# bad valve cover = main oil consumption culprit?



## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

hi all-

i have a 2006 a3 2.0t FSI with 53k miles on it. the last several oil changes i've added about 1qt per oil change (i do 5k intervals with synthetic). but as of more recently i find that i'm added 1qt per 1.5k miles. i know our valve covers have been a well known issue that contribute to oil consumption, but before i go ahead and order one, are there any other signs that point to a cracked valve cover? based on what i've found this seems to be the most likely cause of oil consumption in these engines. other reasons are less common.
it's wintertime here in chicago, so my exhaust is smokey, i can't tell if it's oil burning up or just because it's wintertime. my guess is if the weather was warmer, with a cracked valve cover you'd notice more exhaust smoke?

and for those of you who have replaced your valve cover, where did you order from? it's over $200 on some websites but i'm sure it should be less than that elsewhere, given its an OEM part on all the FSI engines.

thanks in advance!


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## RizerGLI (Mar 23, 2007)

I dunno if i can link to another site but i just read this whole thread, lots of good info. There is cheap options to bypass the passage through the VC and reroute it. I burning 3-4 qts per 5k miles so im hunting now like crazy on where to start. I'll PM the link to you also

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=188457&highlight=replace+turbo


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

thanks for the link.

ya that was helpful. here's a good thread on our problematic valve covers and how they're set up:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/567132-A-look-inside-the-Valve-Cover-%28Pics-Video%29-2nd-oil-separator

not sure if bypassing is a good option for everyone--my thought is if you look at the different compartments in the valve cover, the bypass is only curative if the crack involves that compartment for the EVAP passage, but what if you have a crack somewhere else? 

i'm leaning towards just replacing the whole thing. 
sucks that it's winter time here, i can't tell if my car exhaust is producing more smoke than usual.

would also like to know where's a reasonable online site to order OEM parts like the valve cover.


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## 2006_A3_2.0T (Jan 11, 2013)

aznsap said:


> thanks for the link.
> 
> ya that was helpful. here's a good thread on our problematic valve covers and how they're set up:
> http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/567132-A-look-inside-the-Valve-Cover-%28Pics-Video%29-2nd-oil-separator
> ...


I was going to point out ECS tuning but I cant find it on their site. Maybe they dont carry it anymore?

Well, I just got the IE EVAP bypass kit. Now I need to gather a few small parts like clamps and adpator, to install it.
Iam burning the same amount of oil. I used to carry a liter of oil to top it off, now I carry 5 liters with me all times.


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

Likely best to replace the v-cover. You can do the evap reroute...and you could opt for a VTA catch-can with rear block off plate for a more permanent fix to avoid replacing the v-cover. I have a thread out there and I did my own evap bypass. It worked for most of the consumption and exhaust smoke but there is evidence of it starting up again. 

Basically...if the evap allows oil into its route...you can count on the pcv route to follow suit at some point in time as they are side by side:


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

ROH ECHT said:


> Likely best to replace the v-cover. You can do the evap reroute...and you could opt for a VTA catch-can with rear block off plate for a more permanent fix to avoid replacing the v-cover. I have a thread out there and I did my own evap bypass. It worked for most of the consumption and exhaust smoke but there is evidence of it starting up again.
> 
> Basically...if the evap allows oil into its route...you can count on the pcv route to follow suit at some point in time as they are side by side:



thanks ROH!


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## lausch (Mar 29, 2002)

aznsap said:


> ...are there any other signs that point to a cracked valve cover?


Oil in your spark plug wells. Pull the engine cover and pull out each coil. If there's oil on the coil, there's your sign.


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## low_passat (Sep 11, 2010)

aznsap said:


> would also like to know where's a reasonable online site to order OEM parts like the valve cover.


$169.52 from vwpartscenter.net. One of the many online dealership parts websites

http://www.vwpartscenter.net/parts/index.cfm?make=Volkswagen&year=2007&model=GTI&submodel=Base&searchText=06F103469K&action=oePartSearch&siteid=215911


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

low_passat said:


> $169.52 from vwpartscenter.net. One of the many online dealership parts websites
> 
> http://www.vwpartscenter.net/parts/index.cfm?make=Volkswagen&year=2007&model=GTI&submodel=Base&searchText=06F103469K&action=oePartSearch&siteid=215911


thanks!


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## CoastieDubr (Jun 1, 2013)

Would a “cracked” or damaged V-cover as described above cause an external leak? I have a small slow oil leak on the top left rear of my engine. I also think this to be the culprit of my oil consumption. Anyone else experience this? Thanks in advance


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## EL 34 (Aug 14, 2014)

the true root cause for oil consumption is blow-by. the vacuum created by the PCV just makes things worse. bad, worn or improperly installed piston rings are the real reason. to really resolve the issue i'd install new aftermarket pistons that provide an air tight seal.


