Hi all its been the first day in a long time since it's rained and whilst parked in one spot today with no cars near me I've spotted a small slither of oil coming from under the car

I'm hoping it's just the sump plug not tightened up properly since the last service when I bought it 2 months ago, it's been using a litre of oil about every 3 weeks or about 400 miles for me so hoping this leak is the cause.

Are there any other things I should be looking for under the car that are common in these engines

Thanks

Edited 18 May, 201610 yr by lDanl

2 secs it hasn't put all I typed

Edit done

Edited 18 May, 201610 yr by lDanl

Thirsty car you got there if it's not the sump plug.

If it is - well, I'd suggest you to tighten it until it starts loosing oil in great amounts (and you risk your engine being damaged). Checking it is not a hard task to do but either you have to lift the car or drive it on a ramp. Remove the plastic cover and check the sump plug. If it's fine then you can do a visual inspection to find the leak.

Remove the undertray, slip some cardboard underneath and see where the drips are landing. Most likely it's the sump bolt needing a nip up, but don't over do it.  It's easy to strip the bolts.

If your has a full size undertray then its likely its already covered in oil, as the tray stops oil going further for quite a while. If it is leaking from the plug, do not try to tighten it, but first see if it loosens off very easily. Its unusual for the plug to leak unless its never been tightened or more likely the plug is cross threaded and not inserted correctly. A careful visual examination would likely if the plug washer is not square.

Check around the rocker cover, filter housing, pcv piping, camchain cover, etc. Ideally if you can get under the engine and a powerful light to trace the source.

All good advice above. Let's hope it is something simple like the sump plug. If it is just the plug leaking:

Ideally, you should renew the plug each time you change the oil (braces himself for a flood of 'I never do that' type of posts ;-) ). The plugs and their captive soft washers are cheap enough.

If you do nip up the plug just tighten it a teensy-weeny bit. If you overdo it you could have an expensive disaster of a stripped thread in the sump pan on your hands.

If I were you, I'd invest in new oil, a new plug/washer, and a torque wrench to tighten it up to 30Nm/22lbf ft. Make sure the rim on the sump pan where the plug sits is really, really clean before you replace the plug.

Good luck with it, and let us know how you get on. Feed back is very useful to all on the forum.

Thanks all that's really great advice, I do want to change the oil myself at some point as I had the garage change it for me in a big service including timing belt when I bought it

Will let you know what it's like this weekend it's the only time I'm free

All good advice above. Let's hope it is something simple like the sump plug. If it is just the plug leaking:

Ideally, you should renew the plug each time you change the oil (braces himself for a flood of 'I never do that' type of posts ;-) ). The plugs and their captive soft washers are cheap enough.

If you do nip up the plug just tighten it a teensy-weeny bit. If you overdo it you could have an expensive disaster of a stripped thread in the sump pan on your hands.

If I were you, I'd invest in new oil, a new plug/washer, and a torque wrench to tighten it up to 30Nm/22lbf ft. Make sure the rim on the sump pan where the plug sits is really, really clean before you replace the plug.

Good luck with it, and let us know how you get on. Feed back is very useful to all on the forum.

Exactly this! Don't bother just tightening the nut. Get a new one. I reckon the garage reused the old one and when the old is warm, its passing the washer.

 

It is possible to catch the oil in a clean tray or bottle and pour it back in if its fairly unused. Otherwise just be super speedy and have the replacement bolt ready - get ready for an oil massacre though!

 

My recommendation is to use a quick drain valve like Fumoto. I have one and makes DIY oil changes easy and reduces the risk or constantly undoing the bolt and re-tightening it.

Edited 18 May, 201610 yr by UdayP

Exactly this! Don't bother just tightening the nut. Get a new one. I reckon the garage reused the old one and when the old is warm, its passing the washer.

 

It is possible to catch the oil in a clean tray or bottle and pour it back in if its fairly unused. Otherwise just be super speedy and have the replacement bolt ready - get ready for an oil massacre though!

 

My recommendation is to use a quick drain valve like Fumoto. I have one and makes DIY oil changes easy and reduces the risk or constantly undoing the bolt and re-tightening it.

thanks, we change the oil in my dads van all the time though we know how to do it just it made sense to do it at the garage as a full service along with the timing belt.

 

Thanks.

I reckon the garage reused the old one and when the old is warm, its passing the washer.

 

C'mon, it's not a big deal using the same again and again. Many people do it that way and everything's fine. Yes, there can be cases when plug should (or must) be changed but it's not necessarily the next oil change.

