1998 A8 - Oil Leaks
 

I recently purchased a '98 A8 with 68,000 miles. At 70,000 miles I began to smell oil and noticed leaking oil around the lower oil pan. After taking it to an Audi dealer I was told it required $7,400 of repairs - Including, Front crank shaft seal, camshaft seals, cylinder head seals, upper pan seal and an oil pump shaft seal. Apparently the engine must be pulled to make the repairs.
Needless to say I am extremely disappointed. How can nearly all of the seals fail on such a relatively new "quality" car. Am I being scammed by the dealer?
I have not allowed them to begin repairs...Looking for a second opinion. Any suggestions?

Why not pull the plastic parts....
 

....and clean everything up, there is a plastic pan on the bottom of the engine, and top engine covers. After you clean it off, look at it a couple of days later. Or have an independent mechanic do this for you, probably cost about $100. I can't believe all of those seals need replacement, and if they are looking for $7,400, it would be cheaper to sell your car and buy another one....I think you are being partially scammed.

My car has oil leaking down on the oil pan, the dealer said it was a head gasket, but they never took the plastic off the top of the engine, so for all I know it's the valve cover gaskets.

There is a procedure with a lot of pictures of replacing the valve cover gasket at the Yahoo club below. That job is about 3 hours yourself.

pw

crappy seals...
 

I just went through this same hassle on my A6 2.7T (15,000 miles and under warranty) and in the end they found "the leak" that required the engine to be replaced :-(.

<a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/160254.phtml">summary of oil leaks</a>

/dan

Same happened to me, Audi is FAMOUS for weak oil seals
 

this is why I sold my '97 after doing $6,000 in repairs, best of luck, wish I could give you some advice, but, there isn't really any to give.....take it to another dealer/independant and get a second opinion

Re: 1998 A8 - Oil Leaks
 

Another oil seal story. 97A84.2Q. Oil cooler on passenger side of engine, toward front of engine. Leaked coolent. Took to local German car garage, no dealer nearby. First try, still leaked a little coolent. Second try, mechanic realized also needed to replace tiny plastic coolent tube that sits between engine and cooler, that was barely worn/stressed. Coolent leak stopped. But, noticed now had slight oil leak. Mechanic discovers - and here I'm not exactly clear - that he'd used a copper or brass seal, and that he should have used a softer aluminum seal. That was about 200 miles ago. No oil leak, except today I suspect it may be barely leaking - I'm now watching it carefully. I'm amazed about the very flimsy coolent tube, and the super sensitivity to type of seal used, and the difficulty of what I think is a good mechanic to fix something. At least I've only paid for the repair once, and the shop is being "good" about it, although I'm wondering how good they are, at least with an A8. I'm becoming very dubious about Audi as a company - great cars, but only for the patient with a willingness to baby them, spend relatively stunning amounts for repairs, and have them in the shop a lot. I once wrote to the famous Len Hunt about some other issues - got a typical "get lost" corporate reply - unctiously worded of course.

Re: Same happened to me, Audi is FAMOUS for weak oil seals
 

And you bought another Audi? If so, I hope you're having better luck. I just go rid of a '98 740IL because it was in the shop more than my driveway. Thought I'd give Audi a try. LOL.

Re: crappy seals...
 

I'm beginning to believe the mystique about German engineering is nothing more than a myth.

Re: Why not pull the plastic parts....
 

Well I hope your leaks aren't the beginning of similar issues. I just can't believe that a $65k car would require such major repair at just 70,000 miles. It's sickening. The first car I ever owned was a '90 Escort GT. Drove it for 5 years and 90,000 miles...never had a single issue. Maybe I should learn from this?

Re: 1998 A8 - Oil Leaks
 

Hi, I don't post much but do read most of the postings. I have a 98 A8 and I love the car but starting to wonder what up with some of Audi's engineering . 24,000 miles the rear started leaking, at 40,000 right head gasket started to leak oil. Luckily I have an extended warrantee. The service manager said this was the 4th 98 that he replaced a head gasket. I wonder what's going to leak next.

Actually, I have since decided to not touch VAG cars until.....
 

they can fix their problems at the dealers, and actually train service techs to work on cars.....I figured that the flagship Audi would be built like a tank and be able to handle the miles I put on a car (typically 40K-50K miles a year), but I was sadly very disappointed in the durability. I've gone back to Jeep, which in the NE isn't a bad option cause I need to have the 4wd, and I'm not a big fan of the Ford/Chevy/Lincoln, etc options out there. Before the A8, I had a '94 Cherokee Sport, which I put about 150,000 miles on it, with no major repairs, just basic maintenence. The biggest bill I had was for when the water pump went, which if I remember right, was at 120K miles, and cost me $300 to have a refurbished pump installed, and it's still running on that same pump. I miss the A8 every day, and given my mileage issues, I'd probably move more towards a new VW Passat TDI, and get 50 miles/gallon, but I just don't trust VAG dealers and their service departments in my area of CT, which is a shame, cause I really love the cars......

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE MR. AUDIMAN.......TEACH YOUR DEALERS HOW TO FIX YOUR CARS!!!!!!!!!!