Valve cover diagnostic?

[Ben.vlas]

2007 Audi A4 2.0t
Order of events:
Had issues going up hill. Car would misfire under load/when I give the car some throttle and smoke like crazy. Replaced plugs, coil packs and read forums it’s my valve cover. Replaced valve cover and valve cover gasket and pcv gasket. Then read that there could be oil in my intercooler piping on passenger side. I disconnect the piping to find a lot of oil. Thought that fixed the issue, so I took it for a test drive and the car did the same thing it did before. I check the piping again to find a some more oil in there. (Not as much as first time I completely drained it). Thought to myself that there could be that much oil in my intake manifold and intercooler piping that I just need to drive the car hard to get rid of all the oil. For the last 2 months, I have been draining oil out of my intercooler piping once a week or two and still am consuming about a quart of oil every 2.5 weeks. (It is a daily and drive about 200 miles a week).

Would really appreciate the help if someone knows the answer to my problem/possible solution. Thank you.


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[Cyrik]

2007 Audi A4 2.0t
Order of events:
Had issues going up hill. Car would misfire under load/when I give the car some throttle and smoke like crazy. Replaced plugs, coil packs and read forums it’s my valve cover. Replaced valve cover and valve cover gasket and pcv gasket. Then read that there could be oil in my intercooler piping on passenger side. I disconnect the piping to find a lot of oil. Thought that fixed the issue, so I took it for a test drive and the car did the same thing it did before. I check the piping again to find a some more oil in there. (Not as much as first time I completely drained it). Thought to myself that there could be that much oil in my intake manifold and intercooler piping that I just need to drive the car hard to get rid of all the oil. For the last 2 months, I have been draining oil out of my intercooler piping once a week or two and still am consuming about a quart of oil every 2.5 weeks. (It is a daily and drive about 200 miles a week).

Would really appreciate the help if someone knows the answer to my problem/possible solution. Thank you.

Did you replace the actual PCV itself or just the gasket? 50-$60 part. Is your car running running rough? How many miles?

With the year of car you have (mine is the same) you might have a failing check valve in your turbo intake tube (the tube that goes to the turbo from your valve cover) I've had mine fail before I think due to a ton of oil saturation. I was consuming quite a bit of oil as a result.

If it's none of this stuff and you know that your valve cover isn't cracked then you might have bad turbo seals.

[Ben.vlas]

Did you replace the actual PCV itself or just the gasket? 50-$60 part. Is your car running running rough? How many miles?

With the year of car you have (mine is the same) you might have a failing check valve in your turbo intake tube (the tube that goes to the turbo from your valve cover) I've had mine fail before I think due to a ton of oil saturation. I was consuming quite a bit of oil as a result.

If it's none of this stuff and you know that your valve cover isn't cracked then you might have bad turbo seals.

I didn’t change the pcv itself actually. But there was no oil leaking around it so I decided there was no need to change it. I forgot which hose had oil in it but one of the hoses that connected to pcv was soaked with oil. My old valve cover was cracked, which was the reason I replaced it. Might try replacing the pcv though. My car currently has 144,xxx miles.

I also don’t have a check engine light from anything. My car runs fine. Drives normally. Just when I give it some throttle it makes a really loud squealing sound and it smokes and misfires. That’s when the check engine light comes on. Then I turn the car off. Wait a minute or two and then start the car back up and it’s like nothing ever happened and my cel is gone like a ghost.


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[Cyrik]

I didn’t change the pcv itself actually. But there was no oil leaking around it so I decided there was no need to change it. I forgot which hose had oil in it but one of the hoses that connected to pcv was soaked with oil. My old valve cover was cracked, which was the reason I replaced it. Might try replacing the pcv though. My car currently has 144,xxx miles.

I also don’t have a check engine light from anything. My car runs fine. Drives normally. Just when I give it some throttle it makes a really loud squealing sound and it smokes and misfires. That’s when the check engine light comes on. Then I turn the car off. Wait a minute or two and then start the car back up and it’s like nothing ever happened and my cel is gone like a ghost.

You should try replacing the PCV and the turbo intake tube anyway. I don't recommend throwing in car parts blindly but considering these 2 parts cost less than half of a used K03 turbo it might be worth trying.

