Phil G.

I know this issue has been posted before. I've got an '01 A4 2.8 w/ tip now with 50K miles. Had the cam seal replaced 2 years ago on one bank only after oil leak discovered. Now, the car is again going through one quart every 3 weeks or so. No odor, no puddles. But, very suspcicious of same problem in other bank. Car's going in next week for look see. The car's otherwise in great shape and it's not worth it to me to get rid of it for a newer one at this point. Anything else this could be? I've used synthetic 15-30W forever with every 5000 mile changes. Can't remember what it cost last time to fix, but dealer charged around $1500 I think. Only hope is if it's the same bank, I won't incur full charge.

Audi Junkie

5w or 10w-30 weight synth is a pretty pointless exercise. Those grade are just fine in dino. It's not what Audi specs call for anyway, they call for 40 weight. Do you think you need 5w-40 synth? How cold is it right now? If it gets below 0f often, ok, try some Rotella T Synth 5w-40 otherwise 10w-40 dino or Hi-Miles. Most 30 weight synth oil burns like hell.

If you want to do an Auto-Rx application INSTEAD of Hi-Miles oil, that's fine too. I'd do a normal treatment of one full bottle, rinse with plain oil and then split another bottle up into 3-4 "maintenance" doses. That should clean the engine, clean the seals and condition them. Hi-Miles oil gives good results too, but ARX is better, even if you just go with one bottle for now.