realuv

Hi all, new to the forum here. I have a 2006 A4 that has gone from a slow coolant leak into refilling every two days leak. I took it in to a random mechanic (usually go to Audi). I was told I needed some heater hoses, water connector, and turbo coolant line (I may haver butchered those terms, but that's what I remember him saying). Anyway it was $1,600 maybe more, maybe less depending on when he really inspects it. Obviously, I didn't get it fixed (recent graduate and no income until the new job starts next week....great timing.) Anyway, is it safe to drive if I keep refilling? They told me not to drive it as I run the risk of ruining my engine. I've been driving it anyway around town for short distances, but my job will be about a 40 mile roundtrip with freeways. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. I dont' know if it matters but I live in Southern California and temperatures have not been extreme.

David.Norton

Run away from that mechanic, doesn't sound like he even looked, and I've seen very little that could go wrong in a cooling system that would cost that much (maybe everything?). Where you live doesn't matter much, if it runs out of coolant bad things will likely happen. I would say drive it gentle and check it often until you can get it fixed. Also, find a better mechanic, or perhaps learn to do it yourself, an old Audi is not really the car to have if you have to pay someone else to maintain it. BTW, if you decide to work on it yourself ask for advise in the right forum, our cars are much older.

flc

Quick question. Do you smell the coolant after propping up the hood?
It might be worth taking a look by taking off your underbelly pan... First check if the leak is coming from the waterpump. Next check upper and lower radiator hoses.

realuv

David and flc thank you both for your replies. First, I wasn't aware I was on the wrong forum. If you haven't noticed, I know zilch about cars (especially enough to check or fix things myself). I just saw "A4" as the category and jumped in, so my apologies. As for the price, he said it's mostly labor because accessing the area he needs is behind the engine and about 6 hours of labor. I still didn't trust it, seeing as how women are extremely targeted for costly maintenance "repairs." I usually have all work done at Audi but the dealers are few and far between and I didn't want to risk the far drive, which is why I just went around the corner for an oil change and had them check my leak as well. I don't smell coolant but then again I have no idea what that smells like (yup pretty incompetent in the car knowledge realm.) haha! I honestly don't plan to keep the car much longer. Just wanted to know how dangerous it is to commute for a week until I can afford the maintenance. Thanks again.

realuv

Since I wasn't aware I was on the wrong forum...I did some research to find out I'm about 2 generations away from the right category. My bad....like I said know nothing about cars. Thanks.

flc

Well if he quoted you 6 hours of work for $1600, assuming with parts for the usually suspect problems around $400 in the worst scenario, his labor rate is $200/hr... He's nuts. That's beyond stealership rates...


A reputable shop probably is around $75-100/hr. And ripping apart your front to get to the area(s) coolant might be leaking would be at worst case scenario 8 hrs for someone that knows what they are doing...that's an overestimate of time for someone that knows what they are doing....

I live in a high cost area in So Cal, and the reputable shops (outside stealerships) said around $800 labor for a timing/waterpump/tstat/belts/tensioner job..

As far as "how dangerous" this is.. How bad is the leak? Do you have to fill up your coolant tank after 1 round trip commute, a few round trip commutes, etc.
How many miles on the car? You know about the maintenance history of it? IE has the waterpump/timing belt ever been replaced?

In the worst case scenario, your water pump is going bad. On your A4 (B7), i believe the waterpump is driven by the timing belt..So if it seizes, it could end up fing your timing belt and your engine ends up in the graveyard...However, if you've already done your timing/belt water pump on a high mileage car, or if your car is relatively low mileage...Or if the leak is a slow leak... I doubt that would be your problem though ...

In a slightly less tramatic issue, the seals on your water pump is leaking, you have a crack somewhere in one of your coolant lines, or your radiator is leaking/has a crack...That would affect your cooling, but unless it's a really really bad leak, if you keep it topped off, you can probably get by with just topping it off...
... Buy a gallon of coolant (Audi's take special coolant called G13 that is normally NOT stocked in your run of the mill autoparts store (and you don't want to put that greenstuff in your car)..order it online.. Depending on which coast you are on, you can order the coolant from one of the many e-tailers (such as ECS Tuning, RM European, Pure Motorsports, etc,etc,etc)....Mix it 50/50 with distilled water and top if off before you drive....until you decide what to do with your car...

