Breaking in a new-to-us Golf 6 with 1.4 TSI 120 HP (EA111), during cursory inspection noticed oil on outside of the intake pipe directly adjacent the turbo. Couldn't see where it was coming from so took out air filter to get a look down the tube, saw a little oil pooled as shown below.
Might think turbo seals at this point but there is also oil evident at both ends of the PCV hose which goes from the top of the engine around to the intake manifold. "At the top" is the 4-way junction pipe which I understand has a check valve in it. I'm used to NA cars which have very simple PCV systems so this seems extra complicated. Anyway the only place the oil can come from is the breather vent which is right on top of the chain cover.
Car drives fine, not really any other symptoms. Had a mechanical inspection before purchase and (relative) compression was good.
The only other clue I have is the oil was over-filled by the dealer, I discovered this about the same time. I've since sucked out a bit to get it right. It wasn't too much, maybe 10 or 12 mm above the dipstick max mark. I took out half a liter and it was well under max.
Any ideas here? Could the slight oil overfill get kicked up somehow by the timing chain enough to push liquid oil through the vent hose? Could there be another cause?
I know a little oiliness in the PCV system is normal but surely not so much liquid that it's leaking outside the hose joins.
Does anyone know how that 4-way valve thing works? I presume there is a suck-one-way valve to permit manifold vacuum to draw on the engine-side vent, but are the other two outlets valved too? (main one goes down to the turbo inlet, the second one routes around to what I think is something to do with EVAP).
And what is under the vent union on the engine? It's surely not just an open hole? On other engines I'm familiar with there are air/oil separators in front of the PCV valve, which are just plastic manifolds to collect oil and try to stop it making it as far as the valve and subsequent hosing to the intake. (I'm wondering if there's something plastic that lives inside the timing cover that could have broken.)
This is the turbo inlet, the outside of the black plastic is covered in seepage, I presume getting through the O-ring:
Inside:
The main check valve 4-way thing:
The join that's leaking is the vacuum hose to/from IM:
Other end at the manifold:
Might think turbo seals at this point but there is also oil evident at both ends of the PCV hose which goes from the top of the engine around to the intake manifold. "At the top" is the 4-way junction pipe which I understand has a check valve in it. I'm used to NA cars which have very simple PCV systems so this seems extra complicated. Anyway the only place the oil can come from is the breather vent which is right on top of the chain cover.
Car drives fine, not really any other symptoms. Had a mechanical inspection before purchase and (relative) compression was good.
The only other clue I have is the oil was over-filled by the dealer, I discovered this about the same time. I've since sucked out a bit to get it right. It wasn't too much, maybe 10 or 12 mm above the dipstick max mark. I took out half a liter and it was well under max.
Any ideas here? Could the slight oil overfill get kicked up somehow by the timing chain enough to push liquid oil through the vent hose? Could there be another cause?
I know a little oiliness in the PCV system is normal but surely not so much liquid that it's leaking outside the hose joins.
Does anyone know how that 4-way valve thing works? I presume there is a suck-one-way valve to permit manifold vacuum to draw on the engine-side vent, but are the other two outlets valved too? (main one goes down to the turbo inlet, the second one routes around to what I think is something to do with EVAP).
And what is under the vent union on the engine? It's surely not just an open hole? On other engines I'm familiar with there are air/oil separators in front of the PCV valve, which are just plastic manifolds to collect oil and try to stop it making it as far as the valve and subsequent hosing to the intake. (I'm wondering if there's something plastic that lives inside the timing cover that could have broken.)
This is the turbo inlet, the outside of the black plastic is covered in seepage, I presume getting through the O-ring:
Inside:
The main check valve 4-way thing:
The join that's leaking is the vacuum hose to/from IM:
Other end at the manifold:
Last edited: