emmm

Hello all! So I wanted to change out the plugs in my '05 3.2, and discovered a coil pack covered in oil. I checked all other packs and found oil in every single spark plug well. I didn't remove any spark plugs, and put everything back together. I'm not sure what to do at this point, and need your help. I'm assuming I have a gasket leak, or is there any other cause? What can I do before having to take it to my local shop? Thanks in advance!

haloguy628

Is the coolant brown and cloudy? Is there any brown sludge on the radiator cap when you take it off? Does your car blow white smoke?

Those are symptoms of blown head gasket and oil infiltration into the cooling system. If in deed you have blown gasket get it fixed ASAP.

boonies

You didn't say how many miles, but the 3.2's are known for having valve cover gasket failure in the 100k mile range. I found the same problem on my 3.2 at about 110k. You can change the valve cover gaskets and then use some compressed air to blow out the plug galleys(cover them with a rag to catch the oil) before removing the spark plugs.

It is a fairly easy DIY job.

AUJ

2nd on the valve cover gasket. Had two 3.2 Touaregs, and it was a mentioned not so frequent problem that surfaced per the Treg forums as well in the 100,000 mile plus vehicles. Cheap fix if you are somewhat handy. Good luck.

D's Avant

You can roll up some blue paper shop towels, put them in the tubes and let them soak up the oil too.

emmm

Thanks for the replies! No smoke or brown coolant, but my car is just over 100k miles. I'll go with valve cover gasket failure and order the parts quickly. The car drives fine, so I'm guessing she'll be okay until I change everything out? I'll search a how-to video or link, unless someone knows of a good write-up. Thanks again everyone! I was stressing about having to drop some serious loot!

Cliffd43

Yes you have a gasket in the center of your valve cover that is leaking into spark plug wells. It is usually a part that comes with new valve cover gaskets. If the car is under warranty then they should replace it for free. If not then it needs to be done soon so it does not effect your coils. It is a really easy fix. Should not be too expensive to do yourself if you have the time.

emmm

Should I go ahead and order the coil packs as well? I replaced them at 55k miles, but I'm wondering if being covered in oil has damaged them in any way.

boonies

You will need to pull the coil packs to get the valve covers off. I recommend that you purchase some carb cleaner to spray the packs clean, then allow them to dry while you are getting the gaskets re-set. If you don't have a mis-fire now you will probably be okay.

emmm

Ok great, thanks!