View Full Version : Major Oil Leak! Source?
Sunstealer73
08-13-2011, 01:55 PM
My wife and I got back from shopping this afternoon and noticed a large oil spot in the driveway when we pulled in, right where the S4 was parked last night. I checked underneath and saw a very wet undercarriage. After pulling the car in the garage and getting it up in the air, I pulled off the plastic covers under the engine. A large amount of oil came running out and the whole underneath is covered with oil. I had the car serviced a week ago (5000 miles), so I assumed the drain plug was loose, but no dice. When taking the cover off, a stud with a copper(?) nut fell out along with another matching copper(?) nut. I could not find anywhere that it came from, but assume it has something to do with the leak. The corners on the nut are slightly rounded, like it was removed at some point. Audi is towing it to the dealer Monday morning. Any ideas what this could be?
Driveway:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad49/Sunstealer73/Cars/DSC06219.jpg
Garage:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad49/Sunstealer73/Cars/DSC06217.jpg
Mystery Stud and Nuts:
http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad49/Sunstealer73/Cars/DSC06218.jpg
KMPRSSD
08-13-2011, 02:20 PM
to be honest the studs look like exhaust studs. I know Audi uses copper to prevent seizing, but im sure you (like me) know that the two cant be related. You checked oil filter as well im assuming? you also could have left the lower cover off, and put a piece of cardboard down, to see if you could localize where you should be looking.
yep, I'd say manifold studs. not sureabout oil though
apexit1
08-13-2011, 02:59 PM
Call up your service department and have them send a tow. If you've lost a significant amount of oil I wouldn't be driving it.
forza1976
08-13-2011, 03:01 PM
Man I'd be pissed about the leak and the mess on the driveway. Hope you get it resolved.
JimmyBones
08-13-2011, 03:46 PM
Oil filter is probably leaking because most dealers don't pull the drain plug any more on these cars. Most dealers use the samsung oil extractor to suck the oil out of the engine.
Where in Virginia do you live?
joneze93tsi
08-13-2011, 03:53 PM
They more than likely failed to install the filter properly.
Get them to tow it back and inspect.
Stud is probably an exhaust bolt of some kind that was "liberated" from being doused in oil. [>_<]
Sunstealer73
08-15-2011, 03:42 PM
I said in my original post that it was getting towed to the dealer this morning. I work on my own cars most of the time, so I wanted to be sure it wasn't something simple. My dealer is two hours away.
I talked to them just now and they said the oil filter was leaking. That was a costly mistake for them. They haven't found where the missing hardware goes yet.
NWS4Guy
08-15-2011, 04:03 PM
I said in my original post that it was getting towed to the dealer this morning. I work on my own cars most of the time, so I wanted to be sure it wasn't something simple. My dealer is two hours away.
I talked to them just now and they said the oil filter was leaking. That was a costly mistake for them. They haven't found where the missing hardware goes yet.
Total rookie mistake, this is why people have so little faith in dealers for service so often (this and getting bent over for things that are not very time or labor intensive).
Sunstealer73
08-17-2011, 02:05 PM
Ok, they sent a flatbed back with the car today. The oil problem was an issue with the oil filter. They just installed it improperly. The stud and nuts I found are only used on the exhaust manifold. They disassembled enough to get to all the bolts and none are missing. The only explanation they can come up with is that they were dropped during production of the car. That seems odd, but makes more sense than them just falling off for no reason.
No more dealer services for me though. We are starting a new detached garage/shop tomorrow. Once it is up, a 4-post lift will be following soon after!
BLACKS4-10
08-18-2011, 06:59 PM
Ok, they sent a flatbed back with the car today. The oil problem was an issue with the oil filter. They just installed it improperly. The stud and nuts I found are only used on the exhaust manifold. They disassembled enough to get to all the bolts and none are missing. The only explanation they can come up with is that they were dropped during production of the car. That seems odd, but makes more sense than them just falling off for no reason.
No more dealer services for me though. We are starting a new detached garage/shop tomorrow. Once it is up, a 4-post lift will be following soon after!Disconcerting to say the least when checking for oil leaks and 2 nuts and a stud come falling out.Even worse is dealer has no idea where they might have come from;they must have popped/screwed off from somewhere.DIY=WIN!