Hello all. Thanks to all of you that replied to my first post. Your input was a great help. So the next chapter of the story has unfolded, and I would like to see if any of you can further help me make a decision.

So, I bought this Audi a few weeks back, and have noticed since then a burning oil smell. So I took it into a mechanic that I thought I trusted. The first time I took it in, he said there was too much grime and oil residue on the engine to determine where the oil leak was originating. So he put some die in the engine that would supposedly help him pin point the leak. He said that he would probably have to clean up the engine as well. So I took it back in last week, and they performed the black light inspection to see where the die was coming out. He claims that it is the head gasket. So I asked him if I could see under the car, so he could show me where it was coming out. He was very reluctant to do so, which automatically put up a red flag for me. So he finally agreed to lift the car up, and I look under to see that they hadn't even touched the engine. It still had all of the grime and residue that he claimed was keeping him from finding the leak! So I called him out on it, and he didn't really give me any good response. So.... I am planning on getting atleast two more oppinions. But my question is this.... He estimated that the repair would cost at least $1600. He claims that he would have to totally dismantel the head, and have about 12 hours worth of labor, and about $300 worth of parts. Is this a fair estimate? Does it really require that much work? Any other suggestions for me?!!

 

im retarted

 

diy write up??? not catchin the lingo

 

DIY do it yourself

 

ooops maybe not i got confused[&:]

 

head gaskets usually leak water more than oil, i think id think it was a valve cover gasket but either way the head is not a hard job to do

 

ya there was a DIY for the valve by tom awhile back thats what i was thinking about

 

Hes tryin to rip you off obviously, and why didnt you take my/others advice on how to diagnose this yourself in the first place from "Part 1"??? If you dont know whats up with your car, and if must take it in to a shop, and they know that you dont know whats up with it, you are gunna get ripped off, typicaly.

 

Head gasket job can be expensive. You have to remove the timing belt.

I agree with BadLuckAudi, that your valve cover gasket is leaking. This is a much less expensive job.

 

ok... so thanks again for everyone's feedback. I have two appointments to get additional opinions this week. But if indeed it is the head gasket, i'm currious to see what you all know about this http://www.steelseal.com/eng/home.html product that Crazyhawk mentioned. It's basically an addative that is supposed to perminently seal any damage to head gaskets and cracked heads. Does anyone know if this stuff is legit? Will it cause any further damage? Should I even consider this as an alternative? It would be nice if this stuff is really legit.