Hi all,

I have what appears to be leaking injector to cam cover seals on the right bank. This seems to be a regular problem on the V6, but I am pretty sure the problem I have is due to the seals being disturbed when I had a new cylinder head fitted last year, and the seals were not replaced. Been leaky since, but got particularly bad in Switzerland at fairly high altitude, suppose possibly due to lower ambient pressure... smelled smoke due to oil burning off the exhaust manifold. Unnerving at first, but not a big deal when I sussed out what was going on in a parking lot not too far from Zurich, up in the mountains. And not surprisingly the oil consumption has gone up LOL.

Having looked at it, it does not seem like a difficult job to do. Who has done this, any idea how much the seals are? Thanks

Seals comes with the cover, biggest issue is the injector pipes have to be removed meaning air gets into the system.

I've had this trouble before - not my favourite engine. Tech1e is right, according to EKTA the seal is supplied with a replacement cover.

My fix was to lift the cover slightly and carefully clean both surfaces. Apply a thin uniform film of blue Hylomar to the cylinder head machined surface and allow to harden for 5 mins. Torque down the cover bolts, resisting the temptation to overtighten. A 1/4" drive rotary torque wrench works best.

I would resist disturbing the HP pipes - the VP44 is fragile at the best of time and does not welcome air - anywhere.

rotodiesel.

Thanks for the responses!

But I am slightly confused. How can I clean the injector to cam cover seals without disturbing the HP fuel lines, in other words, is it really possible to clean the seals by just lifting the cam cover up slightly? If so, I will have a go at this.

I read on one of the audi forums that the cam covers are £65 each, so no too bad, but a bit of a rip off for a bit of pressed steel with seals.

Not my fav engine either Roto

Rotos method sounds good. If you do disconnect the pipes though there is a procedure for bleeding the fuel system which involves powering up the fuel pump fuse in the fusebox and bleeding fuel off the spill line to the injectors. This saves ramming air into the fuel pump which as Roto quite rightly says is bad news.

Not my fav engine either Roto

Rotos method sounds good. If you do disconnect the pipes though there is a procedure for bleeding the fuel system which involves powering up the fuel pump fuse in the fusebox and bleeding fuel off the spill line to the injectors. This saves ramming air into the fuel pump which as Roto quite rightly says is bad news.

Would you agree that it is very stupid that there is no priming pump on these cars?? I know the HP fuel lines would still be dry but at least the injection pump could be primed up after disturbing the system. I have had several diesel cars in the past and they all had priming pumps. I am tempted to buy one of those universal priming bulbs on ebay and plumb it in, it would make filter changes a helluva lot simpler. Just don't know if the fuel lines are 8mm ID or 10 mm.

An easy solution to air in the fuel injection pump (for whatever reason) is to

• Disconnect return fuel line at the fuel filter T-valve, plug off the T-end (I use the cap that comes with every fuel filter) and connect oil extractor to the fuel return line.
  
• Pump up oil extractor a few times, wait until you have about 1l of fuel in the extractor
  
• disconnect extractor, reconnect pipes and start the engine.
  

I have been doing this at every single fuel filter change in my Octavia and Superb, and after reconnecting the lines the car invariably starts within 2s of cranking. If the oil extractor is clean, you can even reuse the fuel.

An easy solution to air in the fuel injection pump (for whatever reason) is to

• Disconnect return fuel line at the fuel filter T-valve, plug off the T-end (I use the cap that comes with every fuel filter) and connect oil extractor to the fuel return line.
  
• Pump up oil extractor a few times, wait until you have about 1l of fuel in the extractor
  
• disconnect extractor, reconnect pipes and start the engine.
  

I have been doing this at every single fuel filter change in my Octavia and Superb, and after reconnecting the lines the car invariably starts within 2s of cranking. If the oil extractor is clean, you can even reuse the fuel.

Good tip. Thanks! In terms of the oil extractor, is the Superb designed to be serviced using the oil extractor, and if so, how much oil stays behind that the extractor cannot suck out? Always been a bit dubious about these, but considering the pain in taking the under sump shield off, it would be much easier to use the extractor device....

Good tip. Thanks! In terms of the oil extractor, is the Superb designed to be serviced using the oil extractor, and if so, how much oil stays behind that the extractor cannot suck out? Always been a bit dubious about these, but considering the pain in taking the under sump shield off, it would be much easier to use the extractor device....

As long as you use thin tube that comes with the extractor inside disptick tube and not the dipstick tube itself, you can clean sump as well or better than via the bottom plug. Just make sure the car is level.

