catch2otwo

So I took my car in to get a big oil leak diagnosed and sure enough it was the timing chain tensioner, cam plug and valve cover gasket. Both sides. Everything has been covered in oil for the past few weeks. So its in the shop getting that done. Wish I had more time or I'd do it myself. Oh well it is what it is.

The CEL is on as well. Shop scanned it and said it was a misfire on cyl 4 and 5. Said it could be anything from bad plugs to shot catalytic converters. He also mentioned that since its been leaking oil, the timing chain tensioner possibly wouldn't have enough oil pressure to keep it in tension causing a slight timing change.

The mechanic mentioned that the catalytic converters were big money and only available from audi. I looked at auto haus az and ECS tuning where I usually get parts and neither of them had anything other then a universal fit one. Anyone know where to get a bolt in cat if I end up needing one. He mentioned the price being well into the thousand to two thousand range. I paid freaking 3500 for the car, not sure I want to drop that much coin on this 10 year old wagon.

4Driver4

How old is your timing belt? Might be a good time to do that too.

I call BS on the leaking oil causing a timing change. A cam adjuster seal is a low pressure leak. There is no impact to timing unless the car is run out of oil. That theory is just plain crazy....as is the bad cat theory. It's probably a leaking valve cover gasket or bad coolant temp sensor.

Don't sweat it. There is nothing wrong with the cats.

catch2otwo

Thanks for the response 4 driver,

Question: I checked the valve cover before I brought it in. Its a little bit wet, but there was another leak. I tried to be pretty thorough but I just have no time these days to spend all day on the car. But the shop has a pretty good rep here for audi vw and mini work. You mentioned the bad coolant temp sensor... What affect would that have on any of the symptoms I'm having? any ideas on the misfire code? So far I told them just to fix the leak, and clear the codes. If the codes come back, ill do the plugs myself and then go from there.

4Driver4

You say that you checked the valve cover. Does that mean that you pulled the wires off the plugs and looked at them? Oil leaks in the spark plug wells cause misfires.

The CTS would contribute to misfires.

I think you did the right thing: fix the oil leaks and I think the misfire issue will disappear.

catch2otwo

When I checked the valve covers, I did NOT pull the plugs and check the bores. I completely forgot about that, Im so used to working on cars where the plugs go in between the headers... totally forgot about that. hopefully once the oil leak is taken care of, it will be easier to diagnose any other problems. Its always impossible to fix more then 1 problem at once.

catch2otwo

ended up changing the valve cover gaskets, the half moon gaskets, and the cam plugs. So far no more oil leaks, and since the cel was cleared hasnt come back yet. Drove about an 2 hours today and no light yet.

Just Me

bat cat causing the misfire? Possible in a circuitous, theoretical way, but not the 2nd item on my list. plugs. wires. Coilpaks. Not in that order.

Cats generally don't fail unless something causes them to deteriorate - ignored 02 sensor, burning oil, etc.

Cant comment on all the seals.

G

catch2otwo

CEL came back this morning. Looks like plugs would be the first to get replaced.

catch2otwo

any recommendations on plugs? Car is completely stock and will stay that way.