Losing coolant

Dual wheels

My 06 Audi A4 has been losing coolant for a while now, it only seems to happen when I’m driving and the engine is hot so I thought it might be the expansion tank so I had it changed and it made no difference, I have to fill it every second day any idea what might be wrong?

dar_cool

Pure guess but with that much coolant loss I'd say waterpump or headgasket

corks finest

Dual wheels wrote:

My 06 Audi A4 has been losing coolant for a while now, it only seems to happen when I’m driving and the engine is hot so I thought it might be the expansion tank so I had it changed and it made no difference, I have to fill it every second day any idea what might be wrong?

How long is " for a while"?

corks finest

dar_cool wrote:

Pure guess but with that much coolant loss I'd say waterpump or headgasket

Or hoses

_Brian

Bring it to a competent mechanic before you roast the engine and have to do major works.

Dual wheels

corks finest wrote: »

How long is " for a while"?

Months at this stage

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dar_cool wrote: »

Pure guess but with that much coolant loss I'd say waterpump or headgasket

Would either of them be an expensive job?

Alanstrainor

It could be a leak from anywhere in the cooling system. Throwing parts at it isn't an ideal solution to be honest. What engine is it even? How much are you putting into it every second day too? If the leak is big, then it should be quite visible.

Fill it, drive it, and then go investigating. It should be very apparent I'd have imagined, although coolant leaks can be tricky. Leave the engine running and poke your head around the engine bay. Hopefully you'll find it.

Check the rad, the hoses, the connections of the hoses. Coolant has a sweet smell to it, so you can follow your nose too.

corks finest

Dual wheels wrote:

Months at this stage

? Feck it boy need to check car weekly

Dual wheels

Alanstrainor wrote: »

It could be a leak from anywhere in the cooling system. Throwing parts at it isn't an ideal solution to be honest. What engine is it even? How much are you putting into it every second day too? If the leak is big, then it should be quite visible.

Fill it, drive it, and then go investigating. It should be very apparent I'd have imagined, although coolant leaks can be tricky. Leave the engine running and poke your head around the engine bay. Hopefully you'll find it.

Check the rad, the hoses, the connections of the hoses. Coolant has a sweet smell to it, so you can follow your nose too.

If the car is sitting there unused it won’t leak but when I drive it it goes down, I’m using about 3 ltrs a week

firstlight

What engine?
1.9 or 2.0 litre diesel?

nthclare

Happened to my passat lately, waterpump leaking so I said sure get the timing belt done too.

After a while with that thing leaking your dashboard will light up like a Christmas tree with a few extra warning lights....

Dual wheels

firstlight wrote: »

What engine?
1.9 or 2.0 litre diesel?

It’s 1.9 D

firstlight

Dual wheels wrote: »

It’s 1.9 D

They leak from a few points
Like mentioned,water pump or rarely enough a head gasket
Check coolant temp sensor,seal goes on them
Coolant flange on the back of the head
Seal goes too but If it's a plastic flange they warp
Check the thermostat housing aswell,seal goes there aswell and basically as said any other plumbing joints or seals
The coolant usually burns of with the heat of the block but will leave crusty white stains were it's been leaking
My own 1.9 had the temp sensor leak
390,000 and still going strong,they are a great engine
Google is your friend,any bother with them usually is on the net

Dual wheels

A lot of white smoke started coming out of the exhaust today

That suggests you have been burning coolant .............. coolant has been getting into cylinders ............ or you had a leak and cooked the engine and now the coolant is also getting burnt as well as the original leak.

Look like HG at this stage anyway, and maybe the original issue too.

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Augeo wrote: »

That suggests you have been burning coolant .............. coolant has been getting into cylinders ............ or you had a leak and cooked the engine and now the coolant is also getting burnt as well as the original leak.

Look like HG at this stage anyway, and maybe the original issue too.

Flip, what sort of money would I be looking at for a head gasket? Is it possible to even do a temporary job on it?

Dual wheels

I drove it home from work and no smoke from the exhaust but when I got home there was some smoke from the engine but it wasn’t over heating

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Turned it on again there and loads of white smoke again I don’t know what to think

Dual wheels

Spoke to the mechanic there he can’t look at it until Friday but said once I keep the coolant topped up it’s ok to drive until then, I’m presuming the HG isn’t fully blown as the engine isn’t overheating? Also the smoke seems to go when I travel a longer distance

You'd want to check coolant is full prior to every trip IMO.
Car sounds in need of urgent attention.

listermint

sniff test on the coolant reservoir to see if there is exhaust gases in it. You can buy the testers on ebay.

