Blown coolant line.....Another reason to HATE @#$%$# Audis
 

A small coolant line let loose while driving the fam in the A6 2.7T. To remove this tiny short section of hose, wouldn't you know it.... the whole front of the car needed to come off!! :mad:

While the front end is off (took me all afternoon to remove it), I will be changing the waterpump, timing belt, misc hoses, serp belt and I will fix the leaking cam shaft seals. Hopefully that will insure that I do not have to do this again for awhile. I don't even want to think how much this all would cost at the Audi dealership. :eek:


If you have a 2000 or so Audi that is out of warranty and you are not into DIY torture, I highly suggest you dump it fast! :D


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Looks like its leaking more than coolant with all that sludge in there.
Loving my Mercedes 500 SEC.... 1984

Yep, it is definitely leaking oil somewhere. Not enough to puddle on the garage floor, but my wife complained this past winter that she could smell oil when idling at stop lights. Even with the front off, I wont find the leak till I strip it down further. I own/maintain several old german cars and ALL are much easier to work on than this pig. Wifey's next car will be a BMW again.

From my experience, burnt oil smells at idle usually 80-90% of the time are related to valve/cam cover gaskets. I am guessing to get to the top of that engine you need to remove lots of "stuff"
Dont clean anything, helps with clues.

It well could be the valve covers, but until I get more crap out of the way it is difficult to say. I got cam seals and a crank seal with the timing belt kit and though about ordering the valve cover kit, but decided to wait and see. Mainly I am just thoroughly frustrated by how difficult the Audis are to work on and many of their components are just not as well made as my old Porsches and BMW's. Nice car to drive, just not once the warranty expires.

So you are changing the timing belt? If you are, I remember on 944's we had this $$$ tool that measured the timing belt tension. This measurement was fairly critical on Porsche 944's. Do you have a workshop manual?

Once again...I'm sorry, your wife must hate me:D

This is common in many modern cars. On a Bentley GT it is 30 hours of factory labor to remove the engine. the entire front end needs to be disassembled (bumpers, coolant system, front suspension, engine, thats 30 hours to remove only, no repairs, no reassembly). Which is required to perform any maintenance other than oil changes.

When under warranty, the CA dealers need to obtain factory clearance to pull an engine, as one engine pull and two or three dealer visits will result in the customer utilizing the CA "lemon law" and a total buyback for the factory.

Needless to say these cars will be very cheap (compared to new) when they come off of warranty.

Just curious, How many miles and has the timing belt ever been changed??

Yeah, I have the Bentley manual (only available on CD :mad:) and I have a VagCom code reader set-up on my laptop. Other than having to make a few tools (camshaft and crankshaft locks), the actual timing belt change is pretty straight forward. It was done somewhere around 80k by the PO and now has 138k on it. I have done timing belts on 944's, 911 engine rebuilds and a bunch of other "not so fun" projects, so this job will get done (but not without me b!tching and moaning about it first ;):D).

No worries Lendaddy, what my wife thinks of you does not matter :D.... I still like ya :D At the price you sold it to me for, I could not stop myself even though deep down I knew I should have stuck with another BMW for her from a high mileage/reliability/repairability standpoint. ;)

Good luck with your repair. I hope is does not turn into a "while I'm in there" project.

At the Audi dealer, I'm guessing you might be looking at $2500+ for all that work.

You could have done what my Dad did to an old Vauxhall on the Stelvio pass:
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wrap a pair of pantyhose as tightly as possible around the leak (multiple layers). We sold the car a few years later with that "repair" still holding together.

OTOH that space doesn't look like you might be able to do even that.:rolleyes:

I guess I'll have to sell the A6 soon......;)

Never understood why anyone would buy an Audi.

When is Jim C. going to chime in?

That's the problem with CAD, designers can stuff everything in the smallest space but good luck repairing anything.

It'll bull through most situations with regular old all season tires, and your passengers won't even notice. This last winter, on and off black ice in the mountains. Fam didn't even notice (it was obvious to me due to changing slip angles).:eek:

The ex's A8 was a freakin' limo ride that could do triple digits through the twisties without breaking a sweat (quattro and 300hp). My A3 is a fun ride that has plenty of space to haul all my stuff. Plus the interior aesthetic is great.

I love my A3 - while it is under warranty. I'm selling it a few months before it expires.

I'm so glad we sold our 2000 A4 after owning it for one year. I just got a note from Audi this week about the 1.8T class action law suit. I think it said that if your timing belt broke with less than 105K miles they'll reimburse your for the repairs.

I feel your pain...my alternator went on my 99.5 Audi A4, same thing, off came the whole front end. You can't get it out the bottom, the top, or the side, you gotta pull the whole front end off exactly like your pictures. I missed about 5 hours with my kids on a Saturday night f*&^*(& around with that thing and now I drive a Ford Focus with a warranty. Lame, but easy to fix.

I truly believe Audi makes a precision, solid, stellar looking, OVERLY COMPLICATED automobile.

The next German sedan will be an older 300 series Mercedes or BMW.

Your next annoyance is indicated by the red arrows.

