J's First Audi

I have had my new used 1998 Audi A6 Quatro since August 2004. I love my car. The dealership I purchased the car from sold it new and had one owner who did all maintenance at dealership. I received copies of all the work done on the car. Recently I started to smell a burning smell and shortly after noticed oil leaking. The mechanic (local foreign car mechanic) Checked the seals, the cam, etc and tightened EW and cleaned engine. The car leaked immediately. Took it back. Determined that oil is leaking from right passenger side back. Taking to dealership from looks of it is going to cost a ton and my mechanic is going to try and determine whats wrong but would appreciate any thoughts from anyone? If keeps up going to trade in as soon as can get fixed long enough to sell.

Ritz

My guess is the cam seal on the passenger side on the back of the head. Not a big deal. They'll pop the valve cover off and change it.

Make sure they double check the location of the leak. There's also a breather hose over there that's made out of corrugated plastic (kinda like the stuff you see computer networking wires wrapped in when it's in a conduit). Those crack often and you'll get a drip of oil. How bad was the leak?

Cheers,

J's First Audi

Exactly! The leak isn't that bad. Obviously when I drive and warm up gets worse. The smell bothers me worse. Instant once I start car.

This did start right after we had the first severe freeze (15 below wind chill for days) Possible plastic cracked from cold?

Sorry to sound so much like a girl.

Ritz

I'd check that breather line before I had a heart attack. If it's not that, it's likely the cam seal. Neither one of those is going to get you stuck. Just have it dealt with at your next service interval, but keep an eye on the oil level.

Cheers,

J's First Audi

Thank you~ Will let you know what I find out!

Kris Hansen

Cam tensioner seal. pretty easy fix, but, you have to loosen and lift the cams up a little..

S4_Cinci (I S'edTFA)

leaking can be made temporarily worse. Also, if you put the heater on the fumes are always worse when it's extremely cold out versus when it's warmer. I have an oil leak like this on my B5 Passat - can't smell it when it's above 30 F, but you think the car is on fire when it's like 10 -15 F outside and the heater is on.

timay

I had this problem with 2000 A6 2.8L ATQ engine. Before I went to the trouble/expense of replacing the valve cover gasket and the cam adjuster seals, I did a few things.

I replaced the suction pump/purge valve (looks like black chicken's foot). When detaching hoses back there to get at the purge valve, I removed two check valves, one green that looks like a PCV, the other royal blue with small breather hoses attached. They are supposed to allow air to move one direction only. Mine allowed no air through. I sprayed some SeaFoam deep creep into the valves and blew some air through them and they opened up again. I probably didn't have to replace the purge valve, but it was relatively cheap, so I did. Put it all back together and voila, no more oil burning smell. Sure, my valve gaskets still probably leak a little, but it appears that the back pressure from these valves not functioning was the real culprit.

I am guessing that if you just replace the VC gasket and the cam adjuster seal and do not open these valves, you will just blow out the new seals at some point.