5 liters??? here's a call out to aftermarket companies, I would pay for an oil pan that holds 5 or 6 liters of oil, just to remove one headache. LOL
I think I will order the magnetic drain plug from ECStuning next time I order. LOL Feel kind of silly to pay $10 shipping on a $10 part, so I'll have to wait until I find some other stuff I want.
My factory plug was 18mm, and the dealer one was 19mm as well. My factory bolt definitely had a washer, though. I hope yours wasn't stuck to your pan or something weird.
As to the oil capacity. It's 4.9 quarts, so I just threw all 5 quarts in. When I check it, it's definitely not over the full mark on the dipstick. Anyway, trying to get it down to the tenth of a liter is an exercise in insanity, isn't it?
:mad0259:
Ok, now I am pissed off.
Went out to drive my car and found a small puddle of oil on the garage floor!!!!!
I always check the seal of the plug and the filter with the car running after a change. Everything was fine. Now it has been leaking with the car just sitting there. I haven't driven it since the oil change. It leaked about 3 cap fulls worth.
Makes me wonder if I should have left the washer off since the factory didn't use one. But you should always use a washer. The one from the dealer was steel though.....usually they are plastic, or copper.
What a wonderful end to a wonderful day.
You definitely should use the washer.
Did you torque it down?