Grim findings during oil change

[s3tby]

Had my A4 S-Line up on ramps this morning to do an oil change. I removed the belly pan to be greeted with this;

View attachment 7262

I'm a novice(!) but I think that appears to be a pretty unhealthy engine mount. It seemed to have a red liquid seeping out of it (not dripping yet). This was on the drivers side. The passenger side was fine. The car is not throwing up any codes at all.

So that pee'ed me off. Then I slid out and glanced down at the belly pan to find a decent amount of oil show on the engine side of the pan. Oil was evident to a degree coming down over the sump (not from the sump plug) but also over a black component next to the the sump. You can see it in this picture, bottom left hand corner with the black flexi pipe going up from it:

View attachment 7263

I couldn't do much of a job in tracing it back but looking at the head I was thinking maybe a gasket has gone / going.

Right side:
View attachment 7264

Left side:
View attachment 7265

I'm trying to establish if I need to start thinking about that engine mount, and if the gasket pictured is looking healthy or could well be the source of my oil leak. The car has done 81k -'04 plate- and I don't see any evidence in the paperwork of gaskets or mounts ever being replaced.


Thanks for any help!

 

[swarcup]

the engine mounts are prone throughout the a4 range it seems, i did mine a few months ago cost was a little over £100 for the part and it took around an hour to do having never done anything like that before, The rocker gaskets are prone on the 1.8t from reading past threads is there oil around the plugs that's a symptom i believe. The oil may well be running down unless you can see a leak

 

[s3tby]

I just popped the coil packs out and there's a decent amount of oil on the coil pack and around the spark in cylinder #1 (nearest the rad) a bit in #2, very small amount in #3 and none in #4. I didn't actually remove the sparks.

Have I just got lucky for the first time today and found it to be the rocker / valve cover gasket? Having checked I have no smoking, no oil in my coolant and no coolant in my oil.

I've already ordered engine mounts from TPS, and I'm replacing the snub mount (£5) while I'm at it given the cars age & mileage.

 

[swarcup]

sounds like your suffering from a few of the known issues

 

[s3tby]

Thanks for the input! For the benefit of the thread;

Valve Cover Gasket (£13, eBay)
PART NO.
058 1980 25A
HOW TO:: a4mods.com :: - The Premiere Audi A4 Modification Guide and Pictures Library


and since you have the rocker cover off you might as well do this at the same time:


Cam Chain Tensioner Gasket (£6, Trade Part Specialists)
PART NO.
058 198 217
HOW TOHow-to: 1.8T Cam Chain Tensioner Gasket replacement


both jobs will require RTV silicone sealant rated to min. 300 degrees (£4, eBay), and you'll need a small tool to complete the CCT job (VAG / OEM 3366) £7 eBay.

 

[Andi25th]

Can i offer a bit of advice. Dont buy cheap gaskets. Get them from the dealer, aftermarket ones are crap. You will need to put a small smear of sealer in the corners of the new gasket to ensure it doesnt leak.