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Oil Leak-Dealership issues

1K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  NotAPreppie 
#1 ·
I had been smelling oil when idling in my car since November....but no drips, no loss of oil on the dipstick. This spring, I brought it up to them. They found no leak. They put dye in the crankcase, and I brought it back to them when I had the timing belt replaced, figuring they could look for the leak then. They said they found nothing, other than some leak at the oil drain plug, which the tightened. But at that point, I started getting drips on my garage floor. I took it back to the dealership today, and now they say its coming from somewhere near the front of the engine, but they cant tell specifically where, and in order to find out, they would have to tear the car apart, charging me 6hrs of labor just to find the leak. I told them not to do this at this point-yet.

I dont have my invoice with me at work, but I am pretty sure I asked them to look for the leak the same day I took the car in for the TB change. Why did they not find the leak then? Would it not have saved me the potential labor to tear up the front end a second time? I am sure they will say the leak was not visible at the time they did the TB change, which was only a month ago....any thoughts? This leak is not enough even to require me to put more oil in between oil changes, but I know it wont get better on its own...if I am wrong in my opinion they should have found the leak during the tb change, I may just go to an Indie to do the work...
 
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#3 ·
Sorry...I forget that sometimes....1.8T, 2000MY, with about 88k miles...I had the cam tensioner replaced under warranty, and I assume that would be further under the engine anyway.

the advisor called me back regarding something unrelated, and I brought my point to him why they did not detect the leak while replacing the TB...he stammered a little, saying the tech did check for the leak, and saw nothing at that time...but he did say he would speak to the mgr on this issue....my guess is they will come back with "it was not leaking at that time"...but would that mean I was imagining the burning oil smell?
 
#5 ·
The dealer was pretty convinced the leak was coming from the lower front of the engine, and running down to near where the drain plug is. But after consulting with the manager, they did agree that, since I had asked them to search for the leak during the same time they were changing the timing belt...at the time, they found no leak. They now agree that they will search for the leak, which they suggest will require the dismantle of the front end, similar to what they had to do to replace the timing belt-at no charge to me. I would, of course, pay for the actual repair of the leak.
 
#6 ·
the dealer is indicating the crank seal is leaking...what is this going to cost me? They are picking up the tab on tearing the engine apart, etc, since I asked them to look for the leak while they were changing the timing belt, but they missed it...i was thinking I had this replaced, but I think it was the cam seal, not the crank seal
 
#12 ·
Dealership sounds like they really didn't look. Of course they will be happy to look if you pay them, shocking huh? :hmmm:

The burning oil smell you are getting is from the oil leaking somewhere above your manifold. It's dripping down onto it and burning off while you are driving. Probably get a wiff of it in the interior when stopped and idling at a stop light right? I had the same problem with my V6, it had a leaky valve cover gasket and cam seals. I was also seeing consumption to the tune of 1 qt per 2000 miles. I decided to give auto-rx a shot since it was spoken of highly here. I am currently in my second and final rinse phase and ever since beginning use of auto-rx my consumption almost immediately went away. The smell in the cabin almost immediately went away as well. I continued to have a small oil burning smell under the hood until half-way through the second cleaning phase and now that's gone too! :thumbup: Something to consider if you are out of warranty like me.
 
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