Coolant leaking to engine in RS3, any similar experiences?

[GBR]

The shop determined there was coolant leaking to the engine. Has anyone been in a similar situation? 2018 RS3 with under 50K miles.

Is it worth it to potentially go down a rabbit hole and try to fix a cracked head or block? Anyone have good experience with buying an RS3 engine used?

Thanks in advance

 

[northpole]

9 out of 10 times coolant leaking into the head is nothing else than a blown headgasket... so if you haven't had that looked at properly, an engine replacement is just an OTT reaction. granted having the headgasket replaced isn't cheap but deffo worth asking around once you know what the source of the leak actually is.

 

[NHN]

Yeah pressure test with the reservoir under pressure overnight, then have a peer inside the cylinders for any coolant, now it could be as advised, head or gasket, but if the price isn't stupid, do head & gasket, if gasket change is cheap just do that 1st, issue is you have to take apart anyway, so do you uh on side of caution & do both to save doubling the work, only you can answer that.

Sometimes the heat from use is the only way to get it to leak so to speak, for example the old 8P bkd was synonymous for this & it only leaked after a longish drive & sat unused overnight & the coolant leaked through the head from the very miniscule changes in the head cracks from the cold & heat, expanding & contacting metal.

 

[northpole]

Head and gasket is same thing, if the headgasket needs to be done the head needs skimming period end of story... it's not a diesel engine.

 

[NHN]

Last time I checked, head & gasket are 2 different things regardless of the fuel type, only difference between the 2 are diesel heads are supposed to be more robust than petrol for obvious reasons.

 

[northpole]

Diesel heads don't warp as quick as petrol heads ergo when the headgasket leaks 9 out of 10 tines it's fine and doesn't need skimming. In other words:No warped head and no skimming needed, remove old gasket clean mating surfaces and put on new headgasket.

Petrol engine heads need skimming every single time unless they are non interference engines and even than, the head can be warped because of the higher temperatures the engines operate in vs diesel engines.

So when the headgasket needs doing on a petrol car, the head needs doing also. It's that simple.

Yes 2 different parts but with petrol engines the 2 go hand in hand.

 

[NHN]

I kinda already stated that when I said (for obvious reasons) but agreed lol.

 

[GBR]

Dealership came back this morning and said the pressure test showed damage to the engine block.

They quoted me 34k to fix it which I am not able to do.

Any idea how much the car could sell for in the current state? No body damage, minimal cosmetic issues but unfortunately engine failure.

Thanks

 

[NHN]

Holy ****

Remind me, has it been tuned or messed with, as if not you may want to raise a case with Audi UK.

 

[8YARWY]

Holy ****

Remind me, has it been tuned or messed with, as if not you may want to raise a case with Audi UK.

He’s in the USA


Sent from under the bridge…..

 

[GBR]

Holy ****

Remind me, has it been tuned or messed with, as if not you may want to raise a case with Audi UK.

No tune, it has been well taken care of and no modifications. Appreciate the advice I will do that

 

[NHN]

He’s in the USA


Sent from under the bridge…..

My bad, in my defence very little sleep

But still that's a huge bill, but given Audi's processes it's not unusual.

 

[northpole]

well the difference with well maintained and dealer maintained will be the deciding factor here if you contact Audi USA... wait for the whatever decision they make, if that's out of your budget, ask for quotes from independent audi specialists in your area.... you might be surprised that they'll quote you under 5k for the work.

 

[NHN]

Yeah & you may also find a well respect indy will do a better job for less lol.

I'm surprised to read this tbh as it's only 6 years old & head gaskets yes are a link that goes but modern cars aren't as prone to this, these days it's more software issues than mechanical.

 

[8YARWY]

Yeah & you may also find a well respect indy will do a better job for less lol.

I'm surprised to read this tbh as it's only 6 years old & head gaskets yes are a link that goes but modern cars aren't as prone to this, these days it's more software issues than mechanical.

Trouble is a new engine from Audi (uk prices) is a min £19K then there is all the ancillaries if needed depending on what else may be damaged..........plus Audi labour which isn't cheap

Maybe better to use a independent and source a known good second hand unit.

 

[8YARWY]

Yeah & you may also find a well respect indy will do a better job for less lol.

I'm surprised to read this tbh as it's only 6 years old & head gaskets yes are a link that goes but modern cars aren't as prone to this, these days it's more software issues than mechanical.

Depends though, Daza engine is fab but can go wrong big time, even stock engines can throw rods etc.........

Soooo glad i don't own one anymore, Audi dealers make ownership the worst.

