1.8T Oil(?) Leak

[Tony Hoffman]

Another common spot of leaking is the timing chain tensioner gasket.
Actually, they leak from the half moon under there most of the time.
The gasket set is about $10, and it takes some time to do the job. We
used to get $200 labor for them. You will have to pull at lest one
cam, and obviously the chain and tensioner. While you are in there, it
wouldn't hurt to take the screen out and clean the tensioner with some
brake cleaner. I also like to use some silicone sealant around the
half moon, to ensure the next one will last longer for the customer.

On the subject of headgaskets, I've never done one on a 1.8T unless
the valves were bent :(

HTH,
Tony


On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 12:24 PM, Dan DiBiase <d_dibiase at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have a slight leak from my car, and I believe I have finally narrowed down the general area, although the access to
> that area is basically none. Standing in front of the car looking at the engine, it is in the left-rear upper side, but it's
> impossible to tell where it is coming from. Are there any hoses that might be carrying engine oil in that area? I am
> frankly not 100% sure that it is engine oil, as once it's on the driveway all fluids seem to be alike - and there is not a
> large amount, maybe 5 - 7 drops after the car has been sitting for 15 minutes or so. I have, however, had to top up
> the coolant a couple of times since the beginning of the year, so perhaps it is that.
>
> Any ideas? Are head gaskets known to be a problem area on these engines?
>
> The car has just over 90k miles.