The oil leak drips onto the exhaust manifold and smokes. Just did the valve cover on the drivers side but im still having the same problem leak. Bought a small mirror so i could see back there and right next to the cam cap ( which also has a slight leak ) theres a threaded hole in the corner right below where the valve cover meets. It looks like the oil is leaking out of this hole. First , what is this hole and its purpose? I have read about and watched a few videos on oil leaks on this engine and i havent heard anyone mention a possible oil leak from this hole, or that it was even there.
Another question is since the cam gasket is inside the valve cover , what makes the cam gasket leak different from just a regular valve cover leak?

sorry if some of this questions sound ridiculous but im a complete car noob. thanks in advance for reading and making an effort in helping me fix this extremely annoying problem

98 a4 2.8L Q

 

nothing???

theres really only two things it could be right? valve cover and cam cap?

 

If you do it yourself, replace the valve cover gasket (VCG). Also replace the cam cap and half-moon seal closest to the passenger compartment.

Some tips:
- Buy the tiniest 10mm swivel socket you can find -- you'll need it to remove a couple of the VCG bolts that are tough to get at
- There is a solid vacuum line close to the front edge of the VCG -- be careful not to break it
- The breather hose -- corrugated black plastic tube -- is probably going to crumble in your hands like dust. Now's a good time to get a new one off eBay ($70) and also a purge valve ($20). Otherwise, use electrical tape to hold the hose together
- Scrape the hell out of the VCG mating surfaces with a razor blade so they are free of old RTV
- Don't go crazy when you add fresh RTV. Also, I like to let the new RTV cure overnight before firing up the engine

 

ive already replaced the entire PCV system including the suction pump+valve and valve cover gasket. Its still leaking on the exhaust manifold and what im asking is , is this the only two places in this spot the oil could be leaking from (cam cap + valve cover ) and whats the difference between a leaky valve cover and the cam gasket leak since the cam gasket is inside the valve cover?

 

Here's my story -- maybe it will help. I had the leaky VCG issue and my exhaust was smoking. I replaced the VCGs on both sides (and the PCV system at the same time), but the issue persisted.

On the driver's side bank, I found that I did a mediocre job replacing the VCG (too much RTV, didn't scrape away all the old RTV, possibly didn't torque the bolts evenly). The leak was a combination of the cam cap leaking badly and also the back corner of the VCG under the coolant reservoir leaking a bit. Mainly it was the cap.

When I replaced my timing belt, I also intended to install a complete cam seal kit, but I couldn't remove the cams on the driver's side bank because the cam pulley bolt was seized. However, I did replace the cam cap on the back of the bank (I forgot -- the half moon seal is on the front). I didn't touch the cam seal on the back of the bank because I couldn't get the seal puller tool in there and the cam wasn't coming out.

I let my RTV cure overnight.

Zero leakage now.

==
My understanding is that there are three places that you'll get the leak on the back of the driver's side bank:

1. Cam cap -- mine was bad
2. VCG lower corner -- mine was dripping a little despite a VCG change
3. Cam seal -- mine was fine (150k miles on car, AHA motor)