hey everyone im back with another issue. for the last three weeks or so my 2.8 V6 A6 avant has had an oil leak from the front camshafts that seem to leak more on certain days than others. i was looking at my crankcase breather system and it looks like its NEVER been touched before so im highly suspecting a clog somehere in there. at this point im at that spot where i cant decide which to tackle first whether the camshaft seals or crank breather. money isnt the issue for the camshaft seals since they can be obtained cheap at ecs tuning its more of a time dilemma since the car is my daily driver to and from work/school and i dont wanna be stuck without a car for the week. what would you guys recommend first? ive done tons of research and have read that once the crankcase breather is replaced it can eliminate or at least slow the leak down a bit which would be great to buy me time til my next break off from work/school so i can tackle the seals.

thanks in advance

2001 Audi A6 Avant 2.8 quattro 175,800 miles

 

I would wait and keep an eye on your oil level. Do both the cam seals and crank case breather hoses at the same time because you're bound to run into other issues when you pull the timing belt, valve covers, cam sprockets, etc for the cam seals.

Usually when you're seeing oil leak down the front of your engine and in and around the timing covers it's the cam seals and not so much a crank case breather issue. Could it slow a leak? Probably, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference if they are the original seals with 175,000 miles on them.

 

Hey sorry I'm late weekend got in the way and it was my mom's bday. But yes that's what I been doing I check the oil level every morning before i head out. I just rolled over 176,000 this afternoon and I was thinking bout the seals and that there is a VERY GOOD chance that they still original. Why is it tho that it seems to leak a bit more on some days than others?

 

I'm assuming that it may seem worse on other days because of the angle on which you park the car. It may allow the oil to seep out more one way than the other? But I'm not 100% on this theory.

 

hmm that does have some sense to it tho. Once again sorry I'm late it's been a busy week but the other question is since im coming due for an oil change soon can I still change my oil without any problems or will the detergents in the new oil cause me issues (i.e. make the leak worse)

 

You're going to have to add new oil to it sooner or later with it leaking. There's no harm in you changing the oil with those minor leaks as you described. Some people go years with leaking valve covers - they're just cautious about their oil levels in most cases.