crude photos of slight oil seeping

 

Hello @tteplitzmd ,
Sorry but, I barely see anything, a faint minute stain, and the flashlight beam outer edges kind of makes it harder to see, and it is also right in the area of the fill neck, have you ever topped it off, and possibly spill a few drops, I know I have over the years, this certainly looks like someone looking to make some money on a job not needed right now, especially at his quoted "17 hours"...

Johnny

 

Sorry the photos are so bad.

I could clean it up and see if it recurs. Gonna take it for a second opinion next week from a competitor.

I will report back. It seems like the only way to get an answer is to open it up and inspect the seals and gaskets and bolts.

 

@tteplitzmd ,
That is not what I would do... if you open it up, as in remove the valve covers, then just do the job, otherwise just leave it alone until it becomes a issue, right now I see none.

Just for reference, my Supersports engine had similar stains in that area, so I just went back into my photos to show you the oil stains running down the filler neck that runs on to the valve cover, I cleaned the area and have no new stains yet, and that engine only had 11k miles at the time of photos, you can see in my photos that one has more staining than the other, the 2011 with 11k had less than the 2008 valve cover I replaced it with, the 2008 had 17k, but both had signs of oil running down from the cap, either by previous owner or servicing personnel spilling, or not wiping the cap and neck upon removing the cap, I wipe it and the dipstick tube neck every time I put my hands on either of them.

For further reference, my 05 A8L W12 still has the original valve cover gaskets/seals, and she is at 200K, but she did just start to leak around 190k, so i will have to get to her soon.

Johnny

.

 

Thanks, Johnny.

I'm not confident that I captured all the areas in my photos. I want to see what an independent shop says for a verbal estimate.
I'll ask him to show me the seepage and photograph it if it's different from what I posted.

I'm inclined to do nothing for now as you suggest. If it worsens or spreads that's another story. I will try to post better photos by
next weekend.

I'm a physician and it's sort of like deciding to do an exploratory surgery (see what's going on inside). Doesn't seem to warrant the risk (dollars) right now.

 

Hello @tteplitzmd ,

Based on what I saw in your photo you are making a smart and prudent move to let this repair go for now and maybe forever. There is nothing I see that needs to be addressed.

As a physician, you have a vital role in this day/age and I hope you can be at mental peace with this so you can focus on so much more important work.

All the Best to you,

Bwings

 

Got a second opinion, 8 hours labor with the spark plugs replaced at the same time. Gaskets and seals to be replaced, perhaps not the fancy rubber bolts unless necessary.
Certainly more reasonable than the "17 hours" guy's quote.

I'm going to wait a while but it seems reasonable to get it done at some point. A better photo of the seeping is below:

 

Hi ​​​​@tteplitzmd

I think Johnny mentioned this and I agree, given where the supposed leak (sweating) is, it might not be a leak at all. It is right below the oil fill port. If a single drop came off the funnel as the tech was removing it and it dropped onto the ledge of the valve cover, it would probably look just like your pic.

It would also be "nice" if you could give that single cover bolt shown in the pic a SLIGHT turn tightening it. Nothing major just a 1/16th of a turn NOT ALOT. It needs a torx bit but I don't recall the torx size off hand.

Another thing I would do is take a cotton ball or old rag, use a little rubbing alcohol (Docs usually have access to that), rub this area clean of the oil stain, watch it, see how fast, or if it even comes back.

 

The photo doesn't show the oil that is farther down and not easy to photograph.

I actually just cleaned off the area I can see, and will see if it accumulates again over time.

I'm not equipped to torq anything, so I'm at the mercy of the guys who work on these things for a living.
They always want to replace around here, not repair.

 

You don't need a torque wrench - just a Torx bit - also called a 'star' bit.

 

Will give it a try for $15 on Amazon.

 

I cleaned up the area I could get to with denatured alcohol prep pads (the square cotton pads they use to clean the skin before drawing blood).
I used my just acquired Torx bit, and the bolt near the stain was plenty tight already, not something that would yield to manual pressure for even a sixteenth of a turn.

I'm going to follow Johnny's guidance and just watch it. Next service/oil change will be in a year at which time I can revisit this unless
there's smoke. I'm skeptical that it's from sloppy oil service though.

 

@tteplitzmd ,
Thank you for the update.

Johnny

 

I have a 2014 GTC Speed W12. Same thing a bit oil residue on the front of the engine block on both sides. I have inspected it from the bottom side and there is not even a drip hanging from the engine. Just a bit of oil stain on the front. My father had a saying that if there is oil coming out there is still oil inside. And he has a point. The amount of leaking compared to what’s inside is probable no more than a spoon full in a swimming pool. I will clean it. Keep an eye on it. Probably the seal has hardened because of the engine heat. When the time comes for more a service I might have it done together with the plugs, oil and filter.

 

Identical to my experience: it hasn't changed in more than 2 years.