Hello I am in a little bit of a stump here on the How-To's to get the cam chain tensioner gaskets done.
I am getting mixed how to's

Some say I need the Vag Tool 3366 (Which I have no idea what it is)
Some say I don't need it and I just need to unbolt the T30 torx screws.

Can someone tell me the proper way to change Just the Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets on a 1999 Audi A6 2.8L AHA engine.

Is this a 10 hour job or can it be done in a few hours.
Can this be done with the regular every day mechanic tools or do I need special Audi tools?

Do I need to move around the chain to get the gaskets out?

I have the dreaded burning oil smell on my passenger side rear right under the MAF and from what I understand it is the Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets that are causing this.

I bought the piece (5 dollars) and the Valve Cover Gasket set (Which I installed yesterday only to realize that it did not correct my problem so I will probably reuse the one I just installed yesterday since I only ran the car at idle for about half hour ((unless my valve cover gasket set is rendered useless by this)) )



Any help would really really help me out
anthony911 is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

 

I just did mine at the same time I was doing my timing belt I pulled the cams and did all the seals. If you are just doing the tensioner seals you will need the vag tool to loosen the tensioner so that you can lift it up enough to get the old seal out and the new one in. I made my own tool because when I bought my kit and rented the tools from blauparts they dont include this tool. Its hard to explain with out pics but I used a piece of of 6mm x 1.5 all thread and welded a washer offset over the end of a 1/2" pipe nipple about two inches long. the purpose of the tool is to hold onto the top of the adjuster and pull up on the bottom shoe to keep everything in place while removing the cams. In your case you want to compress the lower shoe to let you lift up on the adjuster to give you the space needed to get the old gasket out and the new in.

The only problem is how do you know if its the adjuster leaking or the seals on the end of the cams? If it was me I would do the entire job which is much more work but you will know for sure you have fixed the problem.

Oh and you should be fine reusing the valve cover gaskets.

 

im pretty sure its the seals because i checked on some videos and the smoke and symptoms i have seem to indicate that this is the problem. also I don't think these seals were ever changed on my car.
I changed the timing belt last year.

what else could it be that is leaking in that area?

(I have another problem in that area where when I pull my spark wires out there is some oil on them and I can't understand why. I changed the valve cover gaskets and the O rings and I still get oil there and I do not know why)

But I do not know if this is related to my issue.
I currently only have smoke coming out of one side of the engine.

You may have explained it well but I have no idea what you made with your "home made tool" heh sorry

(can it be the cam plugs that are causing this leak also?)

 

Yea I know it would be hard to show you the tool without having it in place and unfortunetly mine has been back together about a week now and there is no way I am opening up that can of worms again lol. I beleive you can find the tool on ebay pretty reasonable I just couldnt wait as I already had the timeing belt tools rented and only had a week to complete the job and get them returned.

 

OK from what I am understanding though it is not completely impossible to get the cam chain tensioner gaskets out without taking out the cam.
My question is the following:
Does anyone know the procedure to replace just the gaskets (the half moon and the other piece) without having to remove the cam and drop the chain?

I'm asking this because I don't want to open up another can of worms when I don't need to.
If the procedure can be avoided and the seals can be replaced without removing the cam then im game to do that.

I don't really want to fool around with the cams and stuff because next thing I know my cams will be all screwed up and the car wont drive anymore.

 

There is a nice detailed write up on www.audiworld.com

 

Care to give me maybe an exact link?
Audiworld is not a small site to look for it.
Sorry i'm not trying to be a stickler but I'd just like to get the direct link

 

Read this carefully...
Cam Chain Tensioner