I am in the middle of the timing belt job on my 04 1.8T, literally. I am to the belt. There is an oil leak coming from the engine somewhere and there is a small puddle beneath the timing belt pulley.

Are the crank and cam seals common leak areas on the 1.8T and should I replace them while I'm in there?

 

It's hard for me to tell on your picture but it doesn't look like a significant amount of oil to me.

Yo answer your question, there are two schools of thought on the cam and crank seals: One says that because you have everything torn apart you should just change the seals while you are there. The other says that if they aren't leaking and/or you don't have the crank and cam locking tools, there is no reason to go through the extra effort.

My personal opinion would be if you doing short mileage timing belt changes, the seals probably only need to be done every other time, assuming no leaks.

 

Any idea where the oil could be coming from then? My dipstick tube was cracked and broken so I replaced it, but I still think it's leaking oil somewhere. Just wanted to see if I could fix it while I have half of the car apart. Maybe it's not the crank or cam seals.

Wasn't aware of locking tools. Never done any work on this car yet really but I did similar seals on a Mazda V6. This is a different beast.

 

The cracked dipstick tube is probably a good place to start for losing oil. I'm not entirely familiar with the 1.8T engine but there are all sorts of places that you could be losing oil. The cam seals and valve cover gaskets are usual suspects. Hopefully some of the more regular B6 guys will check in here and offer their suggestions.

 

Might be an option... Check your crankcase breather hose. The 3 way rubber hose that sits in the top rear location off the motor..

 

Thanks for the replies. The valve cover gasket, upon further inspection, looks like a likely culprit. Hopefully I can replace it once the timing belt cover is back assembled because I have to have the car back together today. Can't get the part today

 

Crank seals and Cam seals don't usually leak... And without a special install sleeve you could make it worse than if it was leaking. You can make one if your savvy but i wouldn't mess with it if it wasn't obviously leaking.

Valve covers are likely problems, Broken breather lines too