Head gasket inc parts and labour prob anything from 1600 - 2000. Youd have to do the water pump timing etc all at the same time.

punisher5112

How have you continued driving it.... You've most likely caused even more damage, so in turn much more expensive fix.

listermint

punisher5112 wrote: »

How have you continued driving it.... You've most likely caused even more damage, so in turn much more expensive fix.

tbf, if the coolant is continually topped up it can run ok if the leak is small. It sounds like its progressed to a larger leak though if smoke is now appearing.

Dual wheels

Dual wheels wrote: »

My 06 Audi A4 has been losing coolant for a while now, it only seems to happen when I’m driving and the engine is hot so I thought it might be the expansion tank so I had it changed and it made no difference, I have to fill it every second day any idea what might be wrong?

Dual wheels wrote: »

Months at this stage

Dual wheels wrote: »

If the car is sitting there unused it won’t leak but when I drive it it goes down, I’m using about 3 ltrs a week

Losing 3 litres of coolant a week since July, it's now a month on and it's worse. This hasn't been a small loss for quite a while.

A 2006 Audi A4 isn't worth investing much cash in to fix a potentially expensive issue IMO.......... €2k can buy a lot of car these days.

Dual wheels

listermint wrote: »

tbf, if the coolant is continually topped up it can run ok if the leak is small. It sounds like its progressed to a larger leak though if smoke is now appearing.

I’m thinking that’s what’s happened

ExoPolitic

Dual wheels wrote: »

I’m thinking that’s what’s happened

It's silly you continued to drive it, if you'd of bought a small bottle of head gasket sealant and added it when you first noticed, you may of avoided this.

Dual wheels

ExoPolitic wrote: »

It's silly you continued to drive it, if you'd of bought a small bottle of head gasket sealant and added it when you first noticed, you may of avoided this.

Is it possible to temporarily fix a blown or damaged head gasket?

Dual wheels

I got some of that HG sealant, do I put it into the coolant tank or into the rad? If the rad where can I locate the rad cap? There is a black cap 4 o clock to the coolant tank would that be it?

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Dual wheels wrote: »

I got some of that HG sealant, do I put it into the coolant tank or into the rad?............

What does the instructions advice.
It's a total waste of time really.

Dual wheels

Augeo wrote: »

What does the instructions advice.
It's a total waste of time really.

Really? It says the rad but I’ve no idea where the rad cap is?

punisher5112

It ain't gonna fix it ...

Dual wheels

punisher5112 wrote: »

It ain't gonna fix it ...

Worth a try though? Maybe there only is the coolant cap and no rad cap can anyone confirm?

Dual wheels

Hello?

Jimbob1977

My car was losing coolant last month.

Its resolution was: new thermostat housing (there was a crack), new thermostat and a new sensor.

Dual wheels

Anyone able to tell me has an 06 Audi A4 got a rad cap or is it just the coolant tank??

greasepalm

Possible just got expansion bottle on the wing,but with any car its vital to get it seen too and if coolant is leaking into cylinders does it not contaminate your oil over time?

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greasepalm wrote: »

Possible just got expansion bottle on the wing,but with any car its vital to get it seen too and if coolant is leaking into cylinders does it not contaminate your oil over time?

Thanks I just want to get the HG sealant into it to keep me going till Friday when the mechanic will look at it

greasepalm

When things like this happen i would be using water instead of coolant .

ExoPolitic

Dual wheels wrote: »

Thanks I just want to get the HG sealant into it to keep me going till Friday when the mechanic will look at it

Yeah, it won't help you now, where ever the leak is, it is far too big to seal with the sealant.

Dual wheels

Dual wheels wrote: »

I got some of that HG sealant, do I put it into the coolant tank or into the rad? If the rad where can I locate the rad cap? There is a black cap 4 o clock to the coolant tank would that be it?

Is that your engine?
The black cap 4 o clock to that coolant tank is not a rad cap.

You might as well not throw that sh1t anywhere but if you are intent on using is the coolant tank would be a good a place as any for it but I'll reiterate "You might as well not throw that sh1t anywhere" ............. it'll likely cause more work for whoever is going to attempt to fix the issue if you go that route.
If it's HG the car is an economical write off IMO.

greasepalm

That picture shows red coolant in expansion bottle with blue top with see through max and min.
Small tank possible be power steering fluid with green top.
Tank beside wing with flip off cap on a hinge should have windscreen wipers on it for cleaning windscreen.

Dual wheels

greasepalm wrote: »

That picture shows red coolant in expansion bottle with blue top with see through max and min.
Small tank possible be power steering fluid with green top.
Tank beside wing with flip off cap on a hinge should have windscreen wipers on it for cleaning windscreen.

Thanks I threw it into the coolant tank I don’t have any smoke now so I’m thinking it’s a leak not a HG
The HG sealer how come it’s so expensive if it’s sh1t?

greasepalm

I used it on a car and it failed to work,money back warranty my arse,maybe it getting it in in time before it flows straight out.