Brian Chamberlain

Having issues with my 01 a6 2.7t quattro, Occasnially when started up it dumps out a puddle of coolant wondering what the issue could possibly be new the the mechanics.

georgeb944

Could be a hose, a water pump, a thermostat housing, a coolant reservoir or a reservoir cap, or a radiator, or a connection. Have you tried Bars Leak in the system?

tester123

Probably you might already tried this.. if not, take the "belly pan" or cover under the engine and try to find the origins of the leak. This would help in determining which component is affected.

rocketman4321

These are all good suggestions. To be a bit more specific, if you have ramps put the car up on them, remove the belly pan, and then search for the forming drip. On the alternator? Off the little hose between the alternator and the engine (T-stat housing)? Etc. If you can get an inspection mirror down the front, look carefully at the engine just below the t-stat housing.
Based on a very unpleasant experience, I'd also check the $0.90 clip that holds in the sensor by the lower radiator connection. If that sensor comes out, it dumps the whole system.
Radiator cracks will sometime show only after running, or (less common) only when cold.

And of course the classic for the 2.7 is the aux coolant pump, located (in a bit of brilliant German engineering) underneath the intake manifold. It's one of Bosch's least reliable parts, but usually makes a mess of the top of the engine, less likely to be a drip on the ground before it bakes off. Look for pink goo down between the manifold runners.

If you find it and can get a picture, we can likely help further.

meternerd

My 2001 has been doing the same thing for a while...I finally added a bottle of Bars-Leak (the copper colored stuff) I bought at Walmart. It quit leaking on the way home and hasn't dripped a drop since. Not a suggestion, just my experience. Leak stopper just cures the symptom (temporarily) but you really need to find the real problem. I did have the aux pump leaking (the pump actually broke apart) and I replaced it (no small task). Not the problem this time, though. Good luck. If you ever do a timing belt change, you'll probably find the culprit....either the water pump or the thermostat housing.