Oil leak from head

[Shizzell]

There is a continous leak in between the timing belt guard and the head. I took off the valve cover to inspect. The valve cover was intact, and I proceeded to take a look at the cam shaft seal. It seemed parallel to the groove. Is it only that seal that can be causing this leak? I put some gasket maker in the valve cover corners to no avail (Orange in pic 3) TDIClub says i've used up too much photo space... heh.

Wiped off:
1.

2.

Put back together and ran again:
3.

4.

Thanks

 

[AndyBees]

I believe it is the Cam Seal.

Does the EGR weep oil?

A combination of leaks can really add up .......Valve cover, EGR weeping and Cam Seal. But, on the contrary, a small leak will really look bad in a few weeks. Either way, always keep a close check on the oil level!

 

[whitedog]

The corners of the valve that need some goop are the corners where the flat surface meets the cam bearing cap. I'm not sure if you put some there as well, I can only see the "other" corner.

 

[greengeeker]

^^ Yes. When you replaced the seal did you remove the cam cap? Did you clean off the OEM sealant and reapply a very thin layer of RTV? Of course it is very possible the cam seal was damaged during installation (not doubting your abilities ).

 

[Shizzell]

I do not see the EGR leaking any oil. I applied gasket maker to the corners of the valve cover. When I replaced the seal, I removed the cap. It looked to seat good in there when I took off the cap. I did not put any sealant around the seal though. Do you guys recommend I take the cam crank off, take out seal, and apply gasket maker to the cam seal?

 

[whitedog]

You need sealant between the cap and the head.

 

[Shizzell]

So just take the valve cover off, the cap off, put a layer of sealant, throw the cap back on, reseal valve?

 

[greengeeker]

To get a better look you can remove the two small bolts on the front and the back of the head holding the backcover. Do this and you can gently pry it towards the cam sprocket to see where exactly the leak is coming from.

 

[whitedog]

Greengeeker, what do you think about just sealing the base of the cap? I'm less concerned with the lip part of the seal as long as it was a "rubber" garter seal and not a teflon seal. But what about the outer Diameter sealing?

 

[greengeeker]

No need to seal the od of the seal. I just do the caps and tiny dabs on the corner of the vc gasket. Of course I would verify that the ID wasn't leaking around the cam.

 

[Shizzell]

I couldn't see anything after taking those two bolts out of the cover plate and prying it a bit. The leak still exists after putting sealant between the cap and the head. It was also applied to the top of the cap. So next move is purchasing a new seal, taking it all apart, putting new seal in, and retiming?

 

[Shizzell]

Is that the only option I have - replacing the seal?

 

[Nuje]

Shizzell, did you ever figure out what the issue was? Did you end up replacing the cam seal?

I just did my TB and have almost identical oil leakage (and photos to prove it) as yours, and was wondering how you solved it.

 

[Shizzell]

When I took the seal out, I noticed there was a small chunk missing. This must have been a manufacturing defect; there wasn't any sign of stress. The new one I replaced it with had a spring in the inside, and it worked great. No leaks. I didn't use sealant on the seal itself, but did use it on the valve cover in certain spots.