Oil in spark plug / Wall

[makhanaka]

I opened up the spark plugs for replacement at 78k but found the sparkplug farthest to the driver had tiny bit of oil in it (picture). There was 1 another which kind of had oil spots but nothing to this extent.

How big of a concern is this and what do I look for? My initial thought was valve cover gasket and called a local vw/audi indy shop for quote, however he said something of the sort there is no gasket and it should not be leaking like that and there might be something else. The shop is well reviewed and I do want to believe what he said.

Car : 2013 A4 2.0T quattro

[Theiceman]

He is correct , there is no gasket, a special uber expensive sealent is used.

I would clean it thoroughly where the coil goes with whatever you can. rags , brake clean try to get it spotless. then put it all back drive it a few hundred K then recheck the walls and see if it is leaking.

Personally I don't think that is too bad , but you will want to address it eventually.

[makhanaka]

Thanks..will try that and see how it develops.

[stelvio]

I also noticed a little oil in my cyl 1 coil, is there a DIY of how to go about fixing this gasket issue anywhere?

[Smac770]

I also have oil on the spark plug in cyl 1 recently. Guess that's a common failure point for the factory seal. No oil pooling in the hole, just oil on the spark plug shiny.

[J0rgii]

Cam Cover reseal DIY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HpQjPsepR0

[stelvio]

Cam Cover reseal DIY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HpQjPsepR0

@ 12:30, that's it? I see this is a GTI but ours have valve cover gaskets we should use, correct (CPMA engine here on A4Q)?
It's just the sparkplug cylinders that need this mysterious sealant? Anyone know what it is or why it has to be special?

[Smac770]

No, the EA888 is the EA888, in a VW or in an Audi. No idea how it was done on the EA113, the engine in the B6 and such. But EA888 has just a sealant, as the head and cover are a matched pair; you can't just grab any cover and put it on your head. CPMx is the NAR emissions flex-fuel engine, akin to the CAEx NAR emissions petrol-only engine.

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...cylinder-head)

[Theiceman]

if EA 113 is a FSI engine on the B7 it does use a rubber gasket for the valve cover, but it can still leak oil into the spark plug holes as it uses a cam cradle under the cover that can leak oil into the spark plugs hole.
EA 888 does not use the cam cradle, or more accurately the cam cover IS the cradle and uses the special sealant as mentioned. as smac points out the cover and head on an EA888 should be a matched pair.

[stelvio]

No, the EA888 is the EA888, in a VW or in an Audi. No idea how it was done on the EA113, the engine in the B6 and such. But EA888 has just a sealant, as the head and cover are a matched pair; you can't just grab any cover and put it on your head. CPMx is the NAR emissions flex-fuel engine, akin to the CAEx NAR emissions petrol-only engine.

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...cylinder-head)

if EA 113 is a FSI engine on the B7 it does use a rubber gasket for the valve cover, but it can still leak oil into the spark plug holes as it uses a cam cradle under the cover that can leak oil into the spark plugs hole.
EA 888 does not use the cam cradle, or more accurately the cam cover IS the cradle and uses the special sealant as mentioned. as smac points out the cover and head on an EA888 should be a matched pair.

Ok, what I understand is:
There is no Valve Cover Gasket for these engines
The valve cover actually holds the cams in place?
Then you just have to be careful that you don't mess up timing(?)

I'm not trying to replace any heads or covers, just re-seal the spark plug holes if that's the reason for the oil [unless it spilled from an oil fill-up].
I'm talking about my B8.5 2013 A4 Quattro....no B6 A4 or B7 A4 here [not sure where that came from?].

[Smac770]

You made a comment on the PCV thread about older generation operation. So my expectation about your approach to the idea that the GTI video can't be how it is I assume comes from your expectation of how it was on the EA113 (1.8T and 2.0 and 2.0T in the B7 and earlier). I know nothing about the EA113 and Ice confirmed the EA113 had the two piece commonplace implementation. The EA888 has the bearings for the cam shafts built into the cylinder head cover. The gap into the spark plug galley through which oil could leak is the gap between the cylinder head and cylinder head cover; removing the cylinder head cover on an EA888 is not a trivial task. There are more than a few threads on the subject here.

Now, if you're asking if the gap can be resealed from within the spark plug galley, I have no clue if any solution from that perspective is possible or worth undertaking.

[Theiceman]

Lol can you imagine the mess.. smear some rtv inside the spark plug hole.
Gotta admit 30 years ago I might have tried it..

Sent from my SM-G973W using Audizine mobile app

[stelvio]

You made a comment on the PCV thread about older generation operation. So my expectation about your approach to the idea that the GTI video can't be how it is I assume comes from your expectation of how it was on the EA113 (1.8T and 2.0 and 2.0T in the B7 and earlier). I know nothing about the EA113 and Ice confirmed the EA113 had the two piece commonplace implementation. The EA888 has the bearings for the cam shafts built into the cylinder head cover. The gap into the spark plug galley through which oil could leak is the gap between the cylinder head and cylinder head cover; removing the cylinder head cover on an EA888 is not a trivial task. There are more than a few threads on the subject here.

Now, if you're asking if the gap can be resealed from within the spark plug galley, I have no clue if any solution from that perspective is possible or worth undertaking.

Oh, yes but that was completely unrelated to this. I haven't owned a B6 in 7 years or so.

Lol can you imagine the mess.. smear some rtv inside the spark plug hole.
Gotta admit 30 years ago I might have tried it..

Sent from my SM-G973W using Audizine mobile app

I'm cringing thinking about that..although.....

[Smac770]

Oh, yes but that was completely unrelated to this. I haven't owned a B6 in 7 years or so.

Yes, but you get my point. You assumed a manner of operation of the EA888 PCV based on your EA113 experience and, likewise here, you assumed a manner of operation of the EA888 cylinder head cover based on your EA113 experience. Nothing wrong with that, I was never judging it. But it's how and why the EA113 was brought into the conversation, in response to your "not sure where that came from" comment.

[J0rgii]

Man you guys are Audi gods reading all this I learned the differences between EA113 and EA888 also that I have a EA888