Hi,
Not sure if it's the cold weather (it's not even that cold)... But my 2010 A3 Sline Diesel, is losing coolant pretty badly on a 30 mile journey, I'm having to top up every week so far...
I've checked my oil cap and the dip stick to see if it has that milky moisture buildup, which it doesn't... Just black, no bits in it either...
I hit the 90c mark in the car no problem, and it doesn't go over the 90c mark either... I have no problems with starting the car, and there's no white smoke out the exhaust either...
At lunch time, I did get bored, left the engine on for about 30 minutes and then popped the bonnet, and noticed a bit of steam from the front radiator, fans weren't spinning as AC wasn't on, and the oil temperature was reporting at 78c...
I'm not the most technically minded with cars, but I'm not able to 'see' any leak, but it's going somewhere. I checked the coolant cap to confirm it was pressurising ok, and it does as I hear the air escape when hot...
I've always topped up whilst the engine is cold, so I'm hoping I've checked the basics, and did try to follow the pipe from the top of the coolant to the engine, and there's no leaks or wet pipe. When the engine is running, and warm, I can see the top of the coolant tank (where the pipe is), taking up coolant...
The odd thing is, boxing day I was able to drive to Edinburgh and back, without any issue... and all of a sudden this has started happening last week (12th or 13th the coolant light came on).
I did read horror stories regarding head gasket failures, and am now wondering what my engine code is, as I see it was common for the BKD engines... Also, if I were to take this into a garage, without wanting to get ripped off, can I ask them to check something specific? Or is there any advice available? Or anyone able to recommend any mechanics in the Hitchin/Hertfordshire area?
Not sure if it's the cold weather (it's not even that cold)... But my 2010 A3 Sline Diesel, is losing coolant pretty badly on a 30 mile journey, I'm having to top up every week so far...
I've checked my oil cap and the dip stick to see if it has that milky moisture buildup, which it doesn't... Just black, no bits in it either...
I hit the 90c mark in the car no problem, and it doesn't go over the 90c mark either... I have no problems with starting the car, and there's no white smoke out the exhaust either...
At lunch time, I did get bored, left the engine on for about 30 minutes and then popped the bonnet, and noticed a bit of steam from the front radiator, fans weren't spinning as AC wasn't on, and the oil temperature was reporting at 78c...
I'm not the most technically minded with cars, but I'm not able to 'see' any leak, but it's going somewhere. I checked the coolant cap to confirm it was pressurising ok, and it does as I hear the air escape when hot...
I've always topped up whilst the engine is cold, so I'm hoping I've checked the basics, and did try to follow the pipe from the top of the coolant to the engine, and there's no leaks or wet pipe. When the engine is running, and warm, I can see the top of the coolant tank (where the pipe is), taking up coolant...
The odd thing is, boxing day I was able to drive to Edinburgh and back, without any issue... and all of a sudden this has started happening last week (12th or 13th the coolant light came on).
I did read horror stories regarding head gasket failures, and am now wondering what my engine code is, as I see it was common for the BKD engines... Also, if I were to take this into a garage, without wanting to get ripped off, can I ask them to check something specific? Or is there any advice available? Or anyone able to recommend any mechanics in the Hitchin/Hertfordshire area?