Hello All -

I have an 04 A6 2.7t S-line with 58K miles and I'm sure it has a small oil leak but don't know what's leaking. I see nothing from top down but have noticed a burning oil odor after driving it for a while. Just returned from a road trip from IL to FL and back; while stopped at rest areas I noticed some smoke rising up from the front left (passenger) side of the engine close to windshield. The dealer has previously checked the car but said they couldn't find anything. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!!

 

Welcome to the club!

ToryG,

As a proud owner of an Audi you should start reading the top rated and located:

"tips and suggestions for the new 2.7t owner"

If there are no answers to your particular case=> we would be happy to help as much as we can!

 

Valve cover gasket and/or cam chain tensioner gasket.

 

This sounds Like a common cam seal leak. On warmer days after shutting down the engine and running the car a little you will see smoke coming out of the engine bay. When you pop the hood it looks like the smoke is coming out between the airbox and the engine? Commonly the Cam seals go out in the cars. It is quiet a mess and thankfully when I put rs4 cams in it fixed the problem and I no longer smell oil!! If the car is under warranty I would honestly get both cam seals replace (Exhaust and Intake cam seals!). This is a pretty penny to take care of though with out it under warranty. I believe the AUDI book says something like 6 hours for just the seals . Commonly most techs will only instal the intake cams because it takes 3-4 hours less time plus keeps the cams aligned. If you don't want this problem to return (if this is your problem the cam seals) I would replace both the intake and exhaust cam seals .

 

"front left (passenger) side of the engine close to windshield" precludes the cam seals, which are at the front of the engine. Valve cover gasket. Cheaper and less of a pain to install, but still a pain.

Bob

 

OHH I didn't see close to the windshield! I believe Bod is correct unless it is a lower cam seal. Gaskets are commonly paper in these cars -_-

 

It also depends on which left he is refering to. Standard auto nomencalture has the left on the US/German driver's side of the car. Of course, in British/Japanese/Australian, the driver's side is the other side....

In either case, it isn't the cam seals. If he has his left (driver's) confused with his right (passenger) side and he means his right side, then it could also be the cam tensioner seal.

Of course, either of these could also mean the Spyder pipe needs replacing.

Bob

 

he said the 'front left (passenger)' that is the only reason i related it to the cam seal but give us more info so bob or I could possible help you further or a tech