2015 tdi golf oil leak

[PD Rig]

Hey guys,

Doing oil change today and passenger side rear corner of the engine has oil all over the belly pan. Looks like upper oil pan rtv has a leak. There is the steel oil pan, then there is an upper oil pan extension rim that mount up to the block. Aluminum/steel block mating surface appears to be leaking. Wanted to see if any of you guys you had a similar issue in this area and found the leak/ oil build to being something other than the oil pan rtv.

It is a very slow leak. Enough to have made a mess in the underbelly pan, but not enough to have made it to the ground. More of a weep i suppose.

Definitely not the bottom oil pan foam seeping oil. I remove the foam each time I change oil since it likes to absorb the oil being drained.

Thanks in advance!

 

[740GLE]

you sure it's oil?

might be coolant leaking on the TB and you're seeing TB sludge. I'd pull the TB cover.

Have you ever had to add coolant?

 

[PD Rig]

I have never added coolant, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t coolant. Tb cover is easy enough to access. Have to take a peek. Thanks for your reply.

 

[PD Rig]

Well. Popped the TB cover. As clean as can be expected. Pretty sure I have to drop the upper pan and reseal. Weird that it’s leaking. Had a number of vws and the rtv has never given me a problem before.

 

[PD Rig]

Okay. So to my everlasting regret I took her to the dealership……. They confirmed upper oil pan leak.

Question. Would an upper oil pan (leaking oil) be covered under the powertrain or long block warranty? Car has 40,000 miles on it and it was purchased as new as a stop sale 6/17.

 

[PD Rig]

Went to dealer to pickup car. Asked a few questions. Service writer conceded that this is covered under the powertrain ( and long block) warranty. Now they just have to do the work. Motor on!

 

[shortydog]

Great news!!

 

[PD Rig]

Question for you gentlemen. Does the dsg front cover have a tendency to wheep oil? Mine seems to be loosing just enough oil to produce evidence of a drip in the belly pan, and to have dust stuck on the trans. Is this typical? I don’t remember the my 2012 golf having any seepage at the dsg cover.

 

[740GLE]

Don't believe its a known issue.

 

[oilhammer]

I have seen a handful of M-unit covers seep some fluid, but not many.

 

[PD Rig]

That’s what I figured. I’ll replace the seal when I drop the dsg fluid in the spring. Thanks for the replies.

edit: any hints on the m unit front cover bolt torque value?

 

[Nuje]

Roughly speaking, not much.
More precisely:

 

[PD Rig]

Roughly speaking, not much.
More precisely:

Looks like the pump cover A is the side cover. Does the manual advise the front cover torque value. Says 8nm for pump cover A. Safe to assume the front cover would be the same as cover A?

 

[Nuje]

That is the front pump cover (A) - #12 in the diagram below.
Mechatronic cover ("Transmission cover") is #5 below.

 

[PD Rig]

16nm for the front trans cover then. Thank you for the info. It is much appreciated.

 

[Nuje]

Nope - you got them mixed up. Front cover is "pump cover" - 8Nm from the first diagram I posted.
16Nm is for the "Transmission cover" (mechatronic cover).

 

[PD Rig]

got it. The transmission cover for the mechatronic unit is what has the wheeping action going on.

Thanks again.

 

[PD Rig]

***Update*** upper oil pan still leaking at same spot. This has been fixed twice now (allegedly). First time the dealer fixed it, it leaked worse than it did from the factory. This will be the third attempt. I just told the dealer they should check the upper pan to see if it is out of square to have such a tough time with sealing this up. And I quote “ this is a tdi. You will never get it to stop leaking.” He said if I were you I wouldn’t fix it because it will just leak again. I am certain there is no substance to his comment. I have a Bew that leaks zero oil. Any insight here would be appreciated. I haven't found anything on the site as this being a common issue.

 

[Nuje]

Well, my "this is a TDI" does not leak. And neither does it leak on the two I look after for friends.

 

[oilhammer]

I see plenty that leak, see plenty that don't. Never seen a CRUA leak [yet]. Maybe they are not identifying the correct source of the leak.

 

[PD Rig]

I see plenty that leak, see plenty that don't. Never seen a CRUA leak [yet]. Maybe they are not identifying the correct source of the leak.

At their request, they cleaned it all up, and put dye in the oil. Drive for 500 miles and return.

