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valve cover gasket leak...?

Heretic:GTI

Heretic:GTI

Ready to race!
has anyone else experienced a leak from the valve cover gasket?

i've got a small seepage from my gasket on the left hand side, about an inch from the timing chain cover, directly behind the hook for pulling the engine. and, no it's not residual oil. i have been watching this for a while. i wipe it off and a couple days later there it is again. since i work at a dealer i asked around, supposedly this is common. i'm told the gasket sealant is crap?

it also is no easy fix as the job pays 3.7 warranty, anyone who works at a shop knows when warranty pays that much it isn't something you can bust out quickly...

curious if there is a better option for sealant if the vw stuff is indeed crap? or is this something i have to live with?
 
Heretic:GTI

Heretic:GTI

Ready to race!
Today I checked a coworkers gti to see if this is indeed normal. His was just like mine, only worse. I'm going to check some other cars on the lot and see if they're doing this too. I'm finding it hard to believe only a couple cars are doing this...

For now it's documented in my service records. I'm going to just keep an eye on it for now, if it gets worse I'll get it resealed...
 
Bruh Man

Bruh Man

Go Kart Champion
Bump-could a faulty PCV cause these leaks? When I first installed my downpipe I used an FSI DIY and didn't re-install the front O2 sensor(holy shit was it loud). Drove to AWE and back like this(about 500 miles :eek: ). I got a P2279 code but it went away once I put the sensor back in. Ross Tech lists a faulty PCV as a possible cause.

Should I replace the gasket? If so, how much harder is it than the FSI?

I noticed quite a bit of oil back there when I got back from AWE. Cleaned it up and just yesterday noticed a little bit of fresh oil again. Also saw some around my coil pack. 28K on the car, 8K stage 2.





Not sure if it's related, but the dealer replaced the round piece behind the dipstick because it was leaking under full boost(17ish psi).
 
Last edited:
M

Mckidd

Passed Driver's Ed
I had what I thought was a valve cover gasket leak which turned out to be a faulty cam position sensor.



Mike
 
J

Jhover

Ready to race!
I think I have all the leaks mentioned above and maybe one on the back of the engine. Will take it in soon.
 
Carbon Steel

Carbon Steel

Go Kart Champion
Heretic said:
has anyone else experienced a leak from the valve cover gasket?

i've got a small seepage from my gasket on the left hand side, about an inch from the timing chain cover, directly behind the hook for pulling the engine. and, no it's not residual oil. i have been watching this for a while. i wipe it off and a couple days later there it is again. since i work at a dealer i asked around, supposedly this is common. i'm told the gasket sealant is crap?

it also is no easy fix as the job pays 3.7 warranty, anyone who works at a shop knows when warranty pays that much it isn't something you can bust out quickly...

curious if there is a better option for sealant if the vw stuff is indeed crap? or is this something i have to live with?
Click to expand...


Why don't you have it fixed under the warranty?
 
Heretic:GTI

Heretic:GTI

Ready to race!
Carbon Steel said:
Why don't you have it fixed under the warranty?
Click to expand...

Mine wasn't a leak, it was the liquid gasket residue melting off. I scraped all of it off all around and haven't had any film since.
Sucks that there isn't an actual gasket and that the cam caps and bearings are incorporated into the valve cover. My luck it will leak when out of warranty, not a job I'm looking forward to doing...
 
McQueen77

McQueen77

Banned
BUMPING old thread... seems I have the same issue. Since I'm well under warranty, Im thinking of bringing it in. Could just be a matter of replacing the seal around the sensor but if its pointing to a bigger problem, I'd rather address it all at once..

 
McQueen77

McQueen77

Banned
Update: bringing her in tomorrow. They want to look at it before just ordering and replacing the sensor as it could be something else. Suuuuuper! This will be the first real test of this dealers mod friendliness.. Been going to them since ive had the car but this will actually be something they could be hardasses about so im hoping that a. They are cool and its minor or b. if they arent cool, that its just the sensor that needs replacing which i could do.
 
SuPeR GTi

SuPeR GTi

Go Kart Champion
McQueen77 said:
Update: bringing her in tomorrow. They want to look at it before just ordering and replacing the sensor as it could be something else. Suuuuuper! This will be the first real test of this dealers mod friendliness.. Been going to them since ive had the car but this will actually be something they could be hardasses about so im hoping that a. They are cool and its minor or b. if they arent cool, that its just the sensor that needs replacing which i could do.
Click to expand...

so your saying a faulty sensor could be letting the oil seep out?
 
McQueen77

McQueen77

Banned
SuPeR GTi said:
so your saying a faulty sensor could be letting the oil seep out?
Click to expand...

the o-ring could be worn out causing a little oil to seep through over time. runs fine right now but could be a problem down the road. or, worst case, the valve cover could be leaking oil which is a big job because they have to pull it, re-seal it etc. i read on vortex that there is a TSB on this so hopefully they don't give me any shit and try to say that because i'm making more boost than stock that it is the cause, which is basically bs. im trying to prepare myself for the worst but theyve been cool thus far and two of their techs drive modded mkVs while one of the service rep guys drives a stage 2 mk6.. theyve known about me being stage 1 for a while now.

the drag is that the car is running fine and im being preventative. so that means ill have to wait around while they diagnose the issue. they dont have the sensor in stock and have to order it so id have to bring the car back if thats all it is. if they uncover something more sinister ill prob get a loaner.

id be curious to see how common this is.. all you have to do is pop your engine cover off and have a look.. ive read of it being somewhat common here and there..
 
McQueen77

McQueen77

Banned
UPDATE: Just got back from the dealer. The service mgr. had the tech come out and look at it as soon as I pulled it up and asked him if he'd seen that before an the tech said that yes, it was somewhat common. They kept the car for over an hour and then told me they need to order a new valve cover gasket and cam position sensor. Should have them on friday at which point I'll bring it back in and have those parts replaced. Sounds like it'll be under warranty.
 
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