You can read up on this thread for how the PCV system works (and learn how terrible of a system it is lol): https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...stem-explained

Next time the CEL appears can you scan it for codes? I have a hunch you'll see p0299 (turbo underboost code) and/or misfire codes. The oil from the intercoolers fouled up my spark plugs which caused my car to misfire.

The squealing sound seems a bit unusual, but I had very similar symptoms when my turbo took a shit. Then again I was dumping oil out from my intercoolers every single day...

[Cyrik]

Another tip too, make sure you buy OEM parts from a reputable store for this stuff. The aftermarket valve covers and PCVs break in 20 miles. Ask me how I know lol.

[Ben.vlas]

You should try replacing the PCV and the turbo intake tube anyway. I don't recommend throwing in car parts blindly but considering these 2 parts cost less than half of a used K03 turbo it might be worth trying.

You can read up on this thread for how the PCV system works (and learn how terrible of a system it is lol): https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...stem-explained

Next time the CEL appears can you scan it for codes? I have a hunch you'll see p0299 (turbo underboost code) and/or misfire codes. The oil from the intercoolers fouled up my spark plugs which caused my car to misfire.

The squealing sound seems a bit unusual, but I had very similar symptoms when my turbo took a shit. Then again I was dumping oil out from my intercoolers every single day...

The oil also messed up my spark plugs as well many times before. But it doesn’t seem to anymore after the valve cover fix. The squealing sounded like a belt was slipping or something. I’ll see if my dash cam picked it up. You can mostly hear it from the driver side (left side for N.A boys lol)


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[Ben.vlas]

Another tip too, make sure you buy OEM parts from a reputable store for this stuff. The aftermarket valve covers and PCVs break in 20 miles. Ask me how I know lol.

I probably didn’t buy oem quality parts but the fit was 100% fine. It was from rock auto. One of the better deals I found. Came with hardware and gaskets for under 140$ shipped.


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[hammond]

I probably didn’t buy oem quality parts but the fit was 100% fine. It was from rock auto. One of the better deals I found. Came with hardware and gaskets for under 140$ shipped.


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Dont throw parts at a car with oil burning problems when its burning oil or else you will dump too much money in drain

watch this video on how this guy elminated PCV temporarily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGkelGiRf94&t=612s trying to diagnose oil burning issues. I would suggest you do the same, you can use vaccum plugs from napa store to block the hoses. After you blocked both the pcv ports, if you still see oil in intercooler then its time for you to buy a new turbo.

if you dont see oil in intercooler after PCV blockage, I would ask you to do a compression test when engine is cold and running compression test and post the values here. it could be busted oil control rings or valve stem seals.

[Cyrik]

I probably didn’t buy oem quality parts but the fit was 100% fine. It was from rock auto. One of the better deals I found. Came with hardware and gaskets for under 140$ shipped.


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$140 for a plastic valve cover? Almost guarantee you it's cracked again. Double check it!

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[Ben.vlas]

$140 for a plastic valve cover? Almost guarantee you it's cracked again. Double check it!

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Alright I’ll check it again after I do the pcv valve check.


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[Ben.vlas]

Dont throw parts at a car with oil burning problems when its burning oil or else you will dump too much money in drain

watch this video on how this guy elminated PCV temporarily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGkelGiRf94&t=612s trying to diagnose oil burning issues. I would suggest you do the same, you can use vaccum plugs from napa store to block the hoses. After you blocked both the pcv ports, if you still see oil in intercooler then its time for you to buy a new turbo.

if you dont see oil in intercooler after PCV blockage, I would ask you to do a compression test when engine is cold and running compression test and post the values here. it could be busted oil control rings or valve stem seals.

I did do a compression test. I averaged between 175 and 180 for all 4. But I will try the pcv test


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[Brillo]

I did do a compression test. I averaged between 175 and 180 for all 4. But I will try the pcv test


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Doing a compression check isn't going to tell you anything about the condition of your oil control rings. You're getting bad advice. If you constantly are collecting oil in your IC pipes it is from one of two sources. You either have a underside crack in your new VC of the passageway going from the front port of the PCV valve to the large port on the right front of the VC, the port that goes to the pre-TC port or failed seals in the compressor side of the TC. Pressure check the VC passageway, a process that has been described here many times. Also, if the oil control rings are bad you could burn significant amounts of oil but it will not get into the IC piping. Problems with oil accumulating in the IC piping usually do not relate to the PCV valve. Regardless, you should only use OEM PCV valve and VC as the aftermarket stuff fails quickly.