Huge Puddle of oil - Drivers side front of engine
#1
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Huge Puddle of oil - Drivers side front of engine
So the weather dipped to the low 40's last night and have I not driven the car in the last two days.
Left the car running for 5 minutes to warm up. Start driving down the street about 1/2 a mile and see a little smoke and then oil icon flashes on dash.
Turn around and go back to my place look at my parking spot and see a huge pool of oil on the ground from the left side of the engine(Drivers side) and a trail leaving the parking lot.
I am not sure if this is a lower pan gasket leak, oil level thermal sensor / seal or something more serious?
I tried searching on this forum and no specific info on this. Not sure how much oil has spilled but by the look of it possible 3-4 quarts.
Any insight would be appreciated. Unfortunately I have to go out of town for work so no time to get under the car to take a look.
Car has 122K. I have had a the car for a few months and have only needed to replace the coolant reservoir.
Thanks Kish
Left the car running for 5 minutes to warm up. Start driving down the street about 1/2 a mile and see a little smoke and then oil icon flashes on dash.
Turn around and go back to my place look at my parking spot and see a huge pool of oil on the ground from the left side of the engine(Drivers side) and a trail leaving the parking lot.
I am not sure if this is a lower pan gasket leak, oil level thermal sensor / seal or something more serious?
I tried searching on this forum and no specific info on this. Not sure how much oil has spilled but by the look of it possible 3-4 quarts.
Any insight would be appreciated. Unfortunately I have to go out of town for work so no time to get under the car to take a look.
Car has 122K. I have had a the car for a few months and have only needed to replace the coolant reservoir.
Thanks Kish
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I don't think I clipped the oil pan since I did not see any oil on the ground before I started the car. So it started leaking sometime between when I started the car and while the car was warming up.
Really hope I did not damage anything since it was less than a half mile.
Really hope I did not damage anything since it was less than a half mile.
#4
AudiWorld Super User
Thank you for searching first. Oil leaks can come from many places. For this issue; use standard automotive troubleshooting techniques (investigate with eyes) to determine where the oil is coming from. Then repair.
If you still are having trouble, remove lower engine cover and take a pic of the top side of it along with several clear, well lit photos and post.
If you still are having trouble, remove lower engine cover and take a pic of the top side of it along with several clear, well lit photos and post.
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Thanks Mister Bally, SilverA8oh,
Just got back from a job out of town. Need to order the VAG-COM so I can put the car in Jack mode unfortunately my MMI control doesn't work. I can then hopefully determine where the leak originated from since it leaked about 1-2 quarts easily in the large puddle and then lost another unknown number of quarts in the 1/2 mile up and back to the house.
Just out of curiosity at what oil level does the the oil light come on?
Just got back from a job out of town. Need to order the VAG-COM so I can put the car in Jack mode unfortunately my MMI control doesn't work. I can then hopefully determine where the leak originated from since it leaked about 1-2 quarts easily in the large puddle and then lost another unknown number of quarts in the 1/2 mile up and back to the house.
Just out of curiosity at what oil level does the the oil light come on?
#7
AudiWorld Senior Member
Fuses
Pull the fuses related to suspension level control that will prevent any issues with it trying to auto level, when the fuses are out there is no power to operate the valve block so it can't adjust the air levels.
Thanks Mister Bally, SilverA8oh,
Just got back from a job out of town. Need to order the VAG-COM so I can put the car in Jack mode unfortunately my MMI control doesn't work. I can then hopefully determine where the leak originated from since it leaked about 1-2 quarts easily in the large puddle and then lost another unknown number of quarts in the 1/2 mile up and back to the house.
Just out of curiosity at what oil level does the the oil light come on?
Just got back from a job out of town. Need to order the VAG-COM so I can put the car in Jack mode unfortunately my MMI control doesn't work. I can then hopefully determine where the leak originated from since it leaked about 1-2 quarts easily in the large puddle and then lost another unknown number of quarts in the 1/2 mile up and back to the house.
Just out of curiosity at what oil level does the the oil light come on?
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#9
AudiWorld Member
And when you have pulled of the belly pan, the engine is probably drowning in oil from the underside, if you have "normal" luck = everything is as ****ty as possible.
Then to find the leak, wash the underside of the engine from oil, add enough oil so it's up to max, and then have a friend start the engine when its fully cleaned, and you go under the car, and note from where the oil is spaying.
If you say it's several quarts, i suspect oil is leaking from either the filter, oil-cooler (right side of engine), because from there it leaks with pressure.
I had a D2 A8 1998, it had a huge oil leak, not as bad as yours, but several quarts in an hour.
The bearing seal for the oil pump shaft had gone bad behind the oil pump pulley. I had a helluva time searching for that problem. I suspect it's the same stuff on all V8 and V6 (except FSI, they have a chain), so look for the oil pump pulley, if you have a soaked timing belt etc, or suspect the crank seal is leaking.
The oil pump seal is the same as the crank seal, thank god i had ordered the crank seal, when i was doing that job
Then to find the leak, wash the underside of the engine from oil, add enough oil so it's up to max, and then have a friend start the engine when its fully cleaned, and you go under the car, and note from where the oil is spaying.
If you say it's several quarts, i suspect oil is leaking from either the filter, oil-cooler (right side of engine), because from there it leaks with pressure.
I had a D2 A8 1998, it had a huge oil leak, not as bad as yours, but several quarts in an hour.
The bearing seal for the oil pump shaft had gone bad behind the oil pump pulley. I had a helluva time searching for that problem. I suspect it's the same stuff on all V8 and V6 (except FSI, they have a chain), so look for the oil pump pulley, if you have a soaked timing belt etc, or suspect the crank seal is leaking.
The oil pump seal is the same as the crank seal, thank god i had ordered the crank seal, when i was doing that job
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Huge Puddle of oil - Drivers side front of engine
Hi Volvopentaman,
Thanks for shedding additional light on the possible issue. Unfortunately due to work I have not made the time to diagnose. This is not currently my primary car so I have not stressed about it. Hopefully I get a chance to diagnose in the next few weeks.
I will post back my findings soon. Thanks Kish
Thanks for shedding additional light on the possible issue. Unfortunately due to work I have not made the time to diagnose. This is not currently my primary car so I have not stressed about it. Hopefully I get a chance to diagnose in the next few weeks.
I will post back my findings soon. Thanks Kish