Fluid leak over and down side of trans

A6 All/ S6 All
#1

So I have not dove into this much, but was considering putting my borescope into the hole where the starter is after I remove the starter to see if any fluid is inside or dripping from the back of the motor or around the TQ.

Mind you the engine has 70k on it so doubtful it is the rear main seal but it could be. Also the PS lines were wet, maybe this could be PS fluid.

The drips and leak are not wet, but the are sticky and appear to be “old leaks” or could simply be motor oil from when the figure 8 orig on the oil cooler was bad causing oil to drip down the front and back of the engine

I was thinking I could drain and fill the ATS and Front /middle Diff fluid and see which has less fluid and identify that way. I am trying /hoping I dont need to seperate the trans from the engine

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You can see no fluid is on the engine, the seam where the trans bell mates with the engine, there is ZERO leakage on the engine. Possibly when audi replaced the engine they left the dirt, grime, and old leak residue from old problems on the trans and simply mated the new engine and reinstalled without cleaning?!

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I think that these leaks are from the ATF and diff coolers

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#2

Definitely wasn’t a serious leak, probably more like Oil vapor from the vent or whatever happened to the old engine. Dust/dirt adhere’s to the oiled surface and makes it look much worse than it is. And yes, the dealer nowadays would never clean the transmission like a good independent would. No sense or pride in their work. What year of car? I notice they look like all Steel bellhousing bolts, I thought they were all 2x use Aluminum ones now.

#3

My car is an 07 and engine was changed in 2011.

Ok thank you for your input, it is appreciated!!

#4

Yeah hahnmgh63 is right. This looks more like mist oil collection or even weep oil that has made it’s way down and dirt collected and attached to it.

Fresh leaks should still show oil with no dirt. Small pockets of oil drops and slick spots. I noticed you can learn a lot by doing an investigative cleaning. This is basically cleaning with a white paper towel and using more than one to check to see if it’s transmission oil. Motor oil or power steering fluid. Clean bottom up and follow the path. If you see more oil in a forward path and not from up top then it’s a splash oil situation. oil from up top down helps point out that original starting location.

#5

And it makes sense being they reused the starter and you can see it’s much dirtier than the surrounding engine. Should have seen it

Alright well I’m going to keep it together then!