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Oil pooling under sparkplug wire cover?!?

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dmoto92

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have a weird oil leak I'm hoping to get some assistance on. I've seen oil leaks around the valve cover gasket, but the leak that just started on my car is somewhere on the top end.

I have oil building up in the area under the spark plug wire cover at the rate of about 1 tablespoon each time I drive. I've pulled the plug wires and all the plug wells are dry - no presence of any oil. I've let the car run while watching the area where the oil is building up and I cannot see any leak :confused: I'm assuiming it's such a slow leak it's not enough to appear while I'm watching it.

I've left the spark plug wire cover off to see if that will help isolate the leak (I figured if it's spraying from somewhere and getting trapped by the cover, this would help isolate the source.) Unfortuately, this hasn't shown anything (no patern of underhood spray, etc. . .) Additionally, the oil is still building up in the same area, so I assume this means it's leaking from top of the valve cover somewhere. :wall: Anyone seen anything like this?

I did a search on the forum, but was only able to find info on leaks around the head - if there is a post about this somewhere, I appologize if I missed it.

Any ideas? I can post pics after the weekend if that might help.

Thanks to all!
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
dmoto92 said:
I have a weird oil leak I'm hoping to get some assistance on. I've seen oil leaks around the valve cover gasket, but the leak that just started on my car is somewhere on the top end.

I have oil building up in the area under the spark plug wire cover at the rate of about 1 tablespoon each time I drive. I've pulled the plug wires and all the plug wells are dry - no presence of any oil. I've let the car run while watching the area where the oil is building up and I cannot see any leak :confused: I'm assuming it's such a slow leak it's not enough to appear while I'm watching it.

I've left the spark plug wire cover off to see if that will help isolate the leak (I figured if it's spraying from somewhere and getting trapped by the cover, this would help isolate the source.) Unfortunately, this hasn't shown anything (no pattern of underhood spray, etc. . .) Additionally, the oil is still building up in the same area, so I assume this means it's leaking from top of the valve cover somewhere. :wall: Anyone seen anything like this?

I did a search on the forum, but was only able to find info on leaks around the head - if there is a post about this somewhere, I apologize if I missed it.

Any ideas? I can post pics after the weekend if that might help.

Thanks to all!
Click to expand...
Sorry for the late p.s. I posted this in the "Help!" forum because I'm concerned that the leak might accelerate - or be the forbearer of something much more catastrophic (engines tend to not like running without oil! :p 0) Any help would be appreciated!
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Hey y-all!

Thanks for the quick replies - this forum has never failed me! :D

OK - it sounds like the cracked cover is the most plausible (I actually checked the filler cap and right around it too - no evidence of leakage.) Being only a shade tree mechanic, I'll bounce this off of you all: since it's winter time, I use my Tsi AWD as my daily driver. Being that the leak is so slight, can I get through the winter by just checking my oil and topping off as needed or is this something to be really concerned about right away?

Maybe 1 more question I can throw out there: since I have a valve leak also, I'm thinking I'd just replace the top end with a rebuilt one. Does that make sense? Also, I've never had any overheating probs, etc. . . so would I need to have any machine work done on the block before replacing the head (if replacing the head is the way to go.)

Thanks again - you all rock!!:)
 
#7 ·
Only four things it can be:

1. Cracked valve cover (very possible from overtorque or just the fact that these VCs aren't the greatest)

2. Leaky oil cap seal (easily temp fix, just buy some craft foam from Wal-Mart or the like and cut a new one out)

3. Misplaced/Corroded Spark Plug gaskets (but since your spark plug wells are dry, this isn't it)

4. Center bolt threads are stripped (and oil is kicking up and leaking through the holes)

I have this same problem with my main VC. I got about 4 or 5 tbls of oil in the main well. I stuck the back-up VC on (which looks like ass, and is JB welded to hell) and my oil leak is non-existent. Sigh...
 
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#8 ·
Try bending down the ears on the oil cap. I have to tweak mine every couple of months (it's a newer cap) to stop the oil dribbling.

I wouldn't be concerned about the small leak. Since you're drive a old car, you should be checking your oil every gas fillup anyway!
 
#10 ·
dmoto92 said:
Hey y-all!

Thanks for the quick replies - this forum has never failed me! :D

OK - it sounds like the cracked cover is the most plausible (I actually checked the filler cap and right around it too - no evidence of leakage.) Being only a shade tree mechanic, I'll bounce this off of you all: since it's winter time, I use my Tsi AWD as my daily driver. Being that the leak is so slight, can I get through the winter by just checking my oil and topping off as needed or is this something to be really concerned about right away?

Maybe 1 more question I can throw out there: since I have a valve leak also, I'm thinking I'd just replace the top end with a rebuilt one. Does that make sense? Also, I've never had any overheating probs, etc. . . so would I need to have any machine work done on the block before replacing the head (if replacing the head is the way to go.)

Thanks again - you all rock!!:)
Click to expand...
You'll be fine driving it through winter. My VC has leaking ever since I bought the car 3 months ago and it has never leaked enough to the point that I need to add oil.

And no you don't need to rebuild your head. The leak is coming from your valve cover, not from a malfunction in the head. Just buy yourself a new valve cover (there are tons for sale here and on dsmtrader.com) and toss on a new gasket set with it and be done.
 
#11 ·
Buy a new cap from AutoZone. Remove the gasket that came with it. Throw away the cheap cap. Place the new gasket on the OE cap(leave the hardend old gasket on also). Put the cap back on the VC and you're done.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Hey everyone!

