Hi guys,my 3.0T is dripping oil,i think i know what is the problem i just need to hear some opinions before i start work on it...its dripping oil from the sump plug,when its stationary it will drip oil about the size of a hand in about 2 days,when i drive it somewhere and then park it drips more like 2 hand sized stains in 3-4 hours,i guess thats because of the pressure that builds when driven.What bothers me is the loss of oil when not driven for days.Im thinking at some point a "very capable" mechanic used the same sump pulg a sec time and destroid the filet inside the sump pan. Do i have the right idea or not,what do you guys think? should i just go ahead and replace the sump pan or can it be stopped any other way?thank you

Hello Alex,

Seems fairly simple to me:- you first buy a genuine new sump plug and washer and try that, carefully noting whether the old plug screws out nicely and the new one does the same. 

If you have any ( in caps) concerns about the threads, then you must ( in caps) renew the sump, if you want to avoid losing your oil and wrecking your engine. 

Kind regards,

Gareth, 

Thx for the reply, i forgot to mention in the first post,i have already changed a sump plug and washer,and come to think about you might be right when i took the old one out i did feel a bit of a hold but in my inexperience i thought its just dust or something,but now i know ,def a new oil pan...you said will damage the engine,i take it its not a good idea to keep topping it up?

Hello Alex,

Obviously you will know more about whether the threads in this sump are acceptable or not, since you have worked on it. If you have renewed the sump plug and washer, and it still leaks at that point, then something must be wrong there. How wrong? Could be wrong enough for the plug to decide to part ways with the sump and deposit all your oil - wrecked engine! You have to decide on the risk here. 

Continue topping up OK?

See above, plus the fact that oil leaks = potential for MOT failure, so probably no debate there.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

I had a similar problem on our a5 and bought a sump plug valve.

http://www.stahlbus.com/products/en/oil-drain-valve/index.php

we fitted this with threadlock to seal any leak, this cured the problem and the plug will never need to be removed again, also makes for easy oil changes in the future.