Generally, using an oil extractor you can take about 1/4l - 1/2l more old oil out than draining via the sump plug. That's because after finishing removing oil from the sump, using oil extractor you can also remove remaining oil in oil cooler. It is really easy, you just vacuum the oil from oil filter housing and its holes. This is where around 1/4-1/2l oil still remains after clearing the sump. Vacuuming with manual extractors is easiest with Sealey TP69 / Tallboy style extractors as they can be operated single-handed. Ball-type extractor e.g. Pela is not so good for this. I have yet to find a working electric extractor, a couple I tried leaked hot oil instantly. Lidl lawn mower extractors also do not work, the tubing is too soft for hot oil.

I have a Sealey TP69 and on the whole it is excellent. Minor grip was that after 2yrs of using it the pump started sticking and I had to dismantle the top (6 screws), clean valves and the pump and put a few drops of fresh engine oil over them. Since then it again works perfectly.

Last oil change+all filters change (air, oil, fuel, cabin) on the old Octy took me under 1 hour without hurry. I have a steel skid plate on this one (aka "Octavia Panzer" ), so a sump plug oil change alone would've taken 2hrs not to mention the pain factor.

Edited 5 October, 201114 yr by dieselV6

I cut out a 6 inch square from the undertray just under the sump plug and drilled four holes in the tray and four in the square,I refit the square with cable ties after dropping the oil, saves a lot of time.

As long as you use thin tube that comes with the extractor inside disptick tube and not the dipstick tube itself, you can clean sump as well or better than via the bottom plug. Just make sure the car is level.

Generally, using an oil extractor you can take about 1/4l - 1/2l more old oil out than draining via the sump plug. That's because after finishing removing oil from the sump, using oil extractor you can also remove remaining oil in oil cooler. It is really easy, you just vacuum the oil from oil filter housing and its holes. This is where around 1/4-1/2l oil still remains after clearing the sump. Vacuuming with manual extractors is easiest with Sealey TP69 / Tallboy style extractors as they can be operated single-handed. Ball-type extractor e.g. Pela is not so good for this. I have yet to find a working electric extractor, a couple I tried leaked hot oil instantly. Lidl lawn mower extractors also do not work, the tubing is too soft for hot oil.

I have a Sealey TP69 and on the whole it is excellent. Minor grip was that after 2yrs of using it the pump started sticking and I had to dismantle the top (6 screws), clean valves and the pump and put a few drops of fresh engine oil over them. Since then it again works perfectly.

Last oil change+all filters change (air, oil, fuel, cabin) on the old Octy took me under 1 hour without hurry. I have a steel skid plate on this one (aka "Octavia Panzer" ), so a sump plug oil change alone would've taken 2hrs not to mention the pain factor.

Thanks mate. I will buy a TP69. Have three cars and hence lots of potentially saved time over the year!

OK back to the cam cover leak on my car.

I had good clean up today, and it is obvious that the seals around the injectors are slightly eccentric - seems like the way the cam cover was put back on when the head was replaced. Anyhow, I am trying to avoid removing the cover, and disturbing the injector pipes, as some of you suggested above.

I took off the spill return lines today so I can have a proper clean around the injectors- and managed to drop one 6x10mm copper washer. Great. But hopefully there might be some at work (glad I have another car for day to day work).

My thoughts are to try to seal it by putting some Hylomar / Engineer's blue, or silicone on top of the seal.

Just inviting opinions? Can't see it hurting.

Hylomar is the best gasket sealer if you have parts which fit. It resists diesel fuel but will not fill appreciable gaps.

If you have gaps, seal replacement is the solution. Silicone rubber based sealers anywhere near the top of a diesel engine won't work - the stuff is unstable in diesel fuel.

rotodiesel.

Hylomar is the best gasket sealer if you have parts which fit. It resists diesel fuel but will not fill appreciable gaps.

If you have gaps, seal replacement is the solution. Silicone rubber based sealers anywhere near the top of a diesel engine won't work - the stuff is unstable in diesel fuel.

rotodiesel.

Thank you roto.

I will try Dow Corning "732" application first, the gap is very small and it might just hold it.

If not, I will get some new seals (i.e. new cam cover!) in the spring. Will let you know if this has worked, and to what extent.

Done this repair now - washers arrived in the post today so all 6 of them replaced on the 3 banjos on the spill lines.

So far so good. Should see pretty soon if the liquid gasket holds. The beauty cover staying off for a while for easier inspections.

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by oh_superb