stigg

Thanks for the input, guys. It is not bad actually, I see an improvement, there is some seepage on the left side but very little on the right. I will check the cams area with a mirror as suggested but it appears to be ok. There are drips on the floor but less than before and I will have to live with this, 315,000 km made an impact, I guess.

PetrolBear

You should check the crankshaft and camshaft sealings because of the timing belt. Mine has drops from these places and it has much less kilometers.

jamesm0913

Oil leaks that migrate to the bottom corner of the head are typically the cam caps leaking or the valve cover gasket. Since you already did the VCG, replace the cam plugs. They are the small, hockey puck looking things that press fit into the back of each head. You can pry the old ones out with a screwdriver and small pry bar and tap the new ones back in. No need to remove the VC again, but doing it from the inside of the head is the easier way to do it.

stigg

I'm still thinking about fixing this because there is oil under the corner of each cover. There is no oil anywhere around the cover perimeter which I can detect manually, so maybe it just leaks from these places, on both heads. Since I did it twice already, what is the best way to replace these gaskets? I went to Audi here and asked about the silicone for this job and they said none is required. There was black sealant there when I replaced the gaskets first time. I used red sealant, 375F if I remember. Any pointers how to do it the right way?
Thanks.

stigg

Man, I owe you! I would have never figured it out and the manual is no help on that one at all. Yesterday I replaced the passenger side cap, had to remove the PVC line gizmo there, and could tell right away that oil seepage stopped.
Today I spent some time contemplating how to handle the driver side as there is a very limited access, no way to remove the valve or whatever it is on the breather line. I was afraid that with a limited access it might be impossible to install the new cap. But I loosened the exhaust cover and was able to remove the old and squeeze in the new cap. No more oil coming from the top end, no smoke. My VC gasket job was all right, it was the caps! There might be some leakage from the turbos or whatever can leak below the heads but at least
the top is ok. The one thing I found is that removing the valve covers is not really helping as there is no access to the caps from inside. Otherwise your diagnosis was spot on. Thanks again.
Stan