*EDIT: Sorry for forgetting to post vehicle info! '99 Audi A6 2.8L Quattro (5spd automatic, 153k miles).

Ok, this little bundle of joy keeps getting better and better (and by that, I mean worse and worse). Perhaps I should start from the top.

I purchased this Audi on the 1st of September. Drove it extensively and checked it for smoking, leaks, etc. before making a decision to purchase it. Had the oil changed at a shop the day that I bought it. Drove it for 7 days and, aside from the disconnected hoses (post here) that I fixed today, I hadn't noticed any mechanical issues. No knocks in the engine, nothing.

Today, I changed out the spark plugs with my uncle. Drove the car to his house, no leaks. Took out the old Bosch +2 Platinums and replaced with Bosch +4 Platinums (made sure they were the correct ones for the car). The only thing I touched other than the plug wires was the water reservoir, and I just unscrewed that and set it off to the side. Fired her up, everything worked smoothly, and no leaks when backing out (had my uncle confirm that there was no oil on his driveway). So, some time, between driving back home from my uncles and pulling up into my driveway, I sprung a major leak, because when I pulled up into the drive way, my car was draining oil onto the pavement, and when I checked the oil level, my dipstick was bare. That car holds 6.3 quarts of oil in it... I ran through 4 more diagonosing the issue, so that should give you an idea of just how much oil is leaking (surprised I got all the way home without the engine seizing from lack of oil, lol).

Anyways, I popped her up on jack stands and got underneath the car. I'm not 100% positive, but it looks as though the leak is coming from the area I've highlighted below. Please take a look. It's an area connected directly to the oil pan. The leak is either coming directly from the joint highlighted, or it is coming from somewhere directly above it, but either way, the oil spews through that crevice.

I'm going to remove the radiator and try to get a better picture from the front of the car, but has anyone ran into ANYTHING like this before? I'm just trying to figure out if whether or not the new spark plugs or hose correction could have had anything to do with it. It seems unlikely (as unlikely as a papercut causing a heart attack), but for 7 days this car drove fine, and after two minor maintenences, it's now spilling oil by the quart and is, hence, undriveable. Seems like a sh!TTy coincidence. Still, I'd like some feedback before I start digging into her. Please refer to the pictures below (they're kind of identical, but I figured what the hell), and ask any additional questions you may have.

Thank you in advance.


P.S.: One interesting note: When trying to determine the location of the leak, I poured one quart of oil in while the car was off and level. Oil leaked, but I couldn't make out from where. I placed her on jack stands, poured some oil in... nothing came out. I figured it was because she wasn't level, so I lowered her and let her sit for a while... still no oil. However, once I turned her on, she spilled again. Don't know if it helps, but figured best not to omit it.

 

I'm going to take a guess at what your pointing at. I think the thing on the front is the oil pump, I'm judging from the cutaway engine diagram from the 2.8 (see other post) which doesn't seem to have anything else down there. The other thing it could be is the oil pan gasket. The oil pan on these cars is 2 pieces and its possible its leaking from somewhere between them.

My advice would be to remove the lower oil pan (just a bunch of allen bolts, easy enough) and take a look inside. If it is just a gasket what probably happened is that over time some sludge built up and when you changed the oil and drove it for a few days, the detergents in the new oil cleaned it up and left you with a leak.

 

Yeah sounds like a gasket blow out.

try filling it and cleaning that area. Have some one start it for you while it is up on stands. You should be able to see it if your under it and the engine is cleaned up a little.

 

In addition, if it is a gasket blown out, pan gaskets don't just blow out, there has likely been some high pressure in the crankcase, posibly caused by a plugged crankcase ventilation system. Check it soon.

 

We are all guessing here cause we haven't a clue as to which motor you have or what year your vehicle is.

On the 2.8 there is a gasket behind the oil cooler at the oil filter that is known to fail without warning and it only leaks when there is pressure. The damn thing costs less than 5 bucks (Audi dollars) and takes about 30 minutes to fix, but can trash a motor is a few minutes.

 

My wife had that happen a couple years ago. She was out of town and she started up the car, drove a few hundred feet, and then saw the oil light come on. Luckily she stopped right there on the side of the road, because the oil cooler gasket had failed and almost all of the engine oil was behind her on the pavement. The shop that fixed it said it was a fairly common Audi failure, and that when it lets go, it really lets go. What fun would Audis be without these quirky lapses in engineering?

 

are you sure your dipstick tube didn't come out or break ?

 

Is this a forum's Jeopardy? => no vehicle info, blurry photo...

Please read Newbies rules first - then post accordingly!

 

UPDATE:

Thanks for everyone's feedback!

The culprit, indeed, turned out to be the front crankshaft seal. All in all, I lost a ton of oil and a ton of tranny fluid testing for the leak. Doing the work myself, the entire ordeal ended up costing me about $250 ($120 for the Pensinton ATF, about $40 for the Mobil 1 Fsyn, $48 for the transmission filter kit, $10 bucks for a pump, X amount of dollars for certain tools, and, of course, a pidly $5.69 for the seal ).

I just finished putting her back together last night. She's driving strong now (better than before, actually), and the tranny feels great. However, as Oldmots pointed out, crank seals don't just blow it. When we took off the crankshaft gear, the seal was actually lying inside of it, which neither my uncle nor my mechanic brother-in-law had ever seen before. The old seal did show signs of degredation, but still, to have the entire seal out of the shaft completely is odd. My brother-in-law also thinks that there could be blockage somewhere, and when we reconnected the disconnected hose (mentioned in the original post), the excess pressure forced the seal out of the shaft (mind you, it had been the daily driver of the man I purchased it from for quite a while, and I had drove it for about 7 days prior to reconnecting the hose).

My question is, where could this blockage potentionally (or most likely) be? I would hate to start driving this car again and have the damn seal blow out for a second time. The job was a complete PITA, and I'd rather avoid another issue if I can stop it at the source.

 

Ah, I apologize for forgetting the vehicle info. It's a 1999 Audi A6 2.8L Quattro ( I swear I made a sig to include my vehicle info....).