Transmission oil change

The oil in the 02Q 6-x speed manual that inside my Leon has been changed.
I decided to use Valvoline SYN POWER 75W-90 oil that meet API GL-5 standard.

Valvoline SYN POWER 75W-90 bottle

This oil also sutable for the limited slip differentials as mention on the package.
Advanced Xenum VX GEAR oil additive for the manual transmissions has been added too.

Xenum VX GEAR transmission oil additive

The instruction from Xenum said, that this additive should be used only for manual transmissions and not suitable for the automatic transmissions due to the fact that it decreases the friction between the surfaces - and this is not always desirable effect for this transmission type.

Shall you read instructions before using any oil or additive.

Odometer: 65,000 km. 

Engine air filter cleaning

I adapted the BMC cotton air filter for the VWR air intake system 4 months before.
After ~8 thousands kilometers I decided to inspect and clean the air filter.

The filter is slightly soiled

Cleaned and oiled

This cotton filter must be carefully cleaned and oiled with the appropriate low viscosity oil. I used a special cleaning kit from K&N. 

Here you may see the cleaning instructions.

After the cleaning the filter has been returned into it's box and mounted back on car.

VWR air filter box

Odometer: 64,500 km. 

Oil catch system service

In the relatively cold weather (under 10 Celsius) there rate of vapor formation in the oil catch system increases. So there is a need to service it more often then in summer.

The previous service was performed month and a half before.

The oil vapor

You can see that the main component of this vapor is the water. There almost no engine oil signs.

Odometer: 64,500 km.

Crankshaft dumper upgrade

This damper reduces crankshaft torsional vibration, which is the end-to-end twisting/rebound motion, that is naturally generated during each power stroke.

A harmonic balancer inside this damper contributes to greater valve train and timing efficiency, and reduces wear of critical engine components such as main bearings, oil pump and the crankshaft itself.

Fluidampr crankshaft damper

For more information you may visit an official site.

Odometer: 63,200 km.

Turbo outlet pipe upgrade

The reason to install the aftermarket TOP (Turbo Outlet Pipe) is to remove the factory pipe with the muffler that designed to reduce the engine bay acoustics.

The aftermarket muffler delete tube screws into place, forming a full, uninterrupted path for airflow.

Aftermarked muffler VS Stock

SPULEN 2.0T FSI Turbo Outlet Pipe Kit

The throttle pipe was already changed before.

Odometer: 63,200 km.

Adjustable sway bar endlinks

In order to make further proper suspension adjustments for the desired car's road behavior I replaced the sway bars endlinks with the adjustable ones.

They allows to reveal all the stiffer sway bars potential and not lead to the undesired sway bar pre-load condition that may occur when attempting to adjust sway bar hardness with the stock endlinks.

I chose the Spulen front end-links and Whiteline for the rear.

Spulen front end-links

Whiteline rear end-links

Of course, the setup must be adjusted properly, according to the sway bar position at the normal vehicle load conditions.

For more information on the sway bar and endlinks - see the following links:
1. Swaybar/Endlink FAQ2. Setting Adjustable End Links For Ride Height

Odometer: 61,500 km.

Oil catch system service

From time to time there is a need in emptying the oil catch system tank, when the condensate level is reaches max level.

The service itself is pretty easy. All that is needed, is to empty the tank by unscrewing the drain bolt at it's bottom

This smells not good. :-)

The tank returned into it's place

Odometer: 61,000 km.