mkongsiri

The A/C compressor died about a month ago so Ive been driving my Corrado SLC around till I got around to fixing it. Well that time has come and so I need to resolve the oil leaks all down the front of the engine while I have the front end removed. Here's some images of what I'm dealing with:










Engine valley with Intake manifold removed

With so much oil under the intake manifold, my thought is the crancase breather gasket is leaking and filling the engine valley. it's then leaking down the fornt and being slung around by the serpentine belt. Definately will check further once I get everything cleaned and removed but would appreciate some input on some possible problem areas to look for. Thanks!

mkongsiri

2 weekends later and all done. So yes, if your engine is pissing oil down the front of your engine it may well be the crankcase breather gasket. Just dissamble the entire intake and fuel system of the engine and replace the gasket (or use RTV like I did). You might as well decarbon the intake valves while it's all apart. There's a thread in on here somewhere of someone using dental picks to remove the carbon from the valves......Soak with carb cleaner first, let dry overnight, use a drill with coarse steel wool wound around a bit. Did the entire job in 20 minutes.

A6 4.2 Vier

Thanks for the update and for sharing your oil leak issues.

I have a 2007 with the 4.2 engine with a leaking valve cover gasket (oil in the spark plug wells when I replaced the sparkplugs recently. I believe that I have oil leaking from other places since the front of my engine is dripping with oil.

I went to order the valve cover gaskets today from the dealer and was informed that the left side gasket is no longer available. I decided to cancel my order and take a chance with a non OEM gasket.

Once I start taking the bits and pieces off I am hoping that I can find the sources of my oil leaks.

mkongsiri

Oil leaks can be a real pain to locate on these engines. Where's the highest point on the engine you're seeing oil? I thought it was the valve cover gaskets on mine also but after replacing those, it still was leaking. After inspecting the "valley" between the banks, I saw all the oil was accumulating there and determined the breather cover gasket was the culprit. For what it's worth, I tend to go with OEM vs genuine audi as they are usually much less expensive and are nearly if not exactly the same. But in any case good luck! a few weeks now on mine and engine runs flawlessly and no more oil leaks!

A6 4.2 Vier

I haven't had a chance to tear into my Audi yet. It is hard to determine where the oil leak is coming from since it is difficult to see the front of the engine. The oil is dripping down from the front of the engine. I am hoping that it is some gasket on the top of the engine since it would be a pain to access the front of the engine.

Glad to hear that you resolved your oil leaks.

Wake96c4

Good luck. I never could tell where the leak was on my 05 4.2. Turned out that it was the oil filter housing on top of the engine that was leaking, causing oil to run to the front of the engine instead of the back where I suspected it should have leaked.

joegolden481

Oh wow this is exactly what my 3.2 looks like! I mean alternator one ac compressor covered in oil. How did you get those shots? Did you remove bumper and all front components? What does the problem part look like? Thx. Joe

A6 4.2 Vier

Finally got around to removing the intake manifold. As it turns out the other source of my oil leak was the oil filter housing o-ring. which is a common problem with the 4.2l engines. The o-ring compresses over time to where it becomes flush with the flange.

I ordered up new gaskets & o-rings and will de-carbon the intakes since I have access to them.

martinz.zz

Did you ever fix this problem? My 2006 a6 is leaking as a well and the alternator is covered in oil as well

raspeitia

BTW, I just ordered the left and right valve cover gasket kits from genuineaudi for my 4.2.

Here are the part numbers you need:

077198025C (cyl 5-8)
077198025B (cyl 1-4)