Coolant problem A3 1.6

[perryuk]

Emptying of the coolant system...prob every 3 days......

Have checked for leaks whilst idling and was praying for some but to no avail. Check for for the dreaded Hellmans Mayonaise, small amounts have been found on the oil cap and dip stick, amounts that you mite get from town driving as i only do 10 a day max.

Changed the sparks and they seemed to be normal and im gettin no visible white smoke when driving or oil in the coolant header tank. Before i bought the Audi, i got the T/belt and pump changed by the car dealer as i had noticed the heater didnt blow hot air, he said the pump needed replaced as it was faulty which was at 54k.

Penny for all your expert thoughts....as im thinking its head gasket but the signs arent really there apart from the coolant leak, could this only happen when driving or would it do it on idle?
Or what are the chances ive been sold a dud with a boiled engine?

Many thanks in advance.....

 

[petewon]

Well Im no expert but I wouldnt expect a head gasket failure to cause that much coolant loss in such a short time and if it was Id deffo expect to see something in the oil. Id still be looking for leaks. I had one recently that would empty the full system in a mater of hours, that was realy erratic though, sometimes would completely drain in a couple of days sometimes in 2 hours. Turned out it was the seal in the plastic mainfold at the back of the head. Hows the car driving?

Soz cant be of more help.

Good luck.

 

[Dave_Bayern]

I know someone with the same problem as above, kinda. The coolant leaking is non visible but its a seal where the coolant system goes into the head that has rotted.

Fix seal - Fix problem

 

[vdubstar]

How freaky is that??That happen to me 2months ago and i still havent got my car back.I was just driving along on the motorway come off the slip road and the temp when upto 120 and back down again,but it was keep on going up and down so i stop no sooner had i stop the car was steaming,could hardly see the front of the car,after about 20-30minutes it finally settled down??The gentleman who has had my car is doning it step by step,He is doing the head at the minute,he is also doing the thermo,belts,water pump when its there??I just hope it aint the pistons??

 

[perryuk]

Thanks for your feedback guys...

The car is driving fine, except in the mornin where it splutters to life and sometimes in traffic it happens again. I have changed the sparks that look like they have never been changed, but there are 3 different makes of leads, one of leads looks like it needs put down and ill change them also, which mite make a difference to that particular problem....other than that its driving nomal.

I'm guna book it in to and audi dealer to run a compression test, ill have to sell a kidney to do it but it mite just tell me exactly wot the problem is.

Hopefully it mite be seal of some kind as im not showing smoke and no oil is in the header tank, fingers crossed

many thanks guys....

 

[Jamesh]

My golf gti and my s3 has lost coolant and ive struggled to find the leak. The cause of my problems was the plastic thermostat housing and coolant return connection. These parts are meant to have a flush fitting against the engine block, the parts on both my cars were made of plastic and had warped with the heat of the engine. Might be worth a look before booking into audi.

Just a quick note, a compression tester cost around 15 quid, if your able to change the plugs would it not be more cost effective to compression test it yourself.

 

[twist]

Also one small thing worth checking the Coolant reservoir cap, I remember on the Fiat Coupe these went faulty for a past time. They would easily dump the coolant VERY quickly and cause major problems.

Worth checking for the sake of a few quid.

 

[marms]

As above. A previous Mk4 Golf I had suffered similar problems. Turned out to be the cap on the coolant reservoir so it could well be that. It is apparently quite a common fault.

 

[perryuk]

Cheers guys,

On one occaision the engine did start to steam but the temp stayed just over 90....as i got to the petrol station to fill the system, i found the filler cap lying next to the air filter box!, must have blown off....
im guna change that for a start....

As for the coolant return and thermosat ill check into that with a mate who is a ford mechanic.....he changed the sparks...managed to do it without removing the overhead manifold, which i was told by a dealer would have to be removed....yeah right...

Ill keep you posted.....thanks once again....

 

[perryuk]

Thanks for all yer thoughts......

Head gasket.....

B#ll#cks.....

 

[Audiman99]

sorry to hear that m8 was in the same situation a few weeks ago, i left it for so long thinking it wasnt that serious topping up every few days or so that i ended up not only needing a new headgasket but a new head was needed as well as it had cracked due to lack of water, plus a new manifold was fitted while it was all apart. Cost 1400 quid and still doesnt feel right, soooooo ****** off.

good luck with urs m8y

Allan

 

[perryuk]

Christ Jonesy!! that's pretty harsh mate, well i've got a more positive result ( i think )...car dealer took the car back n fixed the problem, new metal gasket, head bolts, skim n preasure tested the head.

No water leaks after having it back 7 days now, drivig fine definitely smoother, bit of mayo probably from the engine flush....i paid for the parts as a token guesture and he paid for all labour costs....

Just wondering if there is likely to be any long term problems with the engine after having a head gasket go? figured the head is ok but is there anything I should look out for?....cheers