The brief
Mr Loh switched from his authorised dealer to us to sort his Audi A6's engine oil top-up problem. The catch was that the A6 had oil leaking from several places at once, not one drip, so to fix it properly and be sure of a leak-free result, the whole engine had to come out. Over the years the gaskets and seals around a V6 like this harden and lose their grip, so oil weeps from a dozen joints, the oil filter housing gasket, the timing oil seals, the cam cover gaskets, and more. Chasing them one at a time from in the bay is slow and you'll always miss one, so the thorough way, when there are that many, is to lift the engine out and renew every seal and packing while it's on the bench. Removing an engine is a precision job for experienced hands, but it's the way to get to 100% leak-free.
The diagnosis
The inspection showed multiple sources of oil leaks across the V6, too many to chase from in the bay, so the engine needed to come out. With it out, the worn parts were everywhere: the oil filter housing gasket, the timing oil seals, and numerous other worn gaskets, all hardened with age. That's an engine-out reseal, every gasket and seal renewed, rather than picking off leaks one at a time and leaving others.
The work
The whole V6 engine was lifted out, a complex precision job, and on the bench every seal and packing was replaced with genuine Audi-spec parts, the oil filter housing gasket, the timing oil seals, the cam cover gaskets and every other worn gasket, nothing left out, so the engine is 100% leak-free. The engine was refitted, the timing set, filled with fresh oil and a new filter, and then kept running for a period of time to be completely satisfied there was absolutely zero leakage. A road test confirmed the engine dry, no drips, the oil level holding, and no warning lights.
The outcome
No oil leaks anywhere, the engine dry, no top-ups, the level holding between checks, and no warning lights. Mr Loh got the A6 back leak-free. When an engine is leaking from multiple places, lifting it out and renewing every seal in one go is the only way to be sure, which is why we ran it afterwards until there was zero leakage rather than hand it back and hope.
