slight oil leak?

[marshall-12]

hi guys,

as title says i have a slight oil leak.
i bought the car on easter sunday and topped it up full, now its just under half way between the dipstick guide lines.
its had a new sump, so i thought the previous owner had maybe not used enough silicone gasket, or put a copper ring inside the sump bolt, but i had a quick crawl under and the leak is comeing from highier up, air box side?
could it be coming from turbo?

ive got a day off tomorow and hopeing for good weather so if theres anything simple i could check? bolts etc etc.. that anyone thinks could be the problem, please let me know.

im not getting any flat spots, decrease in power and no smoke that i know of.

i have a couple other things to do tomoz, new bulbs, sidelights and wipers to go on and want to give the car a good clean.

its an a3 8l 1.8T sport.

Thanks, any help is much appreciated.

 

[bengal]

If it's higher up and on the airbox side then check the valve cover gasket and the breather pipes for splits, the breather pipes are on the airbox side of the engine. Although you would have running problems with a split breather pipe so it's unlikely to be that from what you've said.

 

[marshall-12]

I'll give the pipes a good checkover tomorow anyway.
by valve cover gasket do you mean rocker cover?.

cheers for reply

 

[bengal]

Yeah, that's the one.

 

[marshall-12]

yeah ill check that tomoz.
is there anything else that it could possibly be?

 

[vfr800]

yeah ill check that tomoz.
is there anything else that it could possibly be?

Cam chain tensioner gasket. Search on ASN for it - you do it while you do the rocker cover gasket.

Liam

 

[marshall-12]

cheers dude, ill add that to the list.

anything else.. ?

 

[marshall-12]

looks like it is rocker cover.

easy job? or shall i get a garage to do it?

 

[bengal]

It's a fairly easy job but that's from my experience. From the top of my head it's just 10 or so 10mm nuts around the cover and you have to remove the coilpacks as well and maybe unclip the wiring from its harness. From there it's a matter of removing the old gasket, clean the cover and the head where the gasket sits and fit the new one, I always have some good quality silicone sealant at hand too but it's not essential, I'm paranoid about leaks so I go for the overkill.

Good call vfr800 on the tensioner gasket, even if that's not leaking, while you're there you might as well do that too to stop a potential leak in the future.

 

[marshall-12]

yeah i hate leaks, i always seem to have an oil leak no matter what car i buy.
think i might take it to a garage, then i know it will be sorted properly, shoulnt cost too much should it?
gasket and 30 mins labour i would have thought.

 

[bengal]

You'd be surprised at what some garages will charge for a simple job, easy money for them though at the end of the day. If you shop around you should be able to get a good price at a small independent garage, maybe ask around at work or friends for recommendations.

 

[marshall-12]

yeah i have a mate whos dad owns a garage plus anouther couple mates who will do it cash in hand, but id prefer getting a warrenty job.
so ill have a look about.
cheers mate

 

[vfr800]

All the garages I spoke to, said <sucking air through teeth>that's a 3 hour job - oooh tensioner gasket aswell?! at least 3 hours</sucking air through teeth>.

So I read up A LOT about it on the internet and asked questions on here.

It's NOT difficult - just take your time and be methodical. You'll want to get a cam chain tensioner special tool, VAG 3366 (Laser do one) and they're only about £4, if you're doing the tensioner gasket.

So it probably took me three hours and I had never done it before and I was being super careful, drinking coffee, taking photos, etc.

The OEM gaskets are only about £20-£30 from TPS all in - so get them.

1) Remove the ancillaries, undo the nuts, crack the cover off.
2) Remove the old gaskets and clean the surfaces well.
3) Small amount of decent silicon on the 90 deg bends.
4) Put it all back together - and torque the cover nuts in the correct-ish sequence (don't over tighten)
5) Stand back and feel smug about saving yourself £200 notes.

Note: The only problem I had was that the bracket that holds bracket that holds the intercooler pipe at the back of the engine fouled the removal of the cover. I had to get some help pushing it back while I lifted the cover. Not a big problem.

There's plenty written on here about it - and I found it a really satisfying and easy job to do. You get to clean stuff you can't usually reach too.

Liam

 

[marshall-12]

yeah id prob just stick to doing the rocker cover gasket lol if the tensioner gasket ever leaks then ill take it somewhere.
im sick of oil leaks, i dont really want to risk it.
cheers for the advise though, still do appreciate it