Ive had some smoke coming from under the hood and could even smell it quite strongly from inside the car. It was coming from under the drivers side engine head like it was oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold. I went and replaced my valve cover gaskets and also my oil cap and almost all of it is gone but there is still just a tiny bit I can smell (not inside the car at all) and when I lift my hood I can see just a little smoke periodically. (not near as bad) what else is down there that it could be? I have an 01 a6 2.7t quattro.

 

Probably from the cam seals or the cam chain tensioner seals at the rear of the head.

 

how hard is it to replace the cam chain tensioner seal once you have the valve covers off? I just replaced my cam seals when I did my timing belt.

 

There are 2 more cam seals at the rear of the engine. As for the tensioner gaskets, it is not that hard if you compare to the TB job. Technically you are suppose to remove the cams and the tensioner itself, but in reality I was able to do it without removing either one. You just have to loosen the cam chain tensioner, and use a small pick to slide out the gasket and the half-moon seal. Just use anaerobic sealant.