[s-cars] oil leak onto cat

[Dave Burig]

Hi Jim,
Just yesterday I fixed an oil leak at the back if my engine that was causing
the same symptoms, although I'm not sure it was making it all the way back
to the cat.  Mine was caused by a leaking valve cover gasket, or more
specifically, the two little half-round plugs at the rear of the junction
between the head and valve cover (I didn't even know they were there).  They
had gotten hard and distorted over 135K miles.  To see if this is your
problem, look at the back of your engine below where the valve cover meets
the head.  It's real easy to see with a small mirror and a flashlight.
The fix was kind of fun, as I've never had a DOHC open before. (Impressed
the heck out of my neighbor who stopped by, looked at the engine, and there
were the cams staring back at him.  Also a great "Look how much money I'm
saving us Honey" job. "Since we didn't have to pay the dealer to do this,
now I can get that new (fill in the blank)").
Got my parts from The Parts Bin. Less than $25 including shipping.  One part
number gets the valve cover gasket, the gasket that goes around the spark
plug holes (technical terms, I know) and the half-round plugs.
One tip I got was to put some hi-temp RTV gasket material on the plugs.  So
far, no smoke.
Would have been a one hour job if I hadn't decided to clean off 6 months
worth of leaking oil.

Dave "on to the next fix" Burig


-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of
jimk at spotgraphicsinc.com
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2002 3:52 PM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] oil leak onto cat


Hello,
After travelling longer distances (say, over an hour on the freeway), I
am noticing that on occasion I get a burning oil aroma and a little bit
of smoke after I shut the engine off.  Upon further investigation, it
appears that a few drops of oil are being dropped onto the passenger
side catalytic converter.  While reading the current Audi Driver
magazine, it appears that the S8 has a problem wherein the rear seal in
the transmission leaks a bit onto the cat once the car is completely up
to temperature, which appears to be the same issue that I am having.
That article states that it is not that big of a deal to fix (2-3
hours).  Is it the same/similar in our cars?  Anybody BTDT?  Or could it
be somtheing totally different?
Thanks,
Jim Klein
95.5 S6Avant
93 S4


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