What else could it be???

[fred2ka4]

So I took the car for a spin around the neighborhood to see how it would feel after sitting for so long and not being driven. The boost felt good and the car felt good except for one thing. MORE OIL LEAKING!!!

When I got home and popped the hood I noticed that there was smoke coming from the exhaust area. When I checked the cam seal that I had replaced it was fine and oil free. Most of the oil is coming from below the head but I cannot see behind there to tell where it is coming from.

So here are a few questions that I need answered and any help would be much appreciated.

1) Where can oil leak from on the back side of the engine below the head? (rear main seal?... )

2) What seals are back there?

3) How hard are they to replace.

All my problems with leaking started when I started the car while the front end was jacked up, because I wanted to see if it would start. I don't know if maybe some seals dried up or shrank because the car was sitting for so long or if some seals just went bad. I also had some white smoke coming out of my tail pipe but I don't know if it's related to the oil leaking problem. I need to solve one issue at a time but I thought I would throw it out there just in case one has something to do with the other.

I just might have to take it into a shop and let them figure it out but I don't want to do that just yet. What do you guys think and any help would be appreciated ......... .......... I'll try to take some pictures if that will help.

Other than the oil leak the car felt good, so at least I have that ........

[t1demont1]

you have valve cover, cam tensioner seal, head gasket, and rear main seal. How high did you have the front end jacked up? Can you see oil comming from above the tranny? if so its not the rear main, obviously becasue its inside the tranny. Check those two holes in the tranny where you reach the bolts for the oilpan, is it saturated with oil in there?

[fred2ka4]

I had the car on jack stands and the oil is leaking onto the tranny housing. It's somewhere between the head and tranny on the back side and it only does it when the car is running. So the rear main seal is in the tranny?

[fred2ka4]

I also forgot to mention that I when replaced the cam seal I cleaned the entire backside of the engine so there was no oil and when I just noticed the oil again it looks like oil is being thrown or flung up because there is oil in places by the cam seal but it's coming from the bottom because the cam seal pathway itself is clean.

[djwimbo]

get a light and a mirror. Run the engine and take a look back there to see where it's coming from.

As long as the trans is fully mated to the engine there shouldn't be a pathway for oil to be flung off the flywheel upwards. It should go down it it were the rear main seal.

Replacing the rear main seal isn't that bad, for those that have pulled the tranny out of a B5 before it can be done in 4hrs or less.

[fred2ka4]

There are two things attached to the back of the head, the one on the left connects to the pipe that goes to the secondary smog pump and I don't know what the one on the right is. This was clean when I changed the can tensioner seal.





Underneath that secondary smog part.





APR high flow cat




As you can see it looks like it coming from above the cat and tranny and leaking down.

[djwimbo]

the part towards the exhaust side of the head is the Combi-valve. It's part of the SAI circuit.

The thing right next to it is the tensioner/adjuster for the the timing chain or if applicable variable valve timing.

Does your chain tensioner require the O-rings that are supplied? Some do and some don't, I couldn't tell you which is which.

[quattro16]

Looks like the cam adjuster seal is still leaking. Kinda looks like its squirting out. Start up the car and get a small mirror down there and look around.

[Poopie]

Does that gasket between the combi valve and the housing look a little funny to you? It looks like you can see a gap and the hole for the gasket

[fred2ka4]

The combi valve looked a little funny to me as well so when I took it off this is what I found ........

















The gasket was not installed all the way and since I have never touched it, I would guess that it's been like this since I have owned the car ...... ..... The only thing that I can think of is that when I jacked the car up and started it, oil probably got on all the old oil that had crusted over and made an opening through the gasket that was not installed properly. It looks like it to me so I'll just clean it up and put it back together the right way and see what happens.

If this is my problem then I am a happy camper .......

Do the combi valves ever need to be replaced?

[Nebone]

Nah, but it never hurts to clean them once every decade.

[fred2ka4]

Not only was the gasket on the combo valve not on right but the vacuum line was not on either. Mike says that this has nothing to do with an oil leak and that if I am getting oil out of there, I have a lot worse problem ...........

