Cant believe it! - Advice needed.

[1.8JT]

Afternoon everybody.

Just got out to car this morn & warning light came on for coolant.
Lifted bonnet and there is no coolant in the bottle at all!

There is no white gunk on oil filler cap, but after checking with a torch there is lots of coolant down right hand side of engine (above and around oil filter.

Do any of you guys have any ideas before i get it towed to a garage tom?

**closes laptop lid hoping that someone has suffered with this before and its just a cracked pipe**

 

[bubstar]

That's the left hand side

If you lift the engine cover off,I think there's a bleed valve on the metal coolant pipe that runs along the head. I've read about these leaking before and my one had some residue around it a while back.

:thumbsup:

 

[1.8JT]

Bub, which pipes do you mean - there is a black metal pipe and then a bronze thinner pipe both running parallel to the head. Is it one of these.

Im calling the RAC in morn to tow me to a garage i just dont want to get done over!

Thanks for the help though.

 

[coyote]

I was loosing coolant in my 1.8T. The bleed valve had worked its way loose, a quater turn with a allen key and I haven't lost any since

 

[docurley]

Exspansion tank is split would be my guess.

 

[NHN]

To lose that amount then yeah I'd agree with doc & given the cold weather its not beyond possibility its cracked from the cold fella, have you tried to put anymore in the bottle to see if you can find the leak?

 

[docurley]

What you may find is that the bottle is cracked on the seam and will be quite tight what cold and then leak when the coolent warms up.

 

[aragorn]

a split seam wouldnt usually allow the entire bottle to empty though?

I'd pour some antifreeze/water back in and see what happens. if it fills up and stays full, then bleed the system, start the engine and watch for leaks...

 

[1.8JT]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The RAC guy came out and filled the tank up with about 1litre of water. He did all the road side tests for head gasket failure (bubbles in fluid & water in oil etc). which he said was ok.

He said he cant see any leaks and that it might be that the cap was not on tight enough etc! & sent me on my way saying I should just monitor it.

Im glad at this stage its not going to hit my wallet (yet) but i cant believe that it would loose all the fluid from the expansion tank overnight?

 

[aragorn]

i would park the car with the engine hot and leave it running, then pop the hood and have a good look around (and listen) for leaks.

If you cant see anything then keep a closer eye on the coolant tank, as i presume you dont actually know it lost all its water overnight, unless you'd checked it before that warning came on...

Ie, it might have been slowly dropping over a long period of time, and you only noticed because the level got low enough to trigger the low coolant alarm...

 

[Xmay4444]

I agree with Bubstar, I had exactly the same issue with my old 1.8T and it was the bleed valve that was leaking. Audi wanted to charge me around £100 to change the whole pipe it was attached to. My mechanic advised me to change the plug, or try using (or replacing the) a washer.

 

[s-line stu]

I also had a similar problem recently on my 1.8T. It lost coolant but only when I used the car. If it stood on the drive for a couple of days then the level stayed the same.

Took it to Stafford Audi and they pressure tested it and it was the screw in the bleed pipe as mentioned in Coyote's earlier post.

They re-tapped the thread and put a new screw in and re-filled with the correct gravity of coolent and it's been fine since.

They had the car for an hour and a half and it was £69 parts and labour which i guess was not too bad for a main dealer.

Stu

 

[1.8JT]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Well, the rac guy told me to monitor it over the next few days. I have done and it hasnt moved.

I dont know what has been going on! But even though it hasnt moved I will still worry when I need to make a big journey... and here was me thinking that buying an Audi would give me years of trouble free motoring!

Also when the mechaninc was looking at the car he said my tensioner might need replacing (the one at the front of the engine which i think tensions the belt connected to the alternator.) It looks like it would be just a bit of bolt off then bolt the new one on- does anybody have any ideas about this?

 

[aragorn]

Have you actually be checking the coolant regularly? or did you only notice when the warning came on?

The coolant level on ours slowly drops over a period of months, not really sure where its leaking, some bits of the radiator dont look all that hot and theres some crust on some of the pipes. But if you hadnt been checking it, its possible that its slowly dropped over a much longer time, and you've only been alerted to the fact that its low because its reached the level to trigger the low coolant sensor? If so it might be worth carefully checking the pipes and hoses for the telltale crustyness where the coolants been leaking.

The belt and tensioner are easy enough to do. On the B5 the front panel needs put into service position, then, you back off the tension, remove the belt, remove and replace the tensioner, and fit a new belt. I dont know if theres enough room on the B6 to do it without moving the front panel, but even if you do have to move it, it only took me around 2 hours, and i didnt really know what i was doing then either, as it was the first time i'd had the front panel off.

 

[1.8JT]

I had only checked the coolant the day before i lost it. I check the oil and coolant weekly and have never needed to top up the coolant. And as said in the earlier post the coolant has not moved since monday.

Thanks for the advice with the tensioner, I thought it looks simple enough to do- only problem being limited with space around that area.

 

[ScottyP45]

mine started leaking a bit months ago, taking a week to empty, now it leaks like a bitch, could be the rear coolant flange on mine, but im gonna check that bleed screw now too! I hear a wheezing sound from the area of the coolant sensor when i squeeze and release the top rad hose...

Just got me broadband back too - gonna take ages reading the posts ive missed lol.