blu

I recently had my cam seals replaced to repair a minor oil leak. A major oil leak was the result (doh!).
Now I'm being told part of the reason for the oil leak is because the cams are scratched at the snouts (the end piece).
Would this cause an oil leak even when paired with new cam seals? What are some possible causes on how these scratches could happen?
Here are a couple photos:
<img src="http://os1k.myvnc.com:8095/audi_pic/cams_scratch_02.jpg" />
<img src="http://os1k.myvnc.com:8095/audi_pic/cams_scratch_01.jpg" />

greyfox

Someone used the wrong tool to remove the original camshaft seals while the camshafts were still installed in the cylinder head.

blu

I wonder if the leak is coming from somewhere else.

quickaudi:STFA

possible; clean it all up and figure out where it's coming from.

odoboyusa

First of all, in my opinion those burrs are very likely to cause leaks because they are right on the seal line of the rubber seal. Also, they will be wearing the seal out in no time.
What i would do, is try to smoothen the surface out with some VERY FINE sandpaper while still maintaining the overall round... it will still be better than what it is now. The shaft that is on the left side especially looks pretty deep and that will have to be worked on a wider area to somehow maintain a round surface on which the rubber seal can seal. Do not go too deep though, keep checking often on how the rubber seal seals on the surface. The shaft on the right side is not that bad and can be fixed by only polishing it a bit.
Stuff like what happened to your camshafts makes me such a DIY mule... at least if i mess something up i won't be mad.

blu

... all the relevant seals were replaced (e.g. cam seals)

the mechanic used J-B Weld and then sanded/polished that down smooth.

So far no more leak (50 miles).

anyone one have an idea how well the JB Weld will hold up and if it may bring harm to the seals themselves?



Thanks for the previous responses, ya'll have been helpful.

Snopczynski

Looks to me like the technician may have grabbed the cams with a pair of pliers. Is there marks on opposite sides of each other like they were held with pliers?

JaysA6

Can you tell me who your mechanic is so that I will never go there

Actually I'm pretty much a diyer for this very reason. I had times that I told my mechanic friends to stop helping me while doing a clutch/repair job.
They said why bother changing the rear main seal, its not leaking. I said because I have 120K miles on that seal, and in 2 weeks or whenever that seal goes I'm not pulling the tranny again!!! Same thing for the flywheel. They said why would you bother resurfacing the flywheel. I just can't believe the shortcuts.
/rant

Audeye A6

of associated parts that work fine when he is in there. He always says why waist your money it's fine!!..... You know the reply.

Morgan Hill Madman!!

......seen it before.