Sad times

[Jackx1]

My a3 2.0 tdi s line suddenly has started losing coolant, no visible leaks or anything. I fear the worst. I've just dropped it off for them to look at in the morning. Wasn't the problem with cracked heads fixed from 2006 on? Mine is late 07. Very tempted to just PX it for a bog standard 1.6 non fsi

 

[SmithyAG]

Oil cooler or EGR cooler just as common as the head problem, if not more so, and a much cheaper fix. Is it a BKD engine?

Was there any oil in the coolant header tank?

Could even be as simple as head gasket leaking it into a cylinder and it burning off.

To answer your question, the later the car the less heads had problems, not sure if they ever 100% solved it, they're up to about revision D now I think.

 

[Jackx1]

Oil cooler or EGR cooler just as common as the head problem, if not more so, and a much cheaper fix. Is it a BKD engine?

Was there any oil in the coolant header tank?

Could even be as simple as head gasket leaking it into a cylinder and it burning off.

To answer your question, the later the car the less heads had problems, not sure if they ever 100% solved it, they're up to about revision D now I think.

It's a 140 version non dpf. There's no mayo on the oil cap and no visible smoke, so hopefully it's a simple fix has anyone owned a 1.6 non fsi?

 

[SAiLO]

You're gonna miss the TDI torque if you exchange for 1.6

 

[Siddo]

My a3 2.0 tdi s line suddenly has started losing coolant, no visible leaks or anything. I fear the worst. I've just dropped it off for them to look at in the morning. Wasn't the problem with cracked heads fixed from 2006 on? Mine is late 07. Very tempted to just PX it for a bog standard 1.6 non fsi

I had the same, coolant warning came up on the dash, couldn't see any leaks or anything. Took it in and it just needed a new rad and fresh coolant put in.

 

[dancupra225]

Mine doing the same turns out to be rad/intercooler k seal for now as part isn't cheap

 

[crimson]

I would bet it's the rad, it's probably cracked/punctured

it happened to my MK5 Golf with the same lump, the problem being that you cannot see the coolant leaking as the liquid evaporates - take a trip to a breakers and get the rad replaced, wont cost that much to fix TBH, hardly worth trading in or selling the car over...

 

[SmithyAG]

I was thinking about this earlier. Surely the cars that have problematic heads, the vast majority of them are going to have shown up by now. Yes there may be one or two lower mileage examples still to crack/become porous, but I would imagine once into the higher mileage and older age, the less likely for head trouble it becomes.

Which take us back to tracking down coolant leaks the normal way. If the car had no known problems with head or the oil/EGR coolers, you would start by examining the engine/bay for crusty traces of leaked coolant, and then move onto less obvious places where coolant can burn off, so the rad, head gasket and so on. All of which are far cheaper fixes than replacing the head.

 

[Jackx1]

Good news! It was the radiator! Surprised as I couldn't see any sign of a leak when investigating it. Let's hope that's the end of the repairs for a while now! Gotta say I was shocked at how gutless the Astra 1.6 petrol courtesy car was. Makes your realise how much power that 2.0 tdi unit has!

 

[Chillout]

Good news! It was the radiator! Surprised as I couldn't see any sign of a leak when investigating it. Let's hope that's the end of the repairs for a while now! Gotta say I was shocked at how gutless the Astra 1.6 petrol courtesy car was. Makes your realise how much power that 2.0 tdi unit has!

Could the the garge explain the mayo under the oil cap,radiators are quite a common failure .
the mayo could be as simple as the car being used for short journeys.