Oil Leak

[TonyMc]

A quick question.

I have a 1996 Audi A4 (B5) 1.8. If my camshaft oil seal has gone where would I look for the immediate signs.

I looked underneath and the bottom of the drive belt cover is wet with oil. The oil drips after journeys from the front left hand side of the engine as you look from the front.

Someone said the head gasket may be on the way out but the coolant is fine and thee no gunk on the dipstick or oil filler cap.

[Crasher]

Usually this is a failed cam cover gasket, occasionally the cam chain adjuster gasket but not often the front cam seals.

[TonyMc]

I am hoping its this Crasher. I had no leaks up to a few weeks ago. I had the Cam cover gasket changed and its been leaking since. Its a rubber gasket and the chap put it on while the car was still warm and he didn't torque it

He was the one who said it could be the head gasket when I went back to him.

Should I change the gasket or undo it all and clean it then tighten it to the correct torque settings?

[Crasher]

I have had such trouble with them that I break my own rule of using sealant where it is not supposed to be used and use a little silicon gasket sealant on the whole of the gasket rather than the eight separate points on the cam caps and tensioner to head surface transition points that MUST have a small amount of sealant applied. I go to great lengths to make sure the cover and head are spotlessly clean to allow the sealant to adhere and even then they still occasionally weep which is very irritating. If they leak after I have done them I recommend a new cam cover and this usually deals with the problem. A leak from the back is often the tensioner/adjuster base gasket but a cam oil seal leak is normally very clear to see with the belt cover off.

[archerj]

In theory if you take the gasket off and it is still rubbery and you can clean off any sealant that may have been applied it should be fine. They only become brittle and hard with exposure to heat over time, so if it was only changed recently then you shouldn't have a problem. (I've had the gasket off mine three times in the last few weeks without leaking upon re-fitting.)

The torque setting is 10Nm for the bolts.

To check if it is the cause of your leak, can't you clean the block all around the cam cover with an engine claner/degreaser. If the oil appears after you've been running it, bingo! If the oil leak persists but it remains clean/doesn't feel oily at the edge of the cam cover gasket then you know the problem is a leak lower down the block.

Regards
Ian