TBH this car has been having oil accumulate in that passenger rear corner since I took delivery. I thought it was the sound deadening material under the oil pan at first since that likes to soak up oil doing a bottom drain oil change. Pulled that off. Still getting oil at passenger rear corner. It’s definitely not coolant. Clean as one could hope for under the timing belt cover. To be continued….

 

[oilhammer]

That front sealing flange is plastic on those. Which, shouldn't be a problem, but it is the first time for *that* part to be made that way. The rear flanges have been plastic for a while, and have not been an issue. But the front flange is substantially larger, and therefor would/could have a greater opportunity for warpage and surface area to leak. It also has little locating tabs for the upper oil pan to fit in.

 

[15TDICommuter]

Did this ever get sorted and figured out? Noticed my 15 GSW doing the same. I haven’t been driving the car as I’m WFH currently, small puddle of oil found on the driveway randomly. Haven’t pulled the belly pan off yet, but it appears to be soaked in the passenger side. The oil level on the stick is about 90% or so.

 

[Nuje]

Not sure if "haven't been driving" means you *never* drive it; or if it's just "not much".

You're in hot/humid Florida, so are you 100% it's not condensation dripping off the A/C system and carrying some oily residue off the engine?

 

[740GLE]

If it's collecting on the belly pan and dripping on the ground, its not just AC.

Have you checked and double checked its not the drain plug? ours has to be uncomfortably tight (even with new copper crush washers) to prevent leaking.

I wonder if there might be something up with PCV system causing higher pressures and it's finding the weak spots.

 

[Nuje]

Right - good point.
I'll make the comment I've posted in other (if not this?) threads that I've heard from the VW parts counter: the captive crush washer on the OE drain plug is notorious for dripping. The drain plug is "replace every time" spec, so it's not like they're trying to re-use 'em.
The techs at the dealership here all snip off the captive washer and use an aluminum or copper crush washer, which I do as well - bought a 20pack of copper ones a while back and haven't had a problem with drippage on the three Mk7 cars I look after.()

 

[15TDICommuter]

Not sure if "haven't been driving" means you *never* drive it; or if it's just "not much".

You're in hot/humid Florida, so are you 100% it's not condensation dripping off the A/C system and carrying some oily residue off the engine?

Valid points, the car is not driven as much when compared to my old work commute. No its most definitely oil, car had not been ran for about 10 days and noticed a small puddle of oil under the car.

 

[15TDICommuter]

Right - good point.
I'll make the comment I've posted in other (if not this?) threads that I've heard from the VW parts counter: the captive crush washer on the OE drain plug is notorious for dripping. The drain plug is "replace every time" spec, so it's not like they're trying to re-use 'em.
The techs at the dealership here all snip off the captive washer and use an aluminum or copper crush washer, which I do as well - bought a 20pack of copper ones a while back and haven't had a problem with drippage on the three Mk7 cars I look after.()

Agreed; I’ve been doing all the maintenance to the car for the last 100K miles, aside from a TB and water pump replacement. I think I may have used the old plug and not the new plug/washer by mistake… Fingers crossed its just that crush washer and I can get away with an oil change versus messing with RTV ‘gasket’ on the pan. I’ll report back with my findings this weekend.

 

[RIP TDI]

Right - good point.
I'll make the comment I've posted in other (if not this?) threads that I've heard from the VW parts counter: the captive crush washer on the OE drain plug is notorious for dripping. The drain plug is "replace every time" spec, so it's not like they're trying to re-use 'em.
The techs at the dealership here all snip off the captive washer and use an aluminum or copper crush washer, which I do as well - bought a 20pack of copper ones a while back and haven't had a problem with drippage on the three Mk7 cars I look after.()

For the last 6 oil changes, I've been using the aftermarket unbranded drain plug w/ captive steel washer that ID Parts sells. Replaced every oil change. Zero seepage during that entire time.

 

[15TDICommuter]

For the last 6 oil changes, I've been using the aftermarket unbranded drain plug w/ captive steel washer that ID Parts sells. Replaced every oil change. Zero seepage during that entire time.

I will have to check that out. I pulled the belly pan it appears that it’s leaking from the drain plug. I checked that it was tight and cleaned the belly pan up. I think i can get away with not draining the oil. I have some 507 compliant in the trunk and will check it periodically. Lesson learned.