Cam Oil Seal & Alternator - 2.5TDi

[AlexGSi2000]

Just a quick question for the 2.5TDi gurus.

My battery light came on whilst driving earlier.
Checked the voltage to the battery whilst the engine was on, it was reading 11.6v

I took a quick look at the alternator and found it was covered and dripping with oil.

I managed to trace the leak back to the cam oil seal on the left bank of cylinders, its dripping down the block then onto the alternator.

My question is - do these cam oil seals become loose?
It was new 7 months ago when the new cams were fitted - im hoping by some miracle I may be able to "push" it back into place, but if not im guessing the cam needs to be removed?

As for the alternator, how hard is it to replace with the front end in service mode?

Thanks!

 

[adamss24]

If you fitted Victor Reinz cam seals then chances are that it's leaking from the rocker cover gasket. The alternator is easy once the front is in the service position...

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Yes it is a victor reinz seal, I will be lucky if it is the rocker cover gasket, but that was a new one too.
Is it a common issue?

 

[adamss24]

The cam covers/gaskets require a dab of silicone sealant at key places to stop the oil dripping out... Such an bad design...

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Cheers Chris - Hoping to god its just the rocker cover seal. I wished you lived in Liverpool sometimes!

Didn't get much sleep last night! Was meant to be over the other side of the country for a meeting today aswell... oops!

I have ordered a new alternator (Bosch 140A), cam cover gasket & a camshaft oil seal (just in case) - going to strip off the front end tonight and identify where the leak is coming from, new parts will be at the local eurocarparts in the morning.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Well, started work on the car tonight - got the car into service mode and removed the alternator - it was dripping with oil!

Removed the front belt covers, the cam pulley was bone dry - I could see a little of the cam seal - that looked bone dry too.
Looked like the leak was most likely coming from the area around the half-moon seal, although it was hard to tell.

I have removed all the residual sealant and degreased ready for tomorrow, fingers crossed it will be ok!

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Well, all seems well (so far!)

My first "proper" job on the 2.5TDi, Murran did do my Camshafts late last summer, but I just stood there mystified and handing tools over really!

First thing I noticed was how well put together the A4's are, when I have done similar work in the past on my Fiestas.etc, even though they have only been a few years old I always used to spend half the time trying to tackly rusty/seized nuts and bolts.
Stuff on the Audi just flew off with ease - aslong as you are methodical it is fairly straightforward.

I collected the parts on Saturday, the original alternator was a Lucas 140A, I have replaced with a Bosch 140A.
I did the rocker cover first - scraped away all the old sealant left on the heads, made sure everything was clean and degreased & fitted the new rocker cover seal with Dirko sealant in the specified places.
Then fitted the alternator and re-fitted the front end - whilst I was doing that a good friend of mine fitted my coilovers!

I left the seal cure for 5 hours before starting the car. Fired up like a goodun, alternator providing 14.4V constantly under load and varying engine speeds.

I just need to keep an eye out for the leak now, I had a quick check last night, all seemed dry apart from a slight weep from one of the injector leak-down pipes - will replace the copper crush washers this week.

She rides well on the Weitec coilovers too - front tyres are just about tucked into the arch - cant seem to get the tyres tucked in at the rear (even after adjusting coilovers) so will give them a chance to settle before I try adjusting them again.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

Well, this issue has reared its ugly head again - was looking around the engine bay last week and saw oil on the alternator again!

Im now pretty much 100% certain its coming from the camshaft seal, as there appears to be nothing leaking from the rocker cover, injectors or leak off pipes.

To remove the cam seal I understand the belts & cam pulley will need to come off - which is what I was dreading!

I was thinking on last night and remember having two thin washers left over from when I replaced the camshafts that I found in my toolbox a few days later.
Im now thinking these could possibly be from the end camshaft retainer that holds the cam seal.
The retainer is held on with dome nuts, im thinking that without the washers the retainer isnt being tightened down enough?
Iv marked off the washer on the diagram below;

Washer_zps738b53f8.jpg Photo by AlexGSi2000 | Photobucket

Is this likely to be a contributing factor to the leak - or am I clutching at straws?

 

[adamss24]

As per your pm, early engines did not have the thin alloy washers under the domed nuts- never had an issue with them leaking. As i said, there's a few places where the v6 tdi is likely to leak, they do require a thin line of silicone sealant to stop the oil finding a way out. The gaskets are well thick just the ends are designed wrong !