 

[NHN]

Yeah true, it really starts to add up, even a simple door trim now is nearly £150, some years ago it was £50 a door, it's insane what cara cost to buy now let alone repair replace parts etc.

Then you have byd whatever they're called that are fairly cheap tbh & laden with vast tech, against a comparative vag car, the difference isn't small change & Audi has such terrible software issues & has had for few years now, that's why they got shot of the Audi head & replaced with someone else, hasn't changed much though lol.

 

[GBR]

Any advice on how much it may be worth? Or who would buy the car in this condition?

I am raising a case with Audi but the car is out of warranty and I had been servicing it at independent shops.

 

[northpole]

Well i hope they'll be nice and try to give you reduction on the price of the parts and the needed work but honestly, I think you'll be told it's not been dealer maintained so no.... As i said before go to an independent garage (best to use one that you are familiar with) ask for a quote on the repair and a quote on dropping in a replacement engine, than start to look around for replacement engines same (with the same engine code). That is if you are willing to do without it until it's fixed.

Worstcase is buying a replacement engine and having to DIY to keep costs down but swapping an engine is easier than fixing the current engine. it's basically unbolt, take out, drop in, bolt on. I did check ebay usa and you can get a complete engine (with all parts including the turbo) from just 13k to 15k USD all are low milage(under 55000km) and all were DAZA engines.

 

[flybynite]

Any advice on how much it may be worth? Or who would buy the car in this condition?
I am raising a case with Audi but the car is out of warranty and I had been servicing it at independent shops.

What its worth is going to depend entirely on what is salvageable from the engine. Without knowing that most will price the car on a worst case scenario.

Someone who is planning to build their engine anyway would fix a lot of what might be wrong with that engine in building it but that still depends on the head/block/crank being in a usable or repairable condition.

Unfortunately the cost in finding out exactly the issue is probably more than you would gain even if it is good news.

 

[northpole]

What its worth is going to depend entirely on what is salvageable from the engine. Without knowing that most will price the car on a worst case scenario.

In regards to what it's worth: Bassically it'll be a car with unknown engine damage, and therefor worth scrap money. This is why i adviseddd to speak to an independent audi specialist or indy to get it repaired. 9 out of 10 times this is way cheaper than what audi quoted you... and if you just want to replace the engine with a similar or lower mileage one you could actually DIY... but those engines go for a certain price. here in the UK we can get racing engines build up from new parts for around 8k but that means you only get the engine no aux. parts but every single one of them is capable of 600BHP or more (the more you pay the higher the BHP and torque they can deal with)

anyway I can't look into your wallet and afaik If you want to sell it the way it is right now your best bet would be to put it through a used /salvage car auction the likes of Copart. look it them up and look around at what money similar ars go for... but in any case fixing the car and than selling it (or keeping it) would be the best thing to do... just forget about doing it at the dealer the price is absurd, because clearly you can buy another car for that.

 

[NHN]

Copart, the synonymous resale company, who seem to have a problem with there ABC..... When comes to assigning the correct CAT status to damaged cars lol.

 

[northpole]

Copart, the synonymous resale company, who seem to have a problem with there ABC..... When comes to assigning the correct CAT status to damaged cars lol.

Mweh it's just a company ran by people mistakes are easily made especially with that amount of cars they deal with...so errors can be made in the listings.

But he is in the USA if they mess up with the listing the buyer can get fully refunded or an agreed amount of money back if they still want the car.

Just something he needs to keep in mind.

 

[NHN]

Mistakes they keep making tbh by reports I've read on here & other places & tbh its not exactly an easy mistake to make imho.

And no, copart havnt actually refunded or offered a resolution to ones I've read about afaik.

 

[northpole]

Mistakes they keep making tbh by reports I've read on here & other places & tbh its not exactly an easy mistake to make imho.

And no, copart havnt actually refunded or offered a resolution to ones I've read about afaik.

Not here in the UK but in the USA... that is a different story..

 

[NHN]

Not sure what you mean, but I know copart UK have done this numerous times.

 

[northpole]

I mean I know that in the USA if the car is wrongly categorised, the buyer can either get his money back or get a certain amount of money back.

Now I've bought 2 cars from copart myself here in the UK and it's always been rightly categorised so I have no bad story to tell about them. The ones I do know about in the USA are videos of them collecting the car or get the car shipped to them and finding the problems that weren't on the pictures or listed and they either get some money back or the car returned. At least that is what they say in the videos. I have no reason to doubt them.

Also don't forget OP is in the USA not the UK.