Upper and lower timing cover leak

[mpepin07]

Hi all. I recently performed an oil change on my S4, and a few days later noticed a small oil leak. Checked the obvious things (drain plug, filter, housing o-rings) and nothing looked out of place. I scheduled an appointment with the local Audi dealership to have them take a look for me.

Today I got the bad news which is that the upper and lower timing covers are leaking, and to fix this you have to drop the trans.

I guess I’m just looking for some advice.. I haven’t called back yet to get the quote but I’m sure we are talking several thousand. Has anyone else had this issue? Do I have any options here? What other services should I have them do while the trans is out? 72k miles on the car, purchased it back in November 2020.

Update: got an estimate for roughly $7k from the dealership. I also called a local Indy shop and spoke with them for a second opinion. The gentleman I spoke with said that if it is in-fact the timing covers, that $6-7k is about right. He did say that it would be unusual for the covers to leak at 72k miles though, and thought that it could possibly be the filter housing leaking. I am going to drop the car with them for a second opinion.

[fastboatster]

are you completely sure it's not just upper timing chain covers? leaky lower timing chain cover is very rare at 72kmiles. Upper timing chain covers are not. Another thought is try to find an indy and get a second opinion. Perhaps start with upper timing chain covers and see if that leak is gone.

[mpepin07]

They said both upper and lower but I will ask about this.

[B7TitaniumA4]

I’m at 97k and both my upper covers and my lower cover was leaking. I pulled motor and trans to do maintenance and upgrades to support dual pulley. I went all in and just finished my chains…

That’s a hefty price tag but I can tell you it is a lot of work if the lower cover truly is leaking.


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[mpepin07]

Update again: Picked the car up after work today. On the phone the service advisor said ~$7k but on the paperwork I received it is quoted as $10.3k with 36 hours of labor. Not sure why the discrepancy but I will find out tomorrow. They also recommended replacing both motor mounts ($2k) and the control arm bushings ($2.4k). This is my first Audi and I love the car.. but the possibility of needing to drop $15k for the first service is pretty overwhelming.

Also thank you for the response, Titanium.

[B7TitaniumA4]

Are you not able to do some wrenching yourself? Motor mounts are relatively easy with the right tools, would save you $1500 on those at least and don’t put factory mounts back in… grab a set of CTS or 034.

As for the upper covers, they can be done in car but a lot of stuff has to be removed/ loosened to get to the bottom bolts of the combi valve heat shields I.e. the cats have to be unbolted just to access these…

You could have the uppers done, clean the motor off good and see if the lower cover is actually leaking.

My uppers and valve covers leaked so bad that I couldn’t tell if my lower cover was leaking. Only realized it on the engine stand after cleaning the motor and letting it sit. It was leaking at the very bottom in the middle.


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[mpepin07]

I am able to do some basic wrenching, ie: oil changes, dsg service, brakes etc.. but I think that the stuff we are talking about here is a bit beyond what I'm capable of doing myself. I also do not have a second vehicle to drive in the meantime so this is a factor too. For the engine mounts I have read before that the OEM ones are superior to any aftermarket ones, is this not the case?

[B7TitaniumA4]

If they truly are superior fine, but they fail. I can’t justify putting in another oem part that failed the first time and having another possible failure down the road.
I went with solid CTS mounts. Have yet to feel the difference but hopefully in the next month or so, I will have the motor back in and be able to feel the difference.


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[mpepin07]

I also forgot to ask, is there any advantage to having the mounts replaced while they are doing the timing seals and the transmission is already out?

[B7TitaniumA4]

Only benefits I think are that they are already “in there”, trans out should give more room to lift the engine and the engine most likely will already be in a cradle...

[Mfryman1]

See my post on oil leaks possibility's

https://www.audizine.com/forum/showt...ak-(have-pics)

[EIAlfonso]

How much is it leaking? If its small just live with it and keep the $4K-$5K it actually costs to repair, change the motors mounts at an Indy for about $1,250-$1,500 and call it a day. If any other big tickets items fail take the car in and trade it in or sell

[mpepin07]

Okay here's the update. Took the car to a local indy shop for second opinion last Thursday. The gentleman there told me he did see small amounts of oil on the upper cover and the rear of engine, but no evidence that the leak was actually coming from the cover. He believes that I may have had the filter/filter cap not on just right causing some oil to leak when under pressure. He replaced the Wix brand filter I used with an OEM one and cleaned everything up real good. Friday night I drove from Denver to Omaha, Ne (about 550 miles). Have not noticed any more oil spots on the ground or anywhere on the engine. I'm hoping he was correct and that the covers are fine.

Also worth noting that after I mentioned to the dealership that I have a 3rd party warranty on the vehicle, the $7k estimate for the covers magically turned into a $10k estimate. I am hesitant to make any accusations, but lets just say I will likely not be taking my vehicle back to this dealership again.