I assume you don't change bolts when changing wheels? I don't... see the similarity?

 

P.S. No oil leaks so far.

What about taking back to the garage that did the "big service" and the timing belt and saving yourself the trouble. If the oil is physically leaking they either should of noticed it or have caused it and you've paid money for the job to be done right?

C'mon, it's not a big deal using the same again and again. Many people do it that way and everything's fine. Yes, there can be cases when plug should (or must) be changed but it's not necessarily the next oil change.

I assume you don't change bolts when changing wheels? I don't... see the similarity?

P.S. No oil leaks so far.

Change the washer at the very least. The bolt can be reused definitely. If they have overtightened the bolt they may have made the used washer useless (if not using a new one).

What about taking back to the garage that did the "big service" and the timing belt and saving yourself the trouble. If the oil is physically leaking they either should of noticed it or have caused it and you've paid money for the job to be done right?

 well i don't know if it is the problem yet 

If it's losing a litre of oil in 400 miles and showing on the ground, dripping from undertray, there is at least one problem they should of noticed IMO!

 

Edit: typos

Edited 18 May, 201610 yr by TheClient

If it's losing a litre of oil in 400 miles and showing on the ground, dripping from undertray, there is at least one problem they should of noticed IMO!

 

Edit: typos

i know this

Glitch edit

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by lDanl

Well I regret to report than the sump was bone dry

The only place with a hint of oil was one of the intercooler connecting pipes, drivers side just around where the clip is

If there is oil in the inter cooling does this mean my turbo could be leaking?

Other than that could it just simply be my driving style using up oil? I use the car to deliver parcels, it gets to high speed runs I'm literally averaging 10mph a day and 20mpg

It is normal that there should be oil in the i/c and the d/v.

What condition is the pcv valve in?Is there oil all around it?

It is normal that there should be oil in the i/c and the d/v.

What condition is the pcv valve in?Is there oil all around it?

Changed the PCV for a new one 2 weeks ago

How much blue smoke do you have coming out the tail?

 

I'm wondering if a worn PCV is causing excessive oil use too. Sometimes this happens when the valve is blocked.

 

Might be worth also doing a clean of the EGR.

How much blue smoke do you have coming out the tail?

I'm wondering if a worn PCV is causing excessive oil use too. Sometimes this happens when the valve is blocked.

Might be worth also doing a clean of the EGR.

I haven't really noticed blue smoke coming out of it really

PCV is virtually brand new as mentioned

It's a petrol so no EGR (I forgot to mention this)

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by lDanl

Only other think to note is that it has the slight occasional judder on idle which a few people suffer from which I believe is an intake valve being dirty

Oh and I do notice the exhaust does seem to steam quite a lot even when the engine is full up to temperature, zero water is being used however maybe I'm just being paranoid

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by lDanl

Only other think to note is that it has the slight occasional judder on idle which a few people suffer from which I believe is an intake valve being dirty

Oh and I do notice the exhaust does seem to steam quite a lot even when the engine is full up to temperature, zero water is being used however maybe I'm just being paranoid

Are you sure its not oil vapour that's coming from the tail? I had an old golf that started to do that, then I would notice on hard acceleration it was blue and was the cause of my mysterious oil usage. If it's just a lot of water vapour at temperature it would indicate coolant usage, but then this would smell sweet and you would have bigger problems as well.

 

There is a walk through here regarding the intake valve clean http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/509355-B8-A4-2-0-TFSI-DIY-Carbon-Intake-Valve-Cleaning

 

I reckon the valves are gunked up + intake/throttle could be covered with blow-by oily vapour causing the judder on idle. As for the oil usage, I think its blowing past the piston rings. Can you pull out the coils from the head and tell us if you notice oil on them? Also a little more info on your car, mileage and grade of oil in there currently.

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by UdayP

Also, if you're tackling it, factor in a few days, and then some.  I will add though, that even after replacing my IM, cleaning all the valves, fitting new injector seals etc., the idle shudder is still there for me, and I've no idea where to look next.

 

I have a thread in the how to laying out some tips.

 

I'd really be looking at doing a compression test.  If you're using that much oil, something is wrong somewhere.  The older MK2s like mine are known for piston/piston ring failures, so a compression test will be a good place to start.

Ok thanks for the advice

More info on my car

2.0 tfsi 2007

98k

Undercover ex police full service history

Oil used is 5w30 i believe castrol fully symph

So the next easiest thing for me to check would be oily coils? Failing that I should get it compression tested?

Edited 23 May, 201610 yr by lDanl