Cameron Bushong

Hey guys I'm on here seeking the same kind of advice about these oil leaks! I just now registered with hopes of even more input on an already super informative thread. But on with it...

04 2.7T A6 Quattro S-Line

Bought the car about a year and half ago and immediately did accessory belt and new pcv assembly along with valve covers. Flash forward to three months ago. Car had timing belt, WP, tensioner pulley, brake booster, MC, brake lines, tie rods, and shock mount bushings done by Audi. Now this past week. I have a new leak up by the oil cooler which i believe is the culprit of the leak, although from reading about the camshaft plugs and looking deeper I'm finding oil coming down near my A/C compressor. Also, i had to start it in -2f 2 days ago and it had the symptoms as this: cold - no smoke, warming up - smoke out the exhaust and from passenger side of engine(rear), i drove it about a quarter mile then came back into garage and turned it off freaking out. Started it yesterday with a bit of smoke but very minimal and then none after driving it a mile or so. Drove 5 hours with no issue and constant oil checking. Today after another cold night it again is dumping tons of smoke out the back, in the bay, and FILLING the cabin with smoke. I'm seeing a few more new oil drips near the rear passenger side of the engine along with the slight Niagra falls i have going on with the left side.

Side note. I have installed an oil catch can into the PCV line right before the valve which i check ever two days or so do drain out anything in there. It is also chipped with a mechanical boost gauge and an electronic oil pressure gauge. Oil press on those frigid mornings was slightly below 80psi then hovers at 60psi when smoking begins and continues to fall to 40 when the engine idles down.

I appreciate any further input on these leaks and issues and thank everyone on here for all of the information above!

Solem

'04 A6 Quattro 2.7 SLine here.

I agree with everything stated here. As 4D4 says do it all. I'm just finishing so in the interest of full disclosure, it's not restarted yet. The work seemed a little daunting at first, but then became an obsession:-)

I grew tired of the drips and had developed a coolant leak. My idea of service position is take the whole thing off and set it aside. New timing belt, relocated aux cooling pump, new power steering pump, new coolant sensors in rear crossover tube (I think I actually had a leak from the passenger orang), new cam seals and cam bore plugs/half moon, new crank seal/gear, new drive belt tension and belt, probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Oh yeah, new spider hose cause during removal the brittle thing broke.

I likely put more into the car than worth but wife loves it and ECS Tuning became my best friend. So many cardboard boxes I actually (apparently) recycled my new timing belt so had to order another.

I say all this to say go for it, you will learn a lot and these are good cars IMO. Also, you are going to get some awesome tools. Be careful about getting the correct pwr. Steering pump wrench. I had to modify mine to get it to work. Crank pin is a PIA to get in, but there are some tricks. If you are going to do the crank seal, highly recommend installing.

Good luck and have fun. It'll go more smoothly if you do.
Scott