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Most of us know about the faulty water pump issues with the early 3.0T engines. Well, I just learned the hard way that we also suffer from potential thermostat failure.
I have 65K miles and my thermostat broke a couple of weeks ago. Symptoms are: 1) Loud fan noise 2) AC stops working 3) Coolant temperature increases.
I was able to limp home with the heater on but I was extremely lucky because I had just gotten back on a 300 mile drive from Vegas. A quick search on the web revealed several S4 owners who had the same issue. The main problem seems to be the plastic housing for the thermostat spring. It is not designed to endure a consistent temperature change and it will eventually fail.
The thermostat costs about $60 but it requires a super charger removal. I was able to do it in about 4 hours. Believe it or not, removing the SC was one of the easiest part of the job. I didn't ask the dealer how much it costs, but I assume it will be well over $1K, since the repair manual requires the removal of the front bumper. I was able to do it (although it is a bit challenging) without removing the bumper or the radiator.
My recommendation is to have this replaced if you have over 50K miles. The replacement unit looked the same as the original so I can't speak for the redesign of the unit.
thanks for the reminder and congrats on fixing it. Did you check w/ dealer for recall on the T-stat?
I will have to check my service records later, but I believe my T-stat was done separately after the waterpump.....
post us some pictures if you can for later reference
Edit: oh, and p/n of the new t-stat would be good. from that might be able to glean if it is an up-issued (i.e. countermeasure) part.
Replacing a broken thermostat is a HUGE pain! Many times the issue is actually with the housing. It's made of cheap plastic, so when the tabs that hold in the thermostat break, it can potentially fail closed and lead to overheating and tons of engine problems. When you do go to replace your thermostat, I suggest the Aluminum 6061-T6 housing/thermostat by germanperformancesolutions.com. Here's the link to the product: https://www.germanperformancesolutio...mostat-housing
It's even anodized to eliminate corrosion and make sure you won't have to remove the supercharger and replace the thermostat anytime soon. Since the housing is completely rebuildable, you can even swap in a racing thermostat that will open at cooler temperatures.
Hope this helps! Best of luck!
Originally Posted by NR04
3.0T Owners,
Most of us know about the faulty water pump issues with the early 3.0T engines. Well, I just learned the hard way that we also suffer from potential thermostat failure.
I have 65K miles and my thermostat broke a couple of weeks ago. Symptoms are: 1) Loud fan noise 2) AC stops working 3) Coolant temperature increases.
I was able to limp home with the heater on but I was extremely lucky because I had just gotten back on a 300 mile drive from Vegas. A quick search on the web revealed several S4 owners who had the same issue. The main problem seems to be the plastic housing for the thermostat spring. It is not designed to endure a consistent temperature change and it will eventually fail.
The thermostat costs about $60 but it requires a super charger removal. I was able to do it in about 4 hours. Believe it or not, removing the SC was one of the easiest part of the job. I didn't ask the dealer how much it costs, but I assume it will be well over $1K, since the repair manual requires the removal of the front bumper. I was able to do it (although it is a bit challenging) without removing the bumper or the radiator.
My recommendation is to have this replaced if you have over 50K miles. The replacement unit looked the same as the original so I can't speak for the redesign of the unit.
10-08-2014, 06:57 PM
Warning: 3.0T Thermostat
