deepMN

Hello Everyone,

My Car: 2010 Audi A6 Quattro 3.0T Sedan - 108,000

I need to replace the thermostat and water pump. I scoured the web/YouTube for instructions specific to my car, but was only able to find ones for Q7, which I watched. Hoping you can help me.

I noticed there is less room between the radiator and the engine in my A6, than in Q7, so I am concerned Q7 instructions might not work.

My biggest question: is is possible to do without having to remove the front bumper/radiator, or do I have to remove them? Any type of advice/instructions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much!!

A6Gary

If the 2010 3.0T is the same as the 2009 3.0T engine (should be), both the coolant pump and thermostat can be R&R w/ removing the bumper (per the Bentley Repair Manual for the C6 A6). You'll need to remove the compressor (for the thermostat), the ribbed belt and its tensioner, the left coolant pipe, and the coolant pump pulley. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

deepMN

Thank you A6 Gary! Does it say I need to remove the radiator too, or just the bumper?

deepMN

I was able to successfully complete the job, thanks to the instructions I am sharing below. I also replaced the supercharger belt, since I had to take it off anyway, and mine was worn. The job took me three days of work, with 4 trips to the store to pick up tools mixed in. I procured high quality parts for a great price from rmeuropean.com and esctuning.com. I went slow on purpose, to document everything, and to make sure I took the necessary time to patiently to work the stubborn parts off, like coolant hoses, and hard to get to bolts.

A couple of things which helped me.
-Wrapping my phone in plastic seran wrap and using it to take pictures of every step of the way, every part I took off, every electrical clip/hose disconnected, belt diagram etc. This removed the anxiety of worrying about remembering everything and made the job a lot more fun.
-Using my wife's hair dryer to warm up the hoses to make sure they do not rip when I was prying them off. (I live in a colder climate and was working in 32F temp)

Here are the four helpful links, in order of their usefulness:
1. This YouTube video walks you through the whole job, on a 2011 Q7. Same instructions apply to A6. There is less room between the radiator and the hood on A6, but these instructions worked for me.
2. This is an awesome DIY walkthrough, even tells you the parts you need to order. I found this when I was well on my way, but was still extremely helpful.
3.0T thermostat R&R Detailed, manual inc. plus photos and tips
3. This taught me how to disconnect the Audi electrical connectors. I struggled with my first one for a long time, but after watching these was able to disconnect them in seconds the rest of the way.
4. This was the very first DIY I found. The least detailed of all, but still helped.
DIY S4 Waterpump and Thermostat Install + Supercharger Removed (Pics))

Hope this helps someone! The job saved me $1500, and made me "connect" with my car in a new way. Study the guides above, go slow, take lots of pictures, and you can do it!

FL C6.5 Avant

Thanks for sharing.
did you save the old G12 plus, replace with new G12+, or cut over to G13? if the latter--did you also flush the remaining block passages?

deepMN

Based on my online research on this topic, you can do any of the three options here:
-save and reuse your existing
-mix the two types (G12 - G13 can be mixed with each other)
-go with G13.

I drained my old through the drain plug the bottom of the radiator. Then, a lot more coolant came out when i removed the water pump. I heard you can drain even more by undoing the two hoses going to the oil cooler, under the car, but since it is OK to mix, I spared myself from that step. I did not flush the system. Just filled it with the new G13 Pentosin coolant, which had good reviews. Audi A6 Quattro Base Sedan 3.0L V6 Coolant / Antifreeze - Audi/VW G13 (Lilac) (5 Liter)

thxguy

Going to share my thermostat replacement experience for my MY2009 A6 3.0t.

The engine was overheating, and mechanic decided that it was the thermostat that required replacement. His shop manual quoted it as a 3 hour job, and thermostat was about $90.

Thermostat replacement requires removal of the supercharger according to him, and a few other bits..

Unfortunately when he got the thermostat out, the front coolant cross over pipe (Part #10 in diagram attached) was slightly fractured where the thermostat goes into it; so I had to go to Audi and pick one up for the non-trivial amount of $500 (Ouch) - the Audi shop manual puts the job of replacing this cross over pipe at 7 hours, as the pipe is a rigid one, and attaches to many things on the front of the engine (thankfully he only charged me 5 hours for it)

So when all was said and done, mechanic bill was $600 for labour & coolant - plus the $500 for the cross over pipe - $1100 thermostat replacement :-)


Gotta love German engineering - car works so well when it does, but is not fun cracking the wallet open when something goes wrong..

deepMN

thxguy - the front coolant pipe is really the whole job, the rest of stuff is easy. It is a major pain in the neck to take off and re-install. I bet your mechanic realized he had grossly underestimated the job and tried to cut corners by loosening the pipe and then trying to wedge the thermostat out, until he eventually broke the pipe. That pipe would not break on its own, in a 2009 car, unless you were involved in some sorts of frontal collision.

Ammanrawji@yahoo.ca

So I have performed the same repairs as others on my 2011 S4. Lucky mine came from factory with the new aluminium water pump not plastic. However my thermostat is toast. So all repairs went pretty smooth except that I am getting a coolant leak from where the upper coolant cross over pipe connects to the thermostat. I initially put a new seal there and at start up it just ed pissed out. I then took it apart and put the old gasket in and it leaked much less but still leaks. Any ideas or thoughts? I'm stumped. I'm almost ready and out of frustration wanting to 3m panel bond it all together. Lol.

Ant Fortescue

I am having a bear of a time getting the new thermostat to seat. It is sticking up so high that the bolts do not reach the holes. The part numbers are slightly different (old=06E 121 111 S, new=06E 121 111 AL) but ECS shows the AL as a replacement for the S. Any help greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Ant