jroe

I recently bought a 99 A4 2.8 Quattro - It has an Oil leak so I bought the Blauparts Seal kit. I'm midway through the install and hit the passenger side. One of the seals is behind the camshaft sprocket. I'm using the method in which the Cam shaft tensioner is lifted rather than removing the front end ala timing belt install. The prior owner replaced the timing belt, water pump etc. previously so it's possible this seal is relatively new but the best bet would be to replace it. Can that be done without removing my front end and messing with timing?

- jroe

jroe

Bump

Anyone? Picking this back up in a couple hours and would love to have an answer on this gear?

Prospeeder

no you cant replace cam seals on the front of the engine without removing all the timing belt stuff. If you do the Rear cam plugs, chain tensioners, and valve covers, you will be leak free.

jared1999A6

I also have a 1999 A6 2.8 Quattro and unfortunately I also have the same problem with oil leaks. I have found kits at Blauparts and ECS tuning to fix the issues.

Can you provide me any feedback you have about your project once you have finished with it? I will probably be picking up a similar kit in the coming weeks when I have some time off for the project.

jroe

I found this a particularly frustrating repair but bear in mind that I am not inclined to fixing cars and most car repair tasks are frustrating on some level for me. It took 3 or 4 couple hour sessions if I recall and I did the complete upper seal kit form Blaupart. The kit was great. I broke the first camshaft tool and got a second. The halfmoon seals weren't too horrible - I used a pair of forceps that had a bend on the end but you could use a thin pair of needle nose plyers nicely also. The seals above the half moon seals proved the most painful particularly on the passenger side where the camshaft chain is located. If memory serves I had to rotate the engine a little and do a lot of wiggling and pushing and pulling to work it out. That said the repair was successful and all oil leaks seem to have stopped a few months later. Given my lack of experience it was completely manageable although frustrating at times.

SeattleAl

This is why most folks who have this engine just plan on combining the valve-cover/cam-seals/EGR tubes along with the timing belt/water pump service. It adds a couple hours to an already long service, but it's better to do all at once every six years rather than playing whack-a-mole with leaks every other year...