2000 A6 Avant 156K 2.8L v30 ATQ engine

Last week a slow oil leak I've had for about a year turned into a gush. I brought it to a mechanic that primarily does domestics but I've found to be trustworthy. For instance, my former mechanic told me I needed catalytic converters and this guy figured out that the cats themselves were fine and welded new tubing around them saving me a ton.

With this leak he diagnosed it as a front crankcase seal that needs replacement. He told me the gasket arrived from Audi today, but it "went in too easy" and he doesn't think it'll stay in place. They are sending another just in case it was mislabeled, but it's unlikely. He tells me if it's the same he can either epoxy it in place or replace the component with the rim on the other side of the seal, but it doesn't look to him like it is worn down, so that doesn't make sense.

Now I'm getting nervous. Any ideas?!

 

Well, in order to replace the seal, he had to remove the old seal. They should have looked about the same...it may have gone in easy because of the buildup of oil around the lip, but this should be a pretty snug fit.

Ask him if it looked different than the old seal. This is just a round seal with a spring in the lip...

 

Just compare the numbers from the old seal. If you get a magnifying glass & look real close you will see the actual dimensions for example 35x48x10.

Epoxying the seal in place is NOT a good idea!

 

Guys,

Thanks for your replies. They did compare part numbers on the seal itself and they matched. Visually they both look identical as well, so I'm sure its the right part. They were just very surprised that the new one was just as loose as the old one.

Your replies actually came in after I reluctantly gave the the o.k. to epoxy the outside of the seal to keep it from spinning or shifting. He says the old one had moved out of position causing the leak and he felt this was the best way of keeping it in place this time (short of an expensive replacement of the surrounding components).

Maybe the old seal began to spin along with the crankshaft and wore down the aluminum around the seal? Anyway, I guess we'll find out over time if they've ruined my engine (I hope not!)