Water Pump - T-Belt and Potentially Intake Cam Seal

[CycloSteve]

A few weeks after getting my A4 it did the typical leaky water pump dump on the garage floor. Not a huge issue, as I have done T-Belt services on two 1.8T, and my 2.8. Ordered a ton of "while you are in there parts" from all coolant lines, radiator, all T-Belt related items, and anything I might need. Finally pulled the front end and ran into a potentially new issue.

https://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_3172.jpg

I am getting too good at removing A4 front ends, LOL.

https://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_31771.jpg

Old pink residue, and fresh right up at the pump. Pump was replaced after 2016, as the date stamp is from then.

Had previously noted a decent amount of oil on the front of the T-Belt cover, some old, some new.

http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/IMG_31791.jpg

From what I can tell the camshaft cradle and/or the intake cam cap/seal are the source leakage ($5 part). The cam was dealer replaced under warranty many years ago, so I know they had the cradle off at that point. There is no oil above where the valve cover is, and it was replaced 500 miles ago, cam follower and leaks at the back of the motor (vacuum pump, timing chain cover) were fixed at that time too.

A bit frustrated that there is absolutely no information in the Bentley Manual about replacing the intake cam seal, or even how to service the camshaft cradle. Some info here on AZ, but not a ton. Would love to be able to just pop in a new seal, but concerned that I will make things worse. I am definitely a going to fix this, as I loathe engine leaks of any kind.

Anyone tackle this in the past?

[CycloSteve]

Removed and cleaned up the intake camshaft end cap seal area. The opening itself has a bevel and slight taper, lending to the thought that it can indeed be replaced without removing the whole cradle assembly. The old seal was so hard it was brittle and wet. Oil definitely was seeping past it. Cleaned up the opening with scotchbrite pad, then degreaser, then isopropyl. The new end cap was a whopping $9 at the dealer. Pushed it in by hand slightly deeper than the old one as I think it was also pushed out due to age and crankcase pressure. Crossing fingers that this will solve the front of the motor oil leak.

Next set of tasks is to remove all of the cooling lines, and get ready for doing the carbon clean over the weekend...again while I am in there.

[Theiceman]

Removed and cleaned up the intake camshaft end cap seal area. The opening itself has a bevel and slight taper, lending to the thought that it can indeed be replaced without removing the whole cradle assembly. The old seal was so hard it was brittle and wet. Oil definitely was seeping past it. Cleaned up the opening with scotchbrite pad, then degreaser, then isopropyl. The new end cap was a whopping $9 at the dealer. Pushed it in by hand slightly deeper than the old one as I think it was also pushed out due to age and crankcase pressure. Crossing fingers that this will solve the front of the motor oil leak.

Next set of tasks is to remove all of the cooling lines, and get ready for doing the carbon clean over the weekend...again while I am in there.

clean around the seal with alcohol and put a bead of sealent there.. i have a lot of experience with these plugs on all kinds of engines and i find this can make a huge difference in sealing on older engines.