hunterp27

I cannot believe it takes this much effort to get to a leaky upper oil pan but it does. Damn near disassembled the whole motor to get to it. Design flaw that the upper oil pan and the block are not one piece. It could be done easily. You can see the upper oil pan leaning against the wall in the 1st photo.

haggisuk

Would I be able to trouble you for some close up shots of the inlet tracts to see how it is for carbon build up?

EHLO

+1, thanks

mishar

They designed it as a separate parts in order to allow for different applications. This one is dry sump for Gallardo.

MP4.2+6.0

Besides dry sump, it's a different crank set up as well, given the S8/S6 was split pin. The SSP connects the S8/S6 motor to the Lambo (predated R8 V10), but omits that in the split pin discussion. In turn Lambo--or R8--can also rev a good amount higher. W12 is also split pin and feeds into its lower RPM limit.

More generally, that two part lower bearing (bedplate) and pan are seems pretty std. Audi design. 4.2 is conceptually similar from having pulled lowest "oil pan." W12 has three layers worth. They essentially replace "4 bolt mains" or some kind of crank main cap web approach with the structural support and bracing that inherent with that upper bedplate. But, makes it a super challenge dealing with seals, or rear con rods for that matter. Puts a huge premium on integrity of these gaskets/sealing compounds, as OP unfortunately is now wrestling with.

hunterp27

OH boy don't I know it.........I can appreciate the need for different lubrication configurations, but dang does it ever put a premium on seals......and unfortunately once you have a breach, you are forced into a process lie the one I am dealing with. I don't see the point of having a high-end car like this and having it leak oil and make a mess. Yes, its gonna be expensive and when I paid 30K for this car I never thought that 6 mos. later I would be spending another 3K to fix a leak. But here we are and as the old country singer George Straight says in one of his songs, "I'm in too deep to pull out now"

hunterp27

Gang,

(Warning, long thread reply)

The S8 is back on her feet again and the motor is DRY !!! It's been a long and arduous process but I am coming outta this extremely satisfied with some major props for the solo mechanic that worked on my car. I want to explain to those in the Dallas area or close by who could benefit from this ordeal that I have gone thru. I took a major flyer here by letting a young but wise far beyond his years mechanic by the name of Cirilo work on my car. The work was performed at VDubs in Plano, TX. Ostensibly, Cirilo has primarily at BMW background with a focus on the M cars but a little while back turned his focus to Audis and the S line. Yes, this was a risk and I knew that when I decided to let them take on this project. In exchange for the risk, I received a 5K-6K job at the dealer for about 3.2K parts/labor. Here is what I learned about Cirilo as a mechanic. He's a student of the process and is extremely detailed oriented and methodical. He allowed me to look over his shoulder a significant amount of time during the process and I was able to gain an insight to how he goes about things. He was very organized and had a system by which he stayed true to during the process. Now, I do need to give a qualifying statement: It took a month from start to finish which was not his or VDub's fault. It turns out as I previously reported that the engine has been out of my car once before as it was evident by the number of broken clips, missing bolts, screws, zipties and so forth. The Audi dealership in Florida did the previous removal and was NOT detail oriented or careful about their workmanship. There were missing bolts, stripped bolt holes and a general lack of pride uncovered as it was disassembled. This led to Cirilo having to clean up previous mechanics mistakes which added to the time considerably. He ended up having to order additional parts, albeit small and inexpensive, but crucial to the process.....and each time he uncovered a previous mistake, we had to order parts some of which had to come from Germany. This effort would normally only take about a week but with all of this "cleaning up" it stretched over multiple weeks. Luckily I have a third car (2006 Ford Escape SUV waiting for my daughter to turn 16) so we were able to take or time and do it right. Cirilo is a smart kid with a creative thinking pattern. I was there on several occasions when he ran into roadblocks and every time he figured out a way to get things done without taking huge risks. It was impressive to watch.....and.......he would send me txts from time to time with updates on the progress. That's not something you will get in most instances.
When I left there today, the car was completely reassembled and running. He has already run the engine about an hour at operating temp cycling thru heat and A/C. He was bleeding and restoring the A/C system as I was leaving. All vents and diverters were operating as designed.

Parts replaced during the process are as follows:
- main serpentine belt
- internal oil pump gaskets
- all one-time stretch bolts internally
- miscellaneous vacuum tubes for air intake breather routing (brittle plastic broken in at least 7 places (terrible material used)
- 1 heater hose (nipple decayed and broken off inside)
- coolant reservoir and cap
- miscellaneous bolts, screws, connectors, studs
- coolant
- refrigerant
- oil and filter

Labor
- complete removal of front end, engine, transmission, exhaust, suspension
- unclogged the drain hoses from base of windshield collection area
- separated trans from V10
- removed back timing cover
- removed oil pump
- removed oil cooler
- separated upper oil pan from block and clean surfaces
- I separated the lower oil pan and cleaned surfaces (that's what started this whole mess/project)
- re-installed, reassembled and resealed all of the above
- tapped new bolt hole in top bracket for drivers side strut tower
- tapped new bolt hole in frame for engine brace
- rerouted vacuum lines for air intake boxes (many broken, required ingenuity)
- evacuated and recharged A/C system
- evacuated and refilled coolant system
- replaced a significant number of fasteners including a stud for mounting the front bumper (not sure how it was holding on w/o it)
- replaced and realigned numerous fender liner fasteners

The only things left to do are to hook up the computer and reset the CEL, pull codes and clean up any loose ends. Additionally, he needs to run the electronic parking brake back in after I changed the rotors and pads and redid the calipers covers. They were very flexible and allowed me to come into the shop and work on the car while it was on the rack. Very uncommon from what I have experienced.

In closing, I would not hesitate to return to have work done at VDub's and have Cirilo work on my S8. If you DFW area Audi owners are looking for an Indy that offers something more than a few knuckledraggin wrench slingers, then VDub's should get a shot at your business. Like I stated in the beginning, I was taking a chance and it seems to have paid off. Cirilo seems to be on a track to becoming as adept at the S cars and the M cars. There are BMW and Mercedes shops/experts on every corner but it seems the proficient Audi Indy is fairly hard to find. At least that's what I have found being new to the Audi family. On top of all this, they were very aggressive with their pricing. The last thing I wanted to note was that the air suspension was a little slow to react/recover when the car was brought back to life. I suspect that's normal given that the car was inactive and deflated for over 30 days. Let me know if ya have any questions or want any further information on my project.

CobraCommander

Sounds awesome, glad the car is almost back in your hands!

MP4.2+6.0

+1 Good write up and promising results.

EHLO

Was there any carbon buildup in the inlet tracts?