AHL Oil All Over Back Of Block

[Nathanael Greene]

Hi!

My sister has a 02 ALH, and I was under the car the other day to fix a loos skid plat bolt, and noticed a lot of oil running out the passenger side of the of skid plat. Thoil Started around the the middle or bottom of the turbo, from what I could tell there wasn't any on the top of the turbo. Oil was all over the return line from the turbo, the vacuum actuator, the back of the block, the axle the intake line coming from the turbo, also, there was a good bit around the passenger side engine mount. I had my brother rev the the engine while watching, but couldn't see any oil coming from anywhere. So I wiped it up and took it for a drive, and sure enough there was more oil on the skid plate and other parts. But I still cant figure out where its coming from. Any body have ideas how to figure out the leak location? I thought of trying to mount my gopro in there and recording while I drive, but there is no spot to mount it.

Thanks,
Nate

 

[jayb79]

Possibly the cam seal.

 

[csstevej]

Could also be leaking EGR valve out the vent holes…

 

[Zak99b5]

How quickly is the oil level in the sump dropping?

 

[Genesis]

Decent chance this is the valve cover gasket. Had it happen on mine and the only long-term fix is a replacement VC as the gasket is not a separate item on these cars (thanks VW!) The entire back side of the engine on mine was coal-colored with a modest amount of dripping on the belly pan. Not much impact on the level on the stick -- but it was leaking pretty good.

Cam seal usually shows up on the pax side (and can be misinterpreted as a crank seal if you don't look carefully) but not all over the back of the engine.

 

[jayb79]

Cam seal leak is very hard to see, I used an inspectio camera to see behind the cam pulley. Sure enough oil was clearly visable behind the pulley.

 

[braddies]

A leaking vacuum pump could be the culprit, a mirror and a flashlight would verify

 

[Nathanael Greene]

Thanks for the input folks!

Here are a few photosI was able to get:

4ACD09B3-EFFE-452F-8180-ECF8D2BA2F1A.jpeg

• Nathanael Greene
• Feb 17, 2023

051A0B42-EEB4-42B8-854C-14D6F620342D.jpeg

• Nathanael Greene
• Feb 17, 2023

6464803F-D95D-4442-A269-8427FD9D43E6.jpeg

• Nathanael Greene
• Feb 17, 2023

The oil seams to start lower than the valve cover. As you can see in the photos of the turbo, it looks like the oil is heavier around there. The oil seams to start mor the level of the head gasket, do these ever leak oil out if they fail? Also I forgot to mention before, that whenI found the oil, I checked the oil level, it was low, and took a quart to bring it back up to full, that seams like a significant amount to me.

Nate

 

[tgray]

Looks like it is coming from the turbo oil feed line. The turbo should not be oil covered even if the valve cover is leaking. You may have a couple of places.

 

[ghohouston]

Definitely looks like the turbo oil feed line is leaking, as well as the valve cover.

 

[SandyTwose]

I agree... it's the Turbo Oil feed line.
Just replaced mine .... I used a flexible braided hose as it is easier to thread into place as opposed to the stock hard pipe.
Lots of vendors sell the flexible replacement... I got mine from Kerma TDI.

 

[BobnOH]

Yea, bad turbo oil line can shower the area with oil. Remove all the covers, get it up in the air and take a good look.
Many folks will use flexible oil lines, much cheaper. The factory lines (2) are pricey, but very solid. Used lines from a nice rust free wreck (local or car-part.com) could be an option.

 

[Nathanael Greene]

So I got a new feed line installed, got the flexible one from Cascade German, they're my local go to place. So far so good, but I'll update again in a week or so when I can tell for sure that it's all fixed.

Thanks for the input folks!
Nate

 

[jayb79]

Did you put the support clamp back on? That line will vibrate just like the solid line, the clamp is important.

 

[Nathanael Greene]

Yes, I got both clamps back on.

