[V8] Update: 93 4.2 oil leak fixed!!!

Ingo Rautenberg i.rautenberg at waratap.com
Tue Nov 21 10:08:41 EST 2006 

Hold off.  It might be just the VC gasket now :-) Will investigate  
this evening...

On Nov 21, 2006, at 10:03 AM, Ingo Rautenberg wrote:

> Update:  Leaking slightly again :-(  So I need recommendations.
> Should I
>
> a) Buy a new set of headbolts, remove the old ones, install the new
> ones and torque to spec
>
> or
>
> b) Do the same but replace headgasket at the same time
>
> Ingo
>
>
> On Nov 20, 2006, at 1:23 PM, Scott Phillips wrote:
>
>> Ingo,
>>
>> That has to be very satisfying .. yes indeed. And "good to know"..
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Scott '90 V8Q
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: v8-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:v8-bounces at audifans.com] On
>> Behalf
>> Of Ingo Rautenberg
>> Sent: Monday, November 20, 2006 1:11 PM
>> To: swett at comcast.net
>> Cc: v8 at audifans.com
>> Subject: [V8] Update: 93 4.2 oil leak fixed!!!
>>
>> Well, well.  I can't let this go by even if it is almost 7 months
>> later
>> ;-)
>>
>> As you may recall, I also had this kind of leak at the back of the
>> left
>> head
>> where it meets the engine block on my '93 4.2 V8 (as far as I could
>> tell
>> at
>> the time).  But I also had some smoke in my exhaust and oil
>> consumption
>> of ~
>> 1 qt every 500 miles or so.  PO said that the engine likely needed a
>> rear
>> main seal when I bought the car, but I had a suspicion at the time
>> that
>> this
>> was unlikely (just a feeling).  Anyhow, after I replaced the coolant
>> pipe to
>> cylinder head o-rings on Saturday, I checked underneath the car to
>> see a
>> drip-drip-drip every 4-5 seconds.  Good news:  Not coolant.  Bad  
>> news:
>> Engine oil! :-(
>>
>> So now I knew I had to address this leak right away!  So I checked  
>> for
>> all
>> the usual areas once again to make sure:  No leakage in the
>> distributor
>> area, none around the VC, but oil at the junction of the engine block
>> where
>> it meets the cylinder head (can be hard to see as it's behind the  
>> heat
>> shield next to the trans dipstick.  Alright, off come the valve cover
>> (which
>> some dumba$$ had additionally coated with black rtv).  Anyhow, I
>> proceeded
>> to cinch down the headbolts (center outward in proper fashion) 1/8
>> turn
>> and
>> replace the VC with the old gasket (which was still pliable -- I
>> have a
>> new
>> spare if needed).  The I retested and ran the car for 20  
>> minutes).  No
>> drippage (but with all the cleaning I can't say I expected much).
>> The I
>> drove it  another 40 minutes Saturday night.  Started up and ran  
>> again
>> Sunday morning.  Verdict:  Slowed considerably but not entirely.
>>
>> Off came the VC and I retorqued by 1/8 turn except the bottom right
>> one
>> (which appeared to be - but I can't verify to have been less - 
>> torqued)
>> 1/4
>> turn. Replaced the VC, Cleaned the area once more, idled the car
>> another
>> 20
>> minutes.  Drove the V8 like I stole it for another 20 minutes  
>> (revving
>> to 6k
>> on occasion ;-)  No leak!  Let it sit overnight.  Got below freezing
>> this
>> morning.  Drove it 11 miles to work this morning (brought the maglite
>> with
>> me to check for leaks).  Verdict:  No more leaking!!!!  Yeah.   
>> Another
>> point
>> of interest:  I checked for smoke on acceleration:  also none.  Hmm.
>>
>> I wonder now if the oil was not only leaking outward but also into  
>> the
>> cylinder?
>>
>> BTW, I also had to try and figure out what a drop of oil (warmed-up
>> oil)
>> dripping every 4-5 seconds with the motor running equates to in
>> terms of
>> oil
>> consumption.  Assuming that heated up motor oil (in my case 10-30
>> Mobil
>> 1)
>> has similar volume to water droplets, then 16 drops= 1 ml.  There are
>> 29.573
>> ml to a fl oz.  32 fl oz = 1 qt ~ 15,141 drops.  At 15 drops/minute
>> and
>> 275
>> miles or 9 hrs of running the car > 1/2 qt. per fill up.  Yup.   
>> That's
>> just
>> about what my oil consumption has been.
>>
>> Now to trace that hydraulic leak up front...
>>
>> Ingo
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Ingo Rautenberg" <i.rautenberg at waratap.com>
>> To: <swett at comcast.net>
>> Cc: <v8 at audifans.com>
>> Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 12:58 PM
>> Subject: Re: [V8] 93 4.2 oil leak
>>
>>
>>> You make want to define "large."  Is there a large puddle of oil on
>>> the ground after sitting overnight, a small puddle, a few drops,  
>>> or a
>>> bunch of oil coating the bottom driver's side of the engine?
>>>
>>> I'm looking for a similar leak, but would certainly not classify  
>>> mine
>>> as "large" -- at least not yet...
>>>
>>> Ingo
>>>
>>> On Apr 24, 2006, at 12:03 PM, swett at comcast.net wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello V8 heads,
>>>>
>>>> I'm having some trouble finding the source of a pretty large oil
>>>> leak on the drivers side bank of my 93 4.2.  Not being very
>>>> familiar with this engine yet, allow me to ask for your expertise.
>>>>
>>>> This leak appears to be coming off the back corner of the head, at
>>>> the head gasket.  Is there a distributor gasket that could be blown
>>>> sending oil down along this route?  I thought I've heard or read of
>>>> somebody else over the years experiencing this leak.  It just
>>>> doesn't seem to me that a head gasket could leak oil at this rate.
>>>> I'm hoping that either my V/C gasket is leaking or perhaps
>>>> something at the distributor.  Car has 100k on it.
>>>>
>>>> would love to hear about any similiar symptoms of this nature that
>>>> you've seen before.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Allen
>>>> Too many audis to list.
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>>>
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