Trackballcr

Hi
I just recently went over replacing all the cam cover gaskets on my AR 2002 2.7 Tiptronic. The engine was leaking oil like crazy. My mechanic charged me a lot of money without certainty of the effectiveness of the work, so I decided to take the task myself. Went over several write-ups and videos on how to disassemble cam cover, cam shafts, etc. So finally completed the task. In addition, while everything was taken apart, I changed the upper radiator hose, which was in bad shape (particularly the upper part that connects to the radiator).
Once I completed the task, noticed a small drip of coolant towards the front of the engine. Fire it up, the engine started, which was my major concern, however the drip went from seldom to moderate. Know it may loose about a liter in a matter of a day. I've checked the upper radiator hose, thinking that maybe got loose or something, but the connection is dry.
Any ideas what could be wrong? I've read some other posts, but most of them relate to coolant leaks towards the back of the engine. This seems to be in the front. Actually the coolant accumulates in the top part of the oil pan and drips towards the front and a little bit over the oil filter.
It doesn't matter if the engine is running or not.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

09mehashaw

Could be a crack in the thermostat housing which is a PITA to get to, but fairly straight forward. When was your last TB change and how many miles are you at?

all(over)road

Yeah, my bet it is also the thermostat housing, they always seem to leak, especially AFTER you just had that area all apart. BTDT twice on mine.

AudiNut87

try pressurizing the system cold and looking for leaks. that car is really hard to see all the various crap plastic fittings.

ive seen some actually blow smoke into the cooling sys cold and look for where its rising from to find leaks...

Trackballcr

It turned out to be the thermostat housing. First was kind of difficult to see, however after a couple of weeks and having to take apart the front for other jobs, realised the leak fairly easy.
Not sure if had mentioned before, but coolant leak on the passenger's front side of the engine, 99% sure is the thermostat housing. Checked all the possibilities, very carefully. No other option.
Hope this helps
BTW, thermostat housing is easy to replace, and if you're crafty and have patience, you can replace it without having to remove the lock carrier, which is PITA.