Thanks again for all the quick replies and ideas! :)

Based on what everyone is saying, I'd have to say that it looks like a cracked VC. I cleaned everything up and I can't see any evidence of a leak from the filler cap (I should have mentioned I put a new one on recently also. Sorry - my bad for leaving that out! :p ) I did notice a slight spray pattern on the spark plug wires, so I assume that would point to a cracked VC (very, very fine droplets on the wires - only on the driver side part of the wires though.) Based on spray pattern and direction, it looks like the spray is coming from the front of the VC and spraying toward the passenger compartment. I'll post some pics on Monday for all interested. There's also a small hole in the channel for the wires I can't ID. From where it's located, it looks like it could line up with where the spray is coming from, but there is no evidence of oil around it. I'll post a pic of the hole also.

I've never had the cover off myself, so I can't imagine what caused the leak/crack. As was mentioned though, it is a 14 yr old car (only 103,000 miles on it though!)

Thanks to "---" for reassuring me that it's OK to drive this way - unfortunately I don't have a lot of $ to throw at my car right now - gotta save up for the valve and head work (note my other post about the leaking exhaust valve.:( ) BTW: if I get a rebuilt head; is a VC included in the deal or would I have to reuse my own? If the head comes with a VC, I don't want to do the ol' "buy it twice" thing when I get the new head.

Thanks again for all your help! If any of you are/were in my neck of the woods I'd be hooking you up with some of the area's local micro brews for sure! :D

p.s. sorry for the length of the post. I was up late last night for a poker tournament, so I got little sleep - I tend to ramble when I don't get much sleep! :eek:
 
#14 ·
dmoto92 said:
Hey everyone!

Thanks again for all the quick replies and ideas! :)

Based on what everyone is saying, I'd have to say that it looks like a cracked VC. I cleaned everything up and I can't see any evidence of a leak from the filler cap (I should have mentioned I put a new one on recently also. Sorry - my bad for leaving that out! :p ) I did notice a slight spray pattern on the spark plug wires, so I assume that would point to a cracked VC (very, very fine droplets on the wires - only on the driver side part of the wires though.) Based on spray pattern and direction, it looks like the spray is coming from the front of the VC and spraying toward the passenger compartment. I'll post some pics on Monday for all interested. There's also a small hole in the channel for the wires I can't ID. From where it's located, it looks like it could line up with where the spray is coming from, but there is no evidence of oil around it. I'll post a pic of the hole also.

I've never had the cover off myself, so I can't imagine what caused the leak/crack. As was mentioned though, it is a 14 yr old car (only 103,000 miles on it though!)

Thanks to "---" for reassuring me that it's OK to drive this way - unfortunately I don't have a lot of $ to throw at my car right now - gotta save up for the valve and head work (note my other post about the leaking exhaust valve.:( ) BTW: if I get a rebuilt head; is a VC included in the deal or would I have to reuse my own? If the head comes with a VC, I don't want to do the ol' "buy it twice" thing when I get the new head.

Thanks again for all your help! If any of you are/were in my neck of the woods I'd be hooking you up with some of the area's local micro brews for sure! :D

p.s. sorry for the length of the post. I was up late last night for a poker tournament, so I got little sleep - I tend to ramble when I don't get much sleep! :eek:
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Our valve covers are weak and are notorious for cracking. ;)

As for having the head rebuilt, no it won't come with a valve cover. A rebuild consists of machine work, any parts included in the rebuild you'll have to pay the mechanic to do while he has the head apart (ie: cam seals, head gasket, valve cover gasket set, yada yada yada).
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
assfault666 said:
if you end up changing your valve cover remember to use inchpounds on the torque wrench and not foot pounds... thats how i cracked my valve cover... haha anyways goodluck man
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Funny you mention this. . . I just tried to retorqued my valve cover bolts last night and one of them stripped! :mad: I was using a recalibrated torque wrench and was only tightening down to the specs per the shop manual (even a bit on the low side just to be safe!) :wall:

A whole new question: anyone know the size tapping kit I need to retap the threads? I've used tap kits before, but never on an aluminum head. Anything special I need to know?

Thanks again for all of your input!

Yep, the fun never stops! :p
 
#18 ·
valvle cover/ oil cap seal.- that the only thing that would cause that to happen, inspect both- try the oil cap replacement first, as it it cheaper, and easier....
 
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Discussion starter · #19 ·
exiletalon said:
valvle cover/ oil cap seal.- that the only thing that would cause that to happen, inspect both- try the oil cap replacement first, as it it cheaper, and easier....
Click to expand...
Oil cap seal was the first thing I checked - unfortunately no evidence of leakage (that would have been nice and cheap!) plus the funny thing is that there is a very slight patern of oil spray on the spark plug wires - the direction of the spray is from the front of the car toward the back - opposite direction from the filler cap.:confused: I cleaned off the wires when I noticed the oil and the same patern of spray was back after the next time I drove the car. It's a very little bit o' oil, but enough to be seen on close inspection. Weird.

Thought I might have a leak around the VC to head joint on the front of the engine (thought the airflow from front to the back of the engine might have carried droplets of oil over the top of the engine and that's how the wires got oily.) but no evidence of a leak there either. Might just be some of the oil in the channel where the sparkplugs are is splattering on the wires when I'm driving. Not sure.

I just ordered up a replacement valve cover from another member, so hopefully that will fix the leak. Now all I have to deal with (hopefully!) is the little detail of the stripped VC bolt note in my previous post. Any input on that question?

Thanks again for all the ideas and input - I've learned a lot more from you all than I ever did in the shop manual! :D
 
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