# Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!!



## racerx11 (May 17, 2009)

I recently suffered a very large oil leak on my 2004 Passat GLX with the 2.8 30V. It was 3 degrees outside when i started it up and headed 30 miles to school. It started just fine and i did not notice any problems the entire trip until i was about 2 miles from school. When i came to a stop i had a strong odor of oil and an actual haze coming through the vents. When i got to school and pulled it into the shop (i'm going for Automotive Technician) i pulled the belly pan off to find that oil was literally everywhere under the car. After trying to find where the oil leak was coming from i only found that it was not around the valve gaskets at all so that is a plus but there was so much oil everywhere else i could not identify where the leak originated. some of my instructors believe it to be the oil pressure control valve got stuck from the cold and it blew oil every where from the gasket of the oil filter. I cleaned off anywhere that had oil on it, put 1.5 quarts back into it and took it for a road test to come back and find no oil leaks however my transmission then started to have a very abrupt action at 35MPH under accelerating and Decelerating. Any ideas as to what might be the problem?


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## litesleeper (Sep 19, 2009)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (racerx11)*

My first thought is the PCV system is plugged. The hoses and valves plug up and can pressurize the block pushing oil out of the weakest seal. (valve covers or cam seal).


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## racerx11 (May 17, 2009)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (litesleeper)*

so would changing the pump be the best action?


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## Old Rabbit Dr. (Aug 18, 2006)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (racerx11)*

Have you tried searching in posts of the 2.8l v6 forum?
Here is what litesleeper is tlaking about. Read through the following:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4726699
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4701842

_Quote, originally posted by *litesleeper* »_Quote, originally posted by ameen » 
what do i need, and what do i need to do to replace pvc hoses?

If it is the pcv hoses, here is some info:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4632463
You can get a kit form ECS.http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Passat_B5-4_Motion-V6_30v/Engine/Emission/ES3224/
You might want to search 'pcv hose' in post bodies under 2.8l v6 engine forum.
GL 


I hope this helps, good luck.


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## racerx11 (May 17, 2009)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (litesleeper)*

so would changing the pump be the best action?


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (racerx11)*

The best action is probably to find the source of the leak.


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## litesleeper (Sep 19, 2009)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (racerx11)*


_Quote, originally posted by *racerx11* »_so would changing the pump be the best action?

The oil pump?
No.

_Quote, originally posted by ** »_The best action is probably to find the source of the leak.


x2
Have you checked at the oil filter? I once had the gasket stick to the oil cooler and leak between the old gasket and the new oil filter.


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## racerx11 (May 17, 2009)

I tried to find the source of the leak however there was so much oil everywhere that I simply could not identify it. We are using my car as a demo in my Service and Repair class now with this problem. I have had 4 instructors and numerous students try to find the exact location of the leak and no one has found anything. We did an oil pressure test to it and while it is at idle rpm's, the pressure is 29 PSI. Alldata says the proper way to test it is to take the car to 2,000 rpm's and that the PSI should read 29 PSI at that point. When i took mine to 2,000 rpm's, it read 75 PSI. When i did the last oil change i noticed that the old gasket had stuck to the cooler but i removed that before putting the new filter on. I distinctly remember doing so because it was the first time I had ever had that happen to me on any vehicle. Thank you all for the help so far, being a student you can imagine how much I really appreciate this!


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## borgjeremy (Feb 5, 2010)

I am living this nightmare now. I got a check engine light noting an emissions error. The car ran wonderful. I ignored the light for 2 days and then had a MASSIVE oil leak. I took it to the shop. They reset the check engine light and replaced the valve cover gasket. The next day I had a MASSIVE oil leak again from the other valve cover gasket. The mechanic is now replacing the "PCV" type system and repairing both valve cover leaks. Are there other gotchas with this engine? I bough the car new and now it has 135K. I love the car but I am concerned that VW allowed an emissions issue to cause massive damage to the car. Is is time to replace the car? 


_Modified by borgjeremy at 9:13 PM 2-4-2010_


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## rayj (Jun 10, 2009)

*Re: (borgjeremy)*

My $.02 is there are numerous issues with the car which good regular maintainence will keep you running ok and happy which is how it sounds you were until this problem. The problem may only be a plugged PCV hose which i think is minor and fairly common. But as you may be aware repair$ can be expensive. Probably no massive damage either.
Many folks like the car enough to budget up to $2000 per year in it's later life and keep it well into the 200K miles region.
I only bought the car with 121k miles and with the limited driving it will be seeing, i probably won't ever reach the 200k category but like it enough to repair and maintain it for another 10 years or so.


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: (borgjeremy)*

I ditched my B5 A4, which is essentially the same as your GLX 4motion, because of the maintenance cost. The engine was bulletproof, but the rest of the car... %@#!ing %@$#[email protected]#!er !!!! Here was my butcher's bill, during the last 26 mos. before getting rid of it:
* complete front control arm kit (w/ ball joints, outer tie rod ends): $600 
* upper control arm kit: $300.
* shocks & springs all around: $1100 (OK, so I expected this, but still...) 
* Steering rack (~$500 rebuilt!!). I also didn't feel like doing that job myself, so I paid about another $500 in labor for somebody else to do it.
* All the expensive parts of the exhaust: $3,500 (only OEM cats are guaranteed to pass emissions here).
* a bunch more small stuff I can't remember now, but easily totaling another $1k.
I can only imagine how much it would have cost if I'd paid repair shop mark-up on the parts, and hadn't done most of the work myself.


_Modified by  at 9:27 AM 2/5/2010_


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: ()*

Oh, yeah: I also lost count of how many times I changed the rear wheel bearings...


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## RosevilleWgn (Dec 12, 2009)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (racerx11)*

I am now dealing with this issue myself. Even the whitish "smoke" from the A/C vents. As far as I can tell it's only one of the valve covers leaking, slightly, and the oil was down about a quart.
Trust it to happen on the one day of the week that the dealers are closed. The car has just over 74K miles on it. I picked up an extended warrenty ($200 deductible) to cover my ass, and it looks like I'll be using it.


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## Slimjimmn (Apr 8, 2006)

*Re: Large Oil Leak!!! Help!!! (litesleeper)*


_Quote, originally posted by *litesleeper* »_
I once had the gasket stick to the oil cooler and leak between the old gasket and the new oil filter.

That would be called double gasketing, commonly referred to as a valvoline instant oil change. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Slimjimmn (Apr 8, 2006)

*Re: ()*


_Quote, originally posted by ** »_Oh, yeah: I also lost count of how many times I changed the rear wheel bearings...

This is usually due to people installing cheap bearings. Just think of it this way, the OEM dealer bearing lasted what 6yrs and 80k miles. Then you replaced it (probably a cheap aftermarket) and it lasted you 1-2 years or 20k miles.


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: (Slimjimmn)*

I tried OEM. They didn't last either.


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## Slimjimmn (Apr 8, 2006)

*Re: ()*

like you went to the dealer and bought one? or used a "oem quality from ecs tuning" one


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## O_o (Nov 12, 2009)

*Re: (Slimjimmn)*

Yes. From a VW dealer.


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