[s-cars] Rear main seal leak - try dino oil again?

[Steve Eiche]

Dennis,
IME, it is much more common for the cam adjuster seals to leak. The 
leaks occur on the back of the passenger's side head and the front of 
the driver's side head. This is VERY common on the 30V V6s and much more 
likely than the oil gallery plugs.  Have you checked these, or are you 
sure that it is in fact the oil gallery plugs?  Replacing the seals is a 
pretty big job, but nothing like pulling the heads.

Oddly, when the cars first started leaking years ago, the oil gallery 
plugs were often blamed.  I have not heard of any shop messing with 
those in the last few years however, so I am betting many of the leaking 
cam adjuster seals were misdiagnosed as leaking plugs.

YMMV...

Steve

We have a 98 A6 2.8 with the dreaded rear of the head leak that drips on 
  the
exhaust and smells like a "trailer trash" oil burner. It has done this for
3-4 years and the cure (I'm told) is to pull the head and re-peen the 
small
steel ball into the head. No plug, no threads , and no way to service this
pinnacle of superior German design except to pull the head to fix one 
small  leak.
I switched to dino oil (Valvoline) and it reduced the occurrence
significantly. Recently I had a lapse of memory and filled it with 
synthetic. Within
very few miles it started leaking again very badly.  Switched back to 
dino, and
it has abated once more. This is not a car  I will put in my will, a 
turbo, or
any such, so for now, I'm OK  with the extra deposits that will also result.
So from where I sit it, would be worth a shot.

Dennis
Denver