NikkyG

My my girlfriend drove my AR until the oil light came on. A week later when I had time to check it was down about 2qts from the original 9.5ish i put in it (says it takes 8 but it seems to be more than that). Now my AR is losing oil at an alarmingly inceeasing rate. I just got back from my mechanic who showed me what appeared to be a pretty large oil leak and he put another 3/4 qt in it after i filled it 8 days ago but i didnt the see the dip stick so maybe i didnt put quite enough in. He wants to replace the gaskets to the oil pan, clean it up and go from there. He seems like and honest guy but quoted 8-9 hours labor and about $900 bucks for the job and said that after that we will know if that was the issue or if more needs to be done. has anyone has experience with this issue? she drove about 200 miles with the oil light on before I could address it. i'm worried i did serious damage, ive never had experience with low oil or oil leaks i always keep my machinces freshly and well lubricated.

PetrolBear

For a "diagnosis repair(?)" I would not give out 900 usd. You should make a thorough hi pressure water+grease solvent cleansing from underneath in a carwash ( the bottom engine tray must be demounted in advance!) and when the engine is clean, you and your mech will see relatively exactly where the oil comes from.

NikkyG

By grease solvent you mean degreaser? Have you had issues with this before? Are the gassets the most common source of the leaks?

kevin13shaw

The day I bought my 4.2 allroad, I had to drive it home 100 miles. during that trip, the low oil alert came on. I have battled oil leaks since then. Hopefully my latest fix is the last.
1st & works leak - Valve cover gaskets
2nd Oil Pan & Gasket
3rd Oil cooler.
The service on the oil pan & gasket was in the same price range you mention.

NikkyG

What did you end up paying total for all those repairs?

A4 n00b

With the amount of leakage that you're describing, I'd doubt it's the VCG's. It could be the oil pan, but I'd think that would be pretty apparent once it was up on the rack.

If I had to guess, again based on the amount of oil that you're losing so rapidly, that it's under the intake manifold. There's a little o-ring washer under there that deteriorates over time and allows oil pour out at a substantial rate. If that's the problem, there are also a few rubber hoses under there that will need replaced due to oil exposure too.

I sincerely hope that isn't your problem as its costly and time consuming to remedy. Good luck and keep us posted.

orthogonal

If any oil seems to be dripping off the front of the motor, then it most definitely isn't the oil pan Also if it is a huge amount of oil, like what you're describing, then it is likely 99.9% to be the oil cooler o-ring which is, paradoxically, at the back of the motor by the oil filter housing. The oil drips in the back onto the valley below the intake manifold and flows FORWARD. Oil will also drip where the oil and transmission meet.

NikkyG

I used a VW specialist (Bob Mann Dr. Volks) in Pembroke, Ma and had a great experience. He did the Oil pan gasket and I believe the O-ring washer you are describing. Was not as costly as I was expecting, Bob has definitely done this before: he knew where to look, and what it would take to repair. Leak is gone.