oil on spark plug leads

[AudiA8Quattro]

although i'm a bit surprised he didn't spot the problem himself! must be a fair bit of oil down the front of the engine if that's the case..

Not necessarily...
The gasket may have just failed around the spark plug holes, its a common problem.

[axewielder]

should put a bit of gasket paste where the gasket rides up over the cam pullley end

[Christo77]

I removed mine once just to give the tatty cover a better finish..used no gasket cement on refitting and it's still bone dry including the critical ends.. i guess some do some don't..

[axewielder]

it says to in the proper vw manual + there was a thread the other day of someone replacing theres about 5 times because it kept leaking+ some others with similar, just putting it up as if its done right will not do any harm+ could prevent someone having to do the job twice

[Christo77]

Yes of course, makes sense then    I'm sure he'll pick up on it.. cheers

[AudiA8Quattro]

If the gasket is ok and both mating faces are clean and flat then sealant should not be required.
Infact in all the vw manuals i've ever read, it advises not to combine sealant with a gasket.

[Christo77]

Infact.. I think AudiA8Quattro has cracked it..
If this chap has a 16v motor which i now think he probably has.. it's them spark plug seals..
Think i've wrongly assumed 8v..in which case my write up won't follow in some respects..   gtiscott my mistake if so    keep reading though eh..

[gtiscott]

yes 16v it is...so do i still need a new gasket?

[AudiA8Quattro]

Yes