Unrelated...For the sake of your car's health, I hope that "oil change place" is not one of these jiffy lubes place that says they do your oil change for $19.99 or something like that. Audi's require specific synthetic oil and a good oil filter....And there's no way they could be doing a synthetic oil change with the correct oil at the jiffy lube $19.99 price... Oil filters are around $6 alone.. 4-5quarts of VW approved oil is around $5-6/quart....


Sorry I can't help you. You're probably in LA, and I'm 2 hrs south of that...

David.Norton

Is OK, just figured you would get better information from the folks who know the car.

realuv

David, thank you. Bringing that to my attention help me navigate over to the right place.

FLC, wow thanks for all the detailed info. I truly appreciate your time and knowledge and you HAVE helped me. I have 130,000 miles on my car (lots of driving back and forth between SF and LA for school). I've had all repairs done by Audi and a huge file of paperwork.) I'd have to dig and see if I've had timing belt and water pump replaced but that doesn't ring a bell. I've had lots of fuel pump and injection related stuff, gaskets, coils, oil leak work and stuff like that done over the 8 years I've had the car. Wow, I have to say, I'm even scared to drive to the store now haha! It started as a slow leak months ago and I was just topping off (with G13) every couple months. Now my coolant light comes on every 2 days or so and that's just from driving to the store or running an errand within about a 10 mile radius once a day. NO Jiffy Lube...went there once before the drive from SF to LA because I couldn't get in with the dealer and I swear they caused an oil leak. I went to an actual repair shop but I got the feeling that they didn't come across German cars too often. In fact I've had quite an issue finding such mechanics in the area and always just give in and go to the dealer.

Well, I will just have to wait this one out. Thanks again for your assistance. Have a good weekend.

flc

If you have to top it off every two days that means that you have a pretty decent size leak...Check the ground... Is there a puddle of water/pink coolant? If so where? Take a picture of it...Pop open the hood, look if you can see if there's any puddles anywhere... Check the easy things first. Check to see if your coolant reservoir has crack in it... Check the upper hose running to your radiator...

Forgot to mention that I assumed you have the 2.0T, not the 3.2 V6

Most likely, your front will need to come off....And since you won't be doing this yourself, if you plan on keeping your car, you might as well bite the bullet and do the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, all of your accessory belts and the tensioners and roolers, and I'd say even consider replacing the radiator while you are at it since they are plastic and tend to crack around the 10 year mark.. (I got about 9 years out of mine)... You're at 130k miles, so it's about the right time to do it anyway. Parts you're looking around $400 ($500 with the radiator) if you go with decent quality aftermarket parts...Much more if you go with Audi OEM branded parts (which imho is not necessary)...Labor will run about 8 hours.

$1400-1600 is what I would consider to have someone replace aforementioned things including parts and labor....Stealerships will probably want around $2200 (double the price for parts and add extra labor hours)...

Although you won't be doing any of this yourself, YouTube is your friend so you can learn basically on what needs to be done, so someone won't rip you off terribly....


As far as a good shop to go to. Wouldn't be able to tell you in L.A. But I would go to
SoCalEuro.com and ask people for a shop recommendation.. Make sure there's a few people that all say that the shop is good... Get a few estimates from a few shops...

Make sure they tell you and list every item they plan on replacing....

Here's a rough gueessimate on parts prices (They'll probably mark it up some.. But as long as it's not totally out of wack)

1. 1 gallon of G13: $25
Audi B7 A4 Quattro 2.0T Engine Cooling - ECS Tuning

2. Timing belt kit: includes timing belt, tensioner roller, idler rollers (2), accessory belt, water pump $250
Audi B7 A4 Quattro 2.0T Engine Timing - 06F198001b7 - Timing Belt Kit - Ultimate - ES#1876844

2. Forgot to add a thermostat. Around $15-20....

3. (Optional) Radiator
Audi B7 A4 Quattro 2.0T Search SiteSearch Radiator - ECS Tuning
$130ish

4. $100 pad for replacing hose(s) that need to be replaced


Good luck!

realuv

FLC,

Thank you! Wow, I feel like I should be paying you for your advice and time haha! I will do all you've recommended (or at least things I have the knowledge to do) I wasn't at all expecting so much help, especially after learning I was on the wrong forum. Thank so much! When all is said and done I'll be sure to report back.