ok i got the 30v in a 99.5 a4 do i need to drain the oil before doing this since heads are on a slant? and dealerships wants over 100 dollars for a gasket... any opinion on aftermarket.

 

you don't have to drain your oil before although you might want a syringe to draw out the oil that is pooled up; you'll see the pools at the front and rear once it's open.

OEM gaskets are readily available for about $30ea or $50/pair; ESC tuning or autohausaz.com are good places to start.

These gaskets can be finicky, you have to get both the pieces very clean before installing the gasket and it's common to apply a small dab of audi chemical sealer (I used black RTV) in the front/rear where the gasket arches up.

If you get any degreaser in the oil when cleaning, you should consider an oil change at this time.

It's a fairly easy job although like I said, it can be finicky; I've had a freshly installed gasket leak and had to re-do it.

If it's $100 installed for both at your dealer, that's a good deal. If it's $100 just for the parts...look elsewhere.

 

He's dead right. Gaskets appear to be too big so be careful that they are seated right when you put the covers back on. Also, there's a vacuum line on the driver side that runs along the upper edge of that cover, down along the front of it, down to the evap canister in the bottom corner below the driver side headlight. You WILL break this extremely fragile, brittle line, so have some rubber line on hand that you can use to fix it. Also, using 1/4" drive sockets, swivel, ratchet, and extension will make life worth living while doing it. The job is very easy though - dig in!