imgdoc

Hi all....can someone give me an estimate of how much I should be looking at having an oil pan gasket replaced on my 1996 A6 non-quatro. I am in New England.

austinado16

And there are 2 oil pans, the bottom one, and the upper one. Both gaskets are robust.

It's more likely that your leak is from umpteen other sources and being blown around the engine while running down the road.

Put the front of the car up on ramps, lay a big piece of cardboard under the engine and transmission, and use 2 or 3 or 4 cans of carburetor cleaner and a roll of those blue paper shop towels to really clean the engine.

Then let it sit and run in the driveway for 30min-1hr and see where the leak is coming from. If it doesn't leak sitting and idling, try it at 2,000rpm for 5-10min and check again.

If still no leaks, go for a brief drive and check again.

The most common leakers are
-valve cover gaskets
-the cam plug at the rear of the right cylinder head
-valley pan gasket
-oil pressure switch
-oil temp switch
-o-ring between the heat exchanger and the oil pan, especially in cold winter weather!
-front crank seal
-steering rack
-right front transmission output flange seal
-rear transmission output flange seal
-oil pump on the front of the block at about 11o'clock facing the oil pump and you can sometimes tighten the loose bolts there and cure it.

So confirm what you've got, before spending money throwing parts at it.