jumpnofear

I am about to go deeper into my stock 2001 S4 (146,000 miles)to replace both valve cover gaskets. While in there I will replace the spark plugs. Here are some questions for those who have done it before:

1) How much additional work/risk will it add to do the cam seals as well? Will it take this out of the realm for a casual DIYer? I suspect they leak a bit as well but the real cause for smoke and drips has been identified as the valve cover gaskets.

2) Should I buy individual parts or get a kit like the one from blauparts?

3) Any other gotchas I should know about?

Blau has some videos and there is a nice post from someone doing a 2.7T in an A6 for me to follow. Thanks in advance, all advice is appreciated.

joeffrS4

Just my opinion but, the cam seals are regular offenders too. They are not that difficult to replace and should be included in your DIY. Cleaning the mating surfaces properly is the most important part of your project. Remove all traces of old adhesive and clean with Alcohol. Also, replacing the oil fill cap with the updated pressure relieving type is an inexpensive addition that could help prevent oil leaks in the future. Good luck, take your time, you will be glad you fixed the oil leak.

Malmhead

Pressure relieving type? Where would one get such a thing?

MikekiM@PureMS

When doing your VCG's, replace the cam tensioner seal and half moon seal, along with the cam plugs, and 2 cam seals. The remaining 2 cam seals can only be done with the timing belt removed. Replacing those above does require some expertise, but not anything beyond the realm of a backyard mechanic. There are writeups all over to help with the installation. I prefer to source my parts individually since you know the specific part and brand you're getting. Many of those "kits" out there lump together the cheapest available parts to make the price attractive. IN the end you can sometimes get substandard quality parts that won't last.

078198025 x 2
058198217 x 2
078103113E x 2
026103085D x 2
Those are the factory PN's you'll need, and they're obviously all available from us as well.

twv5004

Be sure to get some of the high temp sealent, the gaskets have some really tight spots up front, and the first time I opened my valve cover I found one of the spark plug cylinders had been leaking n was nastt inside with burnt n caked oil, so I always use a bead around each of those to seat my gaskets. Great time to replace all the chafed an brittle vac lines around the fuel rail and such, also powder coated valve cover nows the time if one wanted, run around 150 to 200

Domex

I just replaced my valve cover and cam seals last week. However, I was doing mine as part of a timing belt job, so I had the belt off as well. I'm sure there must be an easier way, but I followed the Bently and used the special tool to compress the cam chain tensioner and removed all the cam caps to lift up the cams to change the seals and the tensioner seal. If you go this route you will definitely need a good quality torque wrench when you put the caps back on as well as some engine assembly paste or Clevite Cam Guard. I used the Blauparts kit, and it came with some additional directions. If you want to take a look at the Blauparts guide shoot me a message and I'll email it to you.

joeffrS4

I used the kit from Blau, and found the quality to be excellent. I also rented their TB tool kit because I was replacing all belts and gaskets. I had already purchased the gaskets from the Stealership so I could compare the quality, The parts department advised me that it's not only the VC gaskets that leak but also the half moon seals and the tensioner seals. I used Permatex high temp sealant sparingly on all surfaces. Sure is nice to have all the leaks fixed. The oil fill cap is a good a good investment to protect from excessive crankcase pressure creating another leak. Here is a link to where I purchased mine. Good luck.

http://www.europaparts.com/oil-cap-078103485f.html