Just bought a "Nearly new" audi with an oil leak!

espresso

spacey2012 wrote: »

The pressurisation from the breather system is part of the Oil circulation and pressure system, a leaking or worse still missing cap will reduce oil pressure and disrupt the oil circulation particularly around the camshaft and followers .

Rubbish!...........

mrjaywarren

I checked the oil, first thing I did in fact but the onboard computer couldn't tell me how much was in the car. Next step was to call the dealership I purchased from (the day before) who advised me to call RAC to check it, the RAC had to take the car to the dealer and organised for audi assist to arrange a hire car.

And yes, I've posted on a consumer advice forum for advice on a purchase I made that is quickly turning into a massive pain!

WTFH

Did you check the oil using the dipstick, or is it the dipstick which is missing?
When you tried to check using the computer, did the "low oil" message appear?

mrjaywarren

The RAC technician told me that there is no dipstick on these audi's however there is a dipstick hole (where the cap is missing from) which is used by the dealership to manually check the oil level.

This is why he couldn't check when he came out.

Dave_®f©

I can understand the OP frustration....a one day old purchase of an approved premium brand car and ends up without a vehicle and oil patches on his driveway.

I would be pretty !!!!ed off too!

WTFH

Ah, that makes sense (well it doesn't but it does).
Sorry, I didn't realise that Audi don't think cars need dipsticks.

If the cap is missing from the top of the tube where only Audi dealers can measure the oil depth then you haven't lost lots of oil. you may have lost some, and it may look like lots, but in reality in won't be.
That tube goes all the way down into the sump.
That tube is NOT pressurised.

Get the dealer to give you an actual reading of how much oil is in the car. They can do this because they have a dipstick they use (but to save money, Audi don't fit them to their cars)

mrjaywarren

I've got to pay for the new cap, engine clean and diagnostics and the dealership I purchased from have agreed in to cover the costs by cheque later on, they've also agreed to cover the cost of any damages as a result.

Thanks for everyone's help,

TrickyWicky

mrjaywarren wrote: »

Wow! Ask for some advice and get branded a chav! People used to be nice here.... What happened?

I didn't call you a chav, I said you bought a chavmobile. There is a difference

Joe_Horner

spacey2012 wrote: »

The pressurisation from the breather system is part of the Oil circulation and pressure system, a leaking or worse still missing cap will reduce oil pressure and disrupt the oil circulation particularly around the camshaft and followers .
I really do hope those posting that this is not the case are not working in the trade charging people.
If you are, book a refresher course, things have moved on since the "old days" .

Err, no again. The breather system is just that - to allow the engine block to "breathe" or release pressure build-up.

You inevitably get some leakage of combustion presure past the piston rings and, with a sealed block with no breather, that pressure would eventually blow seals (or even the sump) because they're not designed to contain the several hundred PSI that would eventually build up in there.

In the old days before emission controls most cars had a simple "breather" pipe coming off the rocker cover with a crude wire mesh filter to stop liquid oil from blowing out. Sometimes they even did away with the filter and simply lead it down to the bottom of the engine bay where the liquid was allowed to blow out under the car along with any fumes.

In order to improve air quality, these were changed around the early to mid 1970s to systems that vent the sump back into the induction system so that the engine burns its own oil vapours.

These "breather" systems have nothing at all to do with oil pressure, which is produced by the oil pump and delivered to where it's needed (mainly the crank and camshaft bearings) by oil galleries, which have no connection at all to the sump or rocker / cam cover. The camshaft is lubricated by this pressurised oil, which continually leaks from around its bearing journals and falls back to the sump ready to be pumped again. Many followers nowadays are also fed with pressurised oil, which serves to lubricate and adjust them. If they're shim adjusted then they rely on oil spill from the camshaft area to lubricate them.

On the way back to the sump, the oil will often be used to splash lubricate the timing chain (if fitted), for which pressurised lubrication is neither needed nor practical. Some chains also have oil jets directed at them, but they're still not pressure lubricated becase the oil isn't under pressure once it gets there.