roshanjg

I am having a massive oil leak from the front camshaft (exhaust cam) seal after the seal was replaced during a TB service. I went back in and replaced the seal but the leak continues. The sequence of event is given below.
1)TB service. Noticed that the front camshaft (exhaust cam) was leaking (small leak); so replaced the seal.

2)Buttoned everything back together added seafoam to the oilengine to perform a flush and started the car. Noticed oil leak on from upper TB cover (almost a drop every 5seconds) after the engine runs about 5-10minutes.

3)Went back in and replaced camshaft seal (checked the camshaft and did not notice any scoring or any imperfections that would cause a poor seal). Same leak after starting the car after the engine runs about 5-10minutes.

4)I searched the forums and found threads indicating possible malfuctioning PCV system over pressurizing the valve cover and causing such issues. So, checked/cleaned PCV valve and pancake valves. The vacuum suction valve was pulling oil from the crank case breather into the intake manifold and was very dirty (Isn't this abnormal?). Next, restarted the car with the oil cap removed (taking PCV out of the picture) but the oil leak continues at the same rate.

Couple of questions:
-With the oil cap removed, I noticed that the oil under the valve cover rises up to the valve cover gasket with the engine idling. Is this oil level under the valve cover normal? Or am I having some restricted oil flow somewhere causing rise in oil level under the valve cover? What is the oil path out of the valve cover?
-Would seafoam have degraded the oil and caused the leak? I am going to remove the oil with the seafoam and try again.
-I noticed the 2 seals replaced were of 2 different types: 1 is with an inner spring and the other one without the spring (I think PTFE type from the dealer). Which one is the preferred type? I have replaced several seals before without any issues. The install direction is correct, used the proper seal puller for the replacement and tried seating the seal at different depths. The leak is definitely between the camshaft and seal. Do I need to apply some lubricant/sealing grease on the inner seal surface during installation? The 2 seals were lubricated with engine oil before installation on the the camshaft.

Any inputs would be greatly appreciated...

A4 B6 1.8T quattro
~115K miles

roshanjg

Update: changed oil but the leak continues. Opened the timing belt cover and I can clearly see the leak marks from the camshaft seal (from the inner sealing lip).

I know that there are 2 types of seals. The one the dealer sells is PTFE type (without an inner spring). There are seals with inner spring. I have tried both without much luck. Is one type any better than the other?

Any inputs would be very much appreciated.

roshanjg

FIXED

Removed camshafts and sandpapered/polished the sealing surfaces. After putting back the camshafts, installed the PTFE camshaft seal WITHOUT oiling the sealing surfaces. No leaks after driving about 200 miles. I believe the there might have been some residue left from the old seal that caused a poor seal. Polishing the camshaft must have removed this residue.