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Has anybody ever performed an undercarriage car wash? I'm trying to spot an oil leak on my 01 A6 2.7t, and would like to clean under the engine to spot oil leaks more easily.
I already spotted two possible sources for my leaks, and will address them first. One of them is my oil drain plug.
The other source of my leak looks to be the plug cap that goes into the hole where the crankshaft locking pin is installed, that cap its not all way into that hole.
As you can see from 2nd picture below, two bolts are wetted in oil, which makes me believe the oil pan gasket is bad.
I have a Northern Hydraulics steam cleaner, steam at 250 degrees F and pressure at 2500 psi, which I use regularly to clean the oily mess under the engine (the before picture looks just like yours.)
It's a German car, they don't leak oil, they mark their territory.
(Likely culprits: valve cover gaskets, and cam seals and plugs.)
(Likely culprits: valve cover gaskets, and cam seals and plugs.)
Sorry forgot to mention that, I just replaced valve cover gaskets, camseals and plugs about 6-8 months ago, unless I did it wrong. But I dont think its that since I cant see the white smoke coming out the valve covers anymore. I also already checked for any oil wetness around the covers, seals/plugs. I just tightened the crankshaft cap I was talking about, I hope its only that and not the oil pan seal, I read that I need to remove the A/C compressor to move the A/C lines under oil pan out the way,.
In the past I have put a car on ramps and sprayed purple power or simple green given it a few minutes then sprayed with a hose. Allow things to dry up. Overall since you drive the car in rain, everything should be reasonably able to handle water.
In the past I have put a car on ramps and sprayed purple power or simple green given it a few minutes then sprayed with a hose. Allow things to dry up. Overall since you drive the car in rain, everything should be reasonably able to handle water.
Problem fixed , the oil was leaking from the crank locking plug. The O-ring was bad. Ran to the junkyard and got the oring from a similar car, since I could not find it online. Found one at ectuning but was sold as a kit with the cap and bolt for $18.00.
if someone knows the part # for this O-ring or an alternative option please let me know, I'm not sure which ones I can use because of the high temparatures it has to resist. I might need a new one in a near future since the one replaced it with is a used one.
Cleaning it is an essential task – but we sometimes ignore it and let the oil buildup on our engine. If your car is not cleaned properly, then you will face many problems later on.
05-13-2017, 11:37 AM
Under carriage engine oil pan wash???
, the oil was leaking from the crank locking plug. The O-ring was bad. Ran to the junkyard and got the oring from a similar car, since I could not find it online. Found one at ectuning but was sold as a kit with the cap and bolt for $18.00.