I cleaned it up and put it back together so we'll see what happens.

[djwimbo]

oil out of the combi valve would be a bad thing. There's definitely not supposed to be oil in or on it.

all that oil back there looks old, it doesn't look new.

[fred2ka4]

It looks like it's the valve cover gasket and possibly the cam tensioner seal that is leaking. After cleaning everything and taking it for another spin I could clearly see the oil dripping onto the high flow cat and it looks like it is coming from the half circle seal on the valve cover. I'll check it again tomorrow.

Since the valve cover gasket seal is new I am going to try some high temp gasket silicone to see if that will stop the leak. I seems like it is the valve cover gasket because before I took the trip I was checking for oil leaks and there was nothing so it only happens when I get on it and the oil is flung around. I could clearly see it dripping from the corner onto the cat.

[Poopie]

all the old crusty oil makes it sound like a job for Mike Rowe.

[djwimbo]

dumb question, but you did tighten it down right?

[fred2ka4]

dumb question, but you did tighten it down right?

I did. I started from the center and worked my way out. That is the correct way, right?

I don't think it makes a difference but I just switched from 10-40 to 10-30 synthetic oil so the oil is a little thinner.

[Poopie]

It shouldn't. Give all the surfaces a rub down with acetone to remove any oils before you lay down some rtv sealant.

[djwimbo]

if oil made that big of a difference I'd be pouring oil out of my engine.
I run 0W-40.

[fred2ka4]

if oil made that big of a difference I'd be pouring oil out of my engine.
I run 0W-40.

I was thinking about using 0-40 but I thought the thinner weight would be ok here in New Mexico since it doesn't get that cold.

I've changed the valve cover gasket about 4 times since I have owned the car and all the directions that I have read suggest to put a little high temp RTV silicone gasket maker in the corners and this was the only time that I did not do it. So I will clean it tomorrow and apply the RTV in the corners and in the half circle and try it again.

On a side note, it felt so good to get into boost and listen to her purrrrr and respond like a cougar in heat

And I only had her in low boost, tomorrow she gets the full 25lbs ........

[quattro16]

If oil is blowing out of the combi valve hole maybe you have some bad exhaust valve guides.

[fred2ka4]

If oil is blowing out of the combi valve hole maybe you have some bad exhaust valve guides.

After further inspection I don't believe it was coming out, I think it was going in from the gap that was left because of the gasket not being installed correctly.

[t1demont1]

awesome let us know how it goes.

[fred2ka4]

So today I removed the valve cover and cleaned all the surfaces as well as the gasket itself. On the part of the gasket that goes into the corner with the half circle there was oil residue on both sides of the gasket and on the surface. I cleaned both sides and applied rtv silicone on the corners and on the half circle and let it sit for a couple hours.

I took her for a test spin and when I got back home there was NO more oil leaking ... ... I could still smell a little oil burning from what had leaked yesterday even though I tried to clean most of it with de-greaser but there was no more leaking and no smoke so I think it is good.

All the areas that I took pictures of yesterday that were saturated with oil are now clean and dry so I am a happy camper for now .......

Thanks for all the help and suggestions and it's one of the things I like best about THIS Audi community .......

[fred2ka4]

Here is what the car looked like today after I went for my test drive, and you'll notice one major thing ......... NO OIL ........

Another thing that I found was that the vacuum line going to the combo valve had broken off as well and was just barely hanging on by the braiding that is around the hose so I was able to fix that as well.

[t1demont1]

good shit, thats what I like to hear

[pipe7284]

Congratulations to you Fred. !!!!!!!

[djwimbo]

I was thinking about using 0-40 but I thought the thinner weight would be ok here in New Mexico since it doesn't get that cold.

I run it b/c it gets that cold here. Helps prevent starvation on cold startups, and thick enough to stick around at operating temps.

... speaking of, myself and a buddy went to the track Sunday, his oil temps hit 320+*F and mine stayed below 250. HA, A4 vs Jetta = Jetta FTL.