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## 2006_A3_2.0T (Jan 11, 2013)

EL 34 said:


> the true root cause for oil consumption is blow-by. the vacuum created by the PCV just makes things worse. bad, worn or improperly installed piston rings are the real reason. to really resolve the issue i'd install new aftermarket pistons that provide an air tight seal.


a DIY would be nice opcorn:


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

EL 34 said:


> the true root cause for oil consumption is blow-by. the vacuum created by the PCV just makes things worse. bad, worn or improperly installed piston rings are the real reason. to really resolve the issue i'd install new aftermarket pistons that provide an air tight seal.



well, i notice when my engine is warmed up, the smoke is significantly less. would this speak against piston rings though as being the primary cause? 
my thought is if the oil is warmed up, it's thinner so should smoke more after the engine is warm--whereas i definitely notice more smoke after sitting idle when the engine is still cold.

probably doesn't help that my work is about 5 miles so most of the week my car hardly gets warmed up in this brutal cold chicago weather.


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## CoastieDubr (Jun 1, 2013)

I know about blow by and its symptoms. However, I have never experienced smoke of any kind from my car. It has to be the PCV rear valve or something else entirely. IF there was a crack on the exterior portion of the plastic valve cover, I would think this would cause the leak or even if the PCV check valve is clogged would make some kind of a leak. Just want to know if anyone has experienced this. Don’t want to start taking things off w/ out having replacement parts or an idea of want it could be. Thanks


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

well at the maximum my oil consumption was over 1qt / 1000k miles (mostly local driving).
and I'd like to add one other symptom to see if anyone else has noticed this--
I park my car consistently in the same spot in the garage. there's oil spots that look like get shot/sprayed out of the back of my exhaust upon starting up.
so just curious if anyone else has had oil consumption AND noticed this problem. I do not have smoke with high revving.

hoping it points more to the valve cover, as i just replaced that--assuming i'll have to drive it quite a bit until I can tell if this really helped solve the problem or not. so time will tell. 

also used a scope to look at my valves today, and they're all gunked up again!
i did a manual cleaning of the valves just over a year ago, about 5k miles ago, which are in this thread:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7015690-Cam-follower-intake-valve-cleaning-thermostat-semi-DIY

i'd try to post a picture of the valve i took today, but it looks almost as bad as the dirty valves when i had 55k of buildup on them. except this time it looks more like oil/sludge that is the cause of the buildup.


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

just wanted to bump this up and give a quick update.
so i changed my valve cover.

but still in as i mentioned previously "I park my car consistently in the same spot in the garage. there's oil spots that look like get shot/sprayed out of the back of my exhaust upon starting up.
so just curious if anyone else has had oil consumption AND noticed this problem. I do not have smoke with high revving."

i'm still noticing oil splatter behind my exhaust in the garage. i think i have oil consumption still despite the new valve cover.


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## iqoair (May 30, 2015)

Mine smoked like crazy and was using about 1 quart per 100 miles, which for the previous owner caused engine failure. I rebuilt the motor and used the old valve cover and ultimately had the same issue. Replaced the valve cover and it hasn't used a drop of oil over 6000 miles.


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

just another update--i've put on about 600 miles since my oil change, and my oil dipstick is roughly 4/10 of the way down from MAX to MIN. so roughly i'm still burning 1qt per 1,000 miles.
again, i've changed my valve cover, so that was not the culprit.
also all my driving is local and short trips, which probably does not help either.
and my exhaust shoots oil splatter in the same spot where i park my car in the garage. i have a piece of cardboard propped up behind my car so the oil splatter doesn't get on other stuff sitting in my garage.
no daily driveability issues that i've noticed.


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## CoastieDubr (Jun 1, 2013)

Haven't posted in a while, but wanted to update. My main issue w/ the valve cover leak was a bad gasket. I had time to change it not too long ago, and so far no signs of external leaks on driveway or engine. Still too early to tell if this also fixed the oil consumption; will update once i change the oil. 
:thumbup:


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

Been a long time since I posted here. I did the EVAP reroute...that didn't work. I then removed my valve cover and inspected it and found the inner splash plate was no longer completely sealed. So I replaced the valve cover...



...and that didn't solve the oil consumption and smoke from the exhaust.

I then went ahead with a valve job/head rebuild. After the head was removed...this is what was found:









While the head was getting worked on...the valve stem seals were found to be hard and loose on the stems and all were replaced. Also, the valve stem guides were found to be worn beyond specs and I replaced all the stem guides. While the head was off...we decided to remove a piston and we found a compression ring stuck in the piston groove. I replaced the #4 piston and all of the rings. We added 0.030" shims to the valve springs and put it all back together. I have 7k miles on it and it didn't use any noticeable amount of oil by the 5k oil change or to date...and no more smoke from the exhaust under high vacuum.


