what a pain. dont know what to do anymore. i have replaced valve cover gaskets , cam seals, oil pan seal and i still have a small oil leak.!!!!!! itlooks to be coming from the left side. but can't really tell. is the s4 prone to so many oil leaks. i fix one and another one comes around ... i cant stand it....

If you don't see any leaks at the lower oil pan you could have a leak on the upper oil pan gasket. It leaks more commonly than the lower oil pan gasket and could have been the main cause of the leak in the
first place. The gasket is a liquid drying substance, and im sorry if it is because its about a 8-10 hour job to do.[:@]Costs about as much as a cam seal job.

yea, upper oil pan gasket. When you did all the upper valve train seals did you replace the cam chain tensioner seals?

I'd be willign to bet its the upper oil pan as well. I just did mine. The upper oil pan leak is one of the biggest misdiagnosis for a Rear Main Seal. The Upper oil ban bolts to the RMS flange and people always assume its the RMS when they see a leak back by the gearbox, but most of the time its not.
My upper oil pan was leaking everywhere. Left, right, Couldnt tell where it was coming from. I'd be willing to bet thats what it is

It can also be the Cam Adjuster seal and the half moon thing. Or its possible whoever installed your camseals didnt seat them properly and they're still leaking.

YESHE DID REPLACE THE UPPER VALVE TRAIN SEALS. I DID NOT KNOW THAT THERE WAS A UPPER OIL PAN? SO YOU GUYS THINK THAT ITMIGHT BE THAT. CAUSE NOW I HAVE THE SMELL OF BURNING OIL INSIDE THE CAR AND SOMETIMES WHEN I OPEN THE HOOD THERE IS A SMALL CLOUD OF SMOKE FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE. THANKS FOR THE REPLIES.

TENSIONER SEALS WERE REPLACED.

hmm if you have the burning smell inside the car that is mostly associated with the cam tensioner seals.
Are you 100% sure your not mistaken the regular cam seals for the cam tensioner seals? They're two different things.
The cam seal is what actually goes around the camshaft. The cam tensionser seal is for the electronic constroller that sits on each side of the motor left and right, and the seal comes in a kit, the actual tensioner seal and the halfmoon.
It can also be a valve cover gasket.
I know you say you had all these things replaced but you have to realize sometimes the seals dont sit right and continue to leak even after you replace them.

YES . I ASKED FOR ALL THE PARTS THAT HE REPLACED BACK. THE TENSIONER SEAL AND HALF MOON WAS THERE. HE DID TELL ME THAT A LOT OF TIMES MOST PEOPLE FORGET TO REPLACE THEM AND USALLY THAT IS THE PROBLEM, MOST OF THE TIME. I GUESS I WILL TAKE IT BACK AND HAVE HIM LOOK AT IT AGAIN. I TRUST HIM BECAUSE HE USE TO WORK FOR AUDI AND NOW HE HAS HES OWN SHOP. HE WAS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

1st we are TRYING TO HELP YOU! Don't yell at us because we are asking questions.

A new seal can leak, especially if it wasn't installed properly. Like the VCG needs some silicone sealant on the corners & the biscuit part.

There are only a couple of places it can leak. The VG & cam seals are the most common, then comes the upper oil pan.

I would do a totally degrease of the engine, & then see where it's coming from.

I AM NOT YELLING AT ANYONE. SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION IN MY REMARKS.THANKS FOR THE QUESTIONS AND I APRECIATE ALL THE HELP YOU GUYSHAVE GIVEN ME. I WILL DEGREASE THE ENGINE DOWN FIRST BEFORE I TAKE THE CAR BACK. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN