Hello all,

New to the forums . I am having my first real issue with my A4. There is oil that seems to be running from the head down onto the block. Occasionally it will drip down onto the exhaust(or something hot) and cause a small amount of smoke. I'm thinking that I will have to change the valve cover gaskets and I'm wondering if anybody has some experience with this job and what's involved, or could direct me to a walk through. I'm planning on cleaning the engine today or tomorrow then applying powder to collect new oil after running the engine to help pinpoint the location of the leak. I will try and post photos of before and after.

The engine is the 3.2L V6

Thanks for any help and advice

VP

 

Yup its the valve covers. Very common in all Audi's & VW's. You need to replace the Valve covers indeed, but the dripping oil on the exhaust manifold is because of the Cam Chain Tensioner Gasket & half moon seal. Replace both as well. What you'll need is the following

Two Valve Cover gasket sets
Two Half Moon Seals
Two Cam Chain Tensioner Gaskets
Audi/VW CCT tension release tool (buy it off ebay for like $15.00)

There are many DIY's on this just look it up

 

Okay, I already picked up a set of VCG's and I was wondering if I was going to need to replace the seals too. I will go to the dealer today and pick those things up. Is there only one half moon seal per side or two? I'm going to do both sides so that they wear together. Thanks for your help!

 

Yeah both sides is best. Dealer will rape you on the parts, i found the cct gasket & half moons for $8 a set at Napa (set comes with 1 half moon seal and 1 cam chain tensioner gasket ) there's 1 half moon and 1 cct gasket per valve cover. You'll also need some liquid gasket of worthy grade.

You may also want to consider cleaning or changing your crank case breather, suction jet pump and pcv valve as any of these being clogged can push oil out of your valve covers. There's an oil fill cap with a vent built in you can buy to ensure no extra pressure forces oil out again. That's what I did to make sure I never had to do any of it again.

 

There's a NAPA nearby in the next town over. I'll check with them and see if they have it in stock.

What liquid gasket would you recommend?

Were you able to find the crank case breather, suction jet pump (not even sure what that is) and pcv valve at the NAPA store also?

Also, where did you find the oil fill cap with a vent built into it? Who makes it?

Thanks again for the info.

VP

 

NAPA wont have any of that other stuff. You'll have to look online or get robbed by the stealer for that. As far as gasket sealant/maker just use some quality stuff with a high heat rating that is ok to use for oil components. The built in valve cap I got off ECS for like $25.00 or so. Make sure you only use gasket maker where needed, follow the DIY closely or Bentley Manual, whatever your using.