Bank 2 cam adjuster gasket is missing

[V8weight]

As the title states, cam adjuster seal on bank 2 is completely missing, meaning that there has been a 1 inch hole in between my valve cover and head for an undetermined amount of time. Probably quite a while since I noticed quite a bit of residual oil on the front of bank 2 during my timing belt change. This is scary, I wash my engine regularly.
http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/Pellis833/005-7.jpg

[DHall1]

open up that pic then zoom in.

Its like looking for a sky scraper with a 4000x optical zoom.

my head hurts


Oh the monkeys are at it again. I wonder why we do our own work. Friggin gas leak again on our E55. 3 time.

[V8weight]

open up that pic then zoom in.

Its like looking for a sky scraper with a 4000x optical zoom.

my head hurts



Oh the monkeys are at it again. I wonder why we do our own work. Friggin gas leak again on our E55. 3 time.
Picture edited....Is that more what you had in mind?

[ben916]

sorry pat, I can't see a durn thing....

[DHall1]

I need 2 images.

First image standing across the street.

Second image zoom in to get the closer look.

[V8weight]

Ah, you guys are killing me...hold tight, I'll see what I can do. It's hard to take a picture of what I'm trying to show because the camera naturally wants to zoom to the closer surrounding areas rather than the nook where the missing part is.

[V8weight]

Ok, here we go. We are in three stages zooming in towards the drivers side diverter valve. Behind the drivers side belt cover beyond the diverter valve you can seed a half moon shaped opening below the cam adjuster (thing with black wiring connector going into it. In that half moon shaped opening there should be a rubber seal or plug if you will. And yes, said opening into my heads and camshafts seems to have allowed sand to enter.
http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/Pellis833/006-7.jpg
http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/Pellis833/007-8.jpg
http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww228/Pellis833/009-3.jpg

[DHall1]

Who the hell was in there? When they did the coolant after pump?

[hahnmgh63]

Or did it pop out and fall down into the timing belt area? If it didn't damage the belt already then it is probably sitting at the very bottom of the timing belt cover?

[V8weight]

Or did it pop out and fall down into the timing belt area? If it didn't damage the belt already then it is probably sitting at the very bottom of the timing belt cover?
That actually doesn't worry me. There is a front and rear side to the timing belt cover totally encasing it from the outside, so I know that it didn't find it's way in there. When I did the belt I noticed the front side of that bank was coated in oil and just assumed it was the valve cover gasket, so I'm fairly positive it was leaking or missing long before I did the recent timing belt service. This is actually a common problem with all VW's and Audi's, from the 4.2 all the way down to the 1.8t. I actually had to replace one of these on my 1.8 Passat a few years ago. What bothers me is as I said I noted a leak up there some time ago and asked the Audi dealer to take a look at it and they failed to find this, but then again so did I.

[DHall1]

I even wiped down that bank and missed it. Didnt look high enough

[grizz]

The 1/2 moon seal sits further inside the head ..... I can assure your it's still there ... If it was missing oil would me all over the engine ... grizz

[V8weight]

The 1/2 moon seal sits further inside the head ..... I can assure your it's still there ... If it was missing oil would me all over the engine ... grizz
Thanks for that info, I'll have to get in there with an inspection mirror and take a closer look. So the oil that's seeping out isn't sufficient enough for that particular leak? Now that I think about it you have to be right. When my passat started leaking out of that seal, it was leaving puddles in the driveway and oil was running onto the exhaust and smoking at stop lights.