The bolt indicated by the green arrow will require heat, an air chisel, possibly drilling, and some potty mouth to remove.

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scary.
I have a 2001 2.7t with 62K miles. It runs perfect and still has an extended warranty for another 14 months and 14K miles.

Hope the alternator goes so that I can have the front end taken off before it expires.


Otherwise, a pleasure to drive every day...

I find it funny that someone gripes about a coolant hose needing to be changed after nearly 140,000 miles. Reckon that hose is original?

I find it even more ironic that Tim suggests that he should have bought a BMW instead. Yeah, the brand that is infamous for the newer generation of radiators failing about every 60-70,000 miles.

I've owned a slew of Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, etc. and I can tell you that Audis aren't worse than the rest. Go buy an S-class Benz and see what happens.

Sorry for your pain, sort of...
JR

You'd never have to use a crane to remove the front end of a BMW to replace a coolant hose or radiator.

I just did a water pump on my 2005 330i. Amazing how simple, common sense, and easy to work on that car is for being relatively "modern."

So a BMW needs the front clip removed to replace the radiator, I just pulled the radiator on my sons E30 and it was a breeze as well as a myriad of other DIY items.

My E46, while not intimate with it yet, seems to be as straightforward as the E30.

Tim, I feel your pain and yes inside, deep, deep down, I have a smirk on my face. I am on vacation right now and my Audi is rightfully languishing in a Sheraton parking lot in Orlando waiting for my return after 12 days, then on Saturday it is being handed back to the dealership as we drive off in our E46 with huge smiles on our faces. (my wife and I)

Good luck with the DIY and be glad you have the shop and tools and space to do it. Patience? I think any Audi can wear that out.

and poorly made if you are replacing a water pump after 3 years!

the water pumps are a bit of a weakness on the E46, although it does have close to 60K on it.

But $65 and an hour to replace, not bad.

I changed the radiator in my 1984 MB 20K ago it took 1 hour and 2 screws and 2 clips.
Oh yeah a drip pan, water pump still fine after 150K.

I'm not sure you match that even with a Honda....

The bug numbers for BMW and Mercedes were just as high if not higher than Audi (admittedly JD Powers/early in ownership)

I have a '99 Passat with the 2.8 V6. I just did the control arm suspension work indicated in that previous post TODAY!! It is not terrible, but it is frustrating dealing with the way things fit (lower shock bolt), and yes, that through bolt gets FROZEN in the swing arm. I killed an impact socket using a BFH pounding on it for 15 minutes solid, each side!

Oh, and Tim, I can almost guarantee that your oil leak that is causing burning smell at idle is our cam seals. They seem to be ok when new, but when whoever does the first timing belt changes them, they seem to leak. I had my leaky one fixed under warranty, but now it is leaking again!! Probably $1K to fix that leak at the dealer.

Mine has 120K on it, and has been a fantastic car. Not a SINGLE issue, other than routine maintenance. Unfortunately, I believe it is now getting to a place where it will require a fair amount of repair, and given how difficult they are to work on, it would be a great time to get rid of it!! Problem is, I want a 996 Turbo for my next daily driver, and I am having a hard time committing to a $55K outlay when I am driving a $5K car that is paid off.

Good luck with your repair. Interested to see what the source of that oil leak turns out to be.

JA

Even if that's true, with the BMW or MB, at least you are driving a BMW or MB.

An Audi is just a VW with a nicer interior.

i have a 5 year old lexus with almost 60k on it.......everything is still perfect from the day we bought it new.


My new to me 2000 audi on the other hand..........tons of issues when i bought it but now they are fixed and i love the thing.





I don't think many vw's are all-aluminum......:rolleyes:

Doesn't matter what it's made of, it's still disposable.

BMWs and MBs last. There is still interest in BMWs and MBs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. SLs, 2002s, M cars, 6 series, even 80s 5 series, MB coupes, and others.

Audis? You rarely see a 60/70/80s Audi on the road. They are junk that no one cares about.

These current "all aluminum" Audis are no different. After 10 years on the road, they'll be off to the recycler to be made into soda cans. Disposable junk.

Nobody bought those audi's in the first place- they started life as junk.

60s/70s/80s/90s/00s audis are junk. That's what I've been saying!

I'd give both my left nuts for a Mercedes c230 sports coupe's or a bmw 318 ti!

my buddie's b6 Passat - I actually took a sawzall to that damn one bolt to remove the alternator then made a run to the hardware store.

screw removing the nose.

rjp

I could not say it better myself, my MB's have over 230K on each of them. Ones a 1991 and a 1984, they dont leak, everything works, the air blows cold I drive the crap out of the both of them. Sure they are maintained, but that said i probably can drive them for the rest of my life. I'm 50

More important than CAN drive them the rest of your life, they are the types of cars you'd WANT to drive the rest of your life.

Who in their right mind would want to drive an 80s or 90s Audi for even a day? Yuck.

Doing some of the repairs on a BMW 750il 12cyl will also make you loose your religion!!!!!

I forgot about applying a liberal dose of pottymouth to get bolts off.... :D