brider

Newbie here, I've been researching sources for the oil smell from my 2.7T, and I'd like to investigate the cam plugs. I THINK they are the only seals the PO didn't replace on my car.

Is there a write-up somewhere on this site? Is there a preferred 2.7T manual that will cover this topic?

CRuby

Resources - Tech Articles - Engine
Then select A6.
There is writeup on valve cover chain seals.
Unclear what you mean by cam plugs. The cams have circular oil seals & also 2 2 locations (1 / side) there is a cam cap. That also ats as a seal, but doesn't straddle the cam shaft.
This is another site that discusses how to spot common leak locations.
http://www.blauparts.com/
If you plan on replacing all cam seals, then you may as well change the cam tensioner gasket & 1/2 moon seal while you're there. Basically, you are looking at 2 approaches. One, by just pulling valve covers, etc. as covered via resources path above. Second, appproach is if you are doing Timing belt & have entire front-end opened up, then you can pull the cams out too, which makes is easier to change the seals below tensioner. But there is alot more stuff that need to be removed on front end to get this far. If you go route 2 then be sure to mark position of cam chain on the cams sprocket. See my posting on it here as it seems to be an unclear subject area, for such an important issue. Illustrations I've seen on other postings do not necessarily show the cam sprockets & cam timing marks correctly. Lastly, you will need some special tools. Route 1, all you'll nee is the tensioner tool, to compress the tensioner so it slackens chain. Route 2, you'll need tensioner, + crank lock pin & cam lock bar.

Bohalrantipol

For method #2 why would you need the cam lock bar? You are removing the cams right? So how would you remove them with the lock bar in place?

Thanks!

sketch44

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho...2788145&page=2

Just did another search and this is what I think you are looking for.

I need to do the same thing so it looks like you can pop them out with varying amounts of effort. And then press them back in. No sealant looks to be the consensus.