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

thanks for weighing in everyone. that seems like a big job--i defintely do not have the know how to take out my engine and rebuild it.









so here's a picture so everyone knows what i'm talking about the oil spraying out of my exhaust. I have that piece of cardboard behind my exhaust--keep it there because right behind my car i have a storage rack and i don't want to get that black stuff on anything.
i'm assuming it's oil because of it's color and i'm burning oil at about 1L/1k miles with mostly short city driving.

i did get a PM suggesting that it's probably my turbo that's leaking oil. right now the car runs fine, and the cost/inconvenience of adding oil intermittently is enough for me to see what the problem could be, but not yet enough to tear down my engine or replace the turbo unless i'm sure.


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## EL 34 (Aug 14, 2014)

like i said, i think it has to do with bad piston rings. my engine used to spray oil out of the exhaust too. i had to always top up the oil. i had the engine rebuilt and it doesn't use any oil and my tail pipes are clean.


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

aznsap said:


>


Mine did exactly that...it also created smoke under heavy boost, during high vacuum (coasting to a stop in a low gear), and during the takeoffs from stops following high vacuum approaches to stop. Likely going to need to do valve stem guides and seals...unfortunately, probably not going to be off the hook with the rings. Likely going to be worn seal rings, but might as well do all three per piston.


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

ROH ECHT said:


> Mine did exactly that...it also created smoke under heavy boost, during high vacuum (coasting to a stop in a low gear), and during the takeoffs from stops following high vacuum approaches to stop. Likely going to need to do valve stem guides and seals...unfortunately, probably not going to be off the hook with the rings. Likely going to be worn seal rings, but might as well do all three per piston.


thanks everyone for your input.

i'm not that technically inclined to do that job myself--roughly how much would this job you're speaking of run at a decent shop?


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

aznsap said:


> thanks everyone for your input.
> 
> i'm not that technically inclined to do that job myself--roughly how much would this job you're speaking of run at a decent shop?


Every thing I had done will exceed $3000usd. I pay about half the labor rates and it still went $2600usd. If I were you...I would attempt the new valve cover first as it does solve this for many. I am likely much harder on the engine than others are...so might be why I had more going on than just the v-cover. And, you can probably do the replacement yourself.


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## EL 34 (Aug 14, 2014)

i love my rebuilt engine.

if money was no object, i'd get this:
http://www.performancebyie.com/ie-race-engines-vw-audi-2-0t-fsi-stage-1-short-block


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## gamehenge~ (May 7, 2004)

Before buying a $250 valve cover, maybe take off the one you have currently and inspect it for leaks/separation of the plastic pieces, especially the plastic channel that runs through the PCV system. Again, as I mentioned in the PM I can think of only 1 way raw oil can get into/blow out the back of your exhaust, and that is through the turbo seals. 

The cracked valve cover issue results in oil getting into your intake (mainly pooling in the intake pipe below your throttle body) and then burning up in the combustion chamber as it flows from the intake. In my case, the oil isnt burning, just pooling in the intake tube and leaking out the coupler between the tube and the intercooler.

Raw oil in the exhaust tells me that the oil is getting in somewhere AFTER the combustion chamber, because it would otherwise be burnt up. Bad/leaking rings/valve seals can cause oil to leak into the combustion chamber when the car isnt running, true, but would be subsequently burned up when you start the car (this is the reason you sometimes will see a big puff of smoke on engine startup on a car with bad rings/valve seals).

My 2c, but check your valve cover BEFORE you go out and buy one.


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

I agree...valve cover first, but I would make sure one is available at the dealer so if you find a problem...you can run down in another vehicle and pick up the new one without having to do the whole "back on-and off-and on again" with the v-covers. Mine had to be ordered and took a couple of days to arrive and I just didn't pick it up until I knew mine was bad.


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## TBomb (Sep 23, 2009)

So, I'm starting to get a little concerned with my engine as well. I am having to add ~1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles or so. Replaced the valve cover and it still does it. Running the BSH PCV bypass plate so I don't think it could be a PCV issue. I too have the oil/soot splatter marks from the tailpipe on startup in my garage. I occasionally see the blue cloud of smoke under hard acceleration. So, am I looking at rings, head rebuild, and possibly turbo issues? I am inclined to go ahead and do rings and upgrade the rods at the same time so I can do a turbo upgrade, if I'm going to have all that work done anyway. The head rebuild part is a little concerning... Ugh...this car... :facepalm:


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

ROH ECHT said:


> Every thing I had done will exceed $3000usd. I pay about half the labor rates and it still went $2600usd. If I were you...I would attempt the new valve cover first as it does solve this for many. I am likely much harder on the engine than others are...so might be why I had more going on than just the v-cover. And, you can probably do the replacement yourself.


i mentioned in earlier in the thread i changed the valve cover already. easy enough job and common problem i thought why not. 
so it's still persisting despite the new valve cover.

any harm in waiting? i don't mind adding oil and day to day driveability isn't affected. i don't push my car that hard, but it still pulls really well when i need it to (APR stage 2).


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