Nate

 

[Nathanael Greene]

So... It's bean a couple weeks, and the leak is back. I pulled the valve cover off, no leaks there. Checked the turbo output to the intercooler, there was no more oil there than I found in the CCV. Before I replaced the feed line, I cleaned off most of the oil, and what I am noticing, is that the new oil isn't really on the turbo, at least yet, and is all over the block, starting right where the block meats the head, above this seam, there is no oil at all. Any ideas where it could be coming from? The only other places that I'm seeing oil is on the axle directly below the turbo, and on the turbo oil return line (looks like it's coming from whatever is leaking above, and landing on the the return line, I'm pretty sure that it's not leaking).

Thanks,
Nate

 

[Prairieview]

Why didn't you buy a vacuum pump seal when you bought the supply line?
Check out #7 response above.
I've got one weeping some right now. But, I need new shoes.................

 

[jayb79]

Did you at least pull the timing belt cover and look at the cam seal area? When was the last timing belt done? I've never seen a vacuum pump seal leak like my cam seal did.

 

[ghohouston]

Definitely pull the timing belt cover and check for a leak in there. Could you be pushing oil out of an exhaust port?

 

[Nathanael Greene]

Why didn't you buy a vacuum pump seal when you bought the supply line?

How would oil be getting from there to under the turbo??? That's on the opposite end of the cam from the timing belt right?

Did you at least pull the timing belt cover and look at the cam seal area?

I did not. Do you think oil would make its way around to the turbo? Remember the head is totally dry, all the oil starts where the passenger side engine mount is, and then is all over the block below that. Which I belive is right where the head and block meet.

Nate

 

[BobnOH]

Not hard to remove top timing belt cover. You'll see a bit more of the block.

 

[Prairieview]

Because oil "migrates" (esp. diesel oil) it's way around engines. Don't believe me? Drive some of the older 1.6 diesels for over 1.5 million miles.

Put more effort into self-diagnosis.

 

[jayb79]

Yes, I think it would make its way to the turbo, my head was clean but the back of the block was covered in oil. I had a hard time identifying the oil leak and I had just changed the head about a week prior. When I changed the head the back of the block was dry and very rusty with flakes of rust that are now well soaked in oil so it shouldn't rust anymore.

 

[tgray]

With these kind of leaks you sometimes have to get some cleaning solvent to clean the oil up and dry everything out and check after a few miles. Sometimes on the older engines you may find lots of weeps and one bigger leak.

 

[Nickmix]

Yes, I think it would make its way to the turbo, my head was clean but the back of the block was covered in oil. I had a hard time identifying the oil leak and I had just changed the head about a week prior. When I changed the head the back of the block was dry and very rusty with flakes of rust that are now well soaked in oil so it shouldn't rust anymore.

Why did you change the head? Maybe the head gasket is leaking.

 

[jayb79]

The leak stopped after I changed the cam seal. See post #6. The old head was warped and kept blowing combustion gas into the coolant under boost.

 

[Prairieview]

Fire the mechanic.

Is there a reason you kept the changing of the head secret when discussing this?
Either you did the job right or not.

 

[jayb79]

No secrets, changing the head had nothing to do with a leaking cam seal, that head wasn't leaking but the cam seal was. I only brought up the head change because when I was under the car reconnecting the turbo and exhaust when I noted the back of the block was dry and had lots of loose chunky rust. A week later when I noticed oil on the floor that's when I discovered the back of the block was now soaked with oil. The leaking cam seal pushes out lots of oil. Just trying to help, reporting my results your mileage may vary.

 

[Nathanael Greene]

Ok, I pulled the belt cover, and I could really see any oil, but I also couldn't really see much of anything, because the back half of the balt cover was still, on. This is stuck behind the belt, and doesn't just come of right?

Thanks,
Nate

 

[super1]

Ok, I pulled the belt cover, and I could really see any oil, but I also couldn't really see much of anything, because the back half of the balt cover was still, on. This is stuck behind the belt, and doesn't just come of right?

Thanks,
Nate

Do you have all 5 clips off? 3 clips attached to top cover & bottom 2 clips not attached to cover
Should come right off
Top Timing Belt Cover Removal | TDIClub Forums