So I have all the symptoms of a valve cover gaskets problem, the burning smell, the leaking oil and all. I called a mechanic I used for my 90k service last November. He is looking at it now. He didnt give me a price because he wanted to diagnose the problem himself before a quote. So I was wondering, what should that repair cost? I live in Orlando, FL and we have only one dealership out here and it is always overbooked for months. Any help will be appreciated.

 

i hate to tell you yhis but an indy shop here in tennessee quoted me $850 to replace my valve cover gaskets. i said screw that. i'm doing them myself. it's one of the easier diy's to do.

 

Need info. Know where I can find a DIY to do it. Also im not a mechanic, is it something a novice can do? (Dont wanna make things worse) What tools are needed to do it? How long does it take? I know, lots of questions.

 

i am also not a mechanic, but seems vey doable. the parts you need are at blauparts.com. that's where i got mine. the kit includes valve cover gaskets and cam tensioner seal/ gasket for about $70. there is an excellent writeup at http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/6616641.phtml. which engine do you have?because you may have to do a search for proceedures on your particular engine. this writeup is for a 2.7t, which i have. the leak is also more than likely coming from your cam tensioner seals. there is also a great writeup for this at audiworld. let me know if this helps

 

Thanks for the advice. Im a 2.7t-er also. Couldn't get the link to work, but im searching the forum under A6 valve cover gaskets and should come up on it soon, hopefully. It may be this mac @ my job. Has issues with certain sites. Should've asked this stuff before dropping at the shop, but my password here wasnt working.

 

The VCG is about 6hrs labor. The gaskets are around $80. However, there are a couple of other seals in there that leak. One is the cam seals & cam chain tensioner seals. All the seals are around $25 for both heads.

Now the bad part, to change the other seals, you need to remove the timing belt. So you know what you are looking for there, about 10hrs labor. The cams need to be slightly pulled out to change all the seals. It's a big PITA job.

Just the VCG is a PITA, it's not hard at all, just a lot of labor to get in there. If you have a TIP, there are 2 wonderful combi valves on the back of the head. There is NO room to get these out, they take some time. Yes, it's a DIY, but you have to have some patience.

 

Wow 2K S4, that makes things seem a little bleak. I have no idea what a PITA or a TIP are. I only have basic tools so I dont think this will be something I can do, and to leave the leaks going until I get parts and tools will most likely only make things worse. Plus I rented a car while its at the shop because my job is far, gotta take it back tonite.... tourists have all these rental places locked down. I was hoping to get things done today. I'll see what the mechanic says and go from there.

 

It's more involved then changing the oil that's for sure, but it's not hard (exempt the combi valves) just a lot of labor.

PITA, Pain In The ***
TIP, the Audi term for the slushbox (automatic) trans with manual shifting.

 

Damn.... I can actually say that I would welcome the chance to have a valve cover gasket issue. Mechanic said....
1. Leaking Rear Crankshaft Seal
2. Leaking Transmission Output Seal
3. Collapsed and leaking Engine Mounts
4. and the cherry on top.... Found coolant leaks underneath the Intake Manifold

Suddenly a VCG issue seems so small.

Got charged $158.22 for this info from an indy (V-Dub dealership charges $85 for diagnosis)
I would probably take a bat to this money-sucking car, but unfortunately I'm still paying.
So, instead I'll head to the local sporting goods store and price some bicycles and leave the A6 in the driveway.

 

are you sure you have to remove the timing belt? no where does it mention that in the bentleys or on any write ups i've found.