dreamhope

just a thought:

If it leaks it has to leak from somewhere eventually. What if you apply some thermo sealant all around the connection between the oil cooler and the engine block? I guess, correct me if I'm wrong, that the oil seals in these don't leak as often?

S8ilver

That might work temporarily, if you could even access it (you can't). Keep in mind that it's the plastic that degrades over time and leaks, not the seals on the ends of the pipe. If you get all the way to the oil cooler, might as well just take it out and replace the pipe.

twentysevenlitres

One issue not raised by anyone (except the Gruven blurb) is that of corrosion.
But here I reckon Gruven have it the wrong way around.

The engine block is Aluminium. The oil cooler is Aluminium. The best part for the job would be Aluminium.

Why would you deliberately chuck a different metal in there?

Stainless steel may very well be in of itself corrosion resistant (NOTE: Not corrosion proof - 303 grade stainless is about the lowest grade of stainless - basic bolts are 305, marine grade is 316), but throw it into the mix of Aluminium parts and you're creating a galvanic cell.

Every metal has a different voltage potential, the difference in these potentials creates conditions for electron movement (basically a battery), which causes corrosion. The bigger the difference, the faster the corrosion. The only thing inhibiting this in an engine is the coolant - but even there you have an electrolyte (which aids electron movement) being inhibited by additives (which get used up in the process).

Anyone ever pulled alloy heads off a steel block? Seen corosion pitting on the coolant galleries, even on well maintained (good coolant) engines?

Buy the Aluminium part.

nicaudi

I had the exact same problem on my 2002 A8, there was a significant coolant leak.
Based on what i read on these audi site, and the obvious leak showing under my car, i guessed that this was the problem.
I was getting the coolant warning light, and had added G12 a few times, about 1/2 L at a time, and this was with relatively light driving.

I ordered the bufkin part from ebay and it came quickly.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261324657410

Now getting it fixed.

I went to a good indy shop here in NoVA (EuroWerks in Falls Church) [they are a bit pricey, but not as bad as the dealer, and i have had ok service in the past with other VW audis..]
I discussed the issue with them, showed them the part and the fix, and they seemed to understand.
They asked for $2900 to get it fixed. I pushed back showing how it could be done, and even showed the step by step instructions...(http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articl...reinstall.html - I got the link from audi world!).
They insisted that they would need to lift the engine to get access, as they had done this many times before, and that the cost was reasonable for this work.

I then went to another Indy mechanic (NGP racing in Lorton, VA http://www.ngpracing.com/home/) and discussed with them and sent them the link.
They seemed to get it , and said they could do this for about $400..
they know these engines well, and work on VW audi exclusively.

End of story - they fixed my leak using the bufkin (and put new seals as well) - and the charge was $450.00

So it can be done for a reasonable price - find a good Indy mechanic that is reasonable and will work with you, get the bufkin, and show them the link for the repair you find on these audi pages

S8ilver

Great points. I have a vintage watch that is 316L stainless steel. Guess what, even that corroded over time! It took 45 years, but it happened. I have newer models that are 904L stainless which is supposedly even more corrosion resistant (not corrosion proof, as stated above), but I still wouldn't expose any stainless steel to aluminum.

silverd2

Agreed...this is why the Bentley D2 manual is full of "contact corrosion" warnings...2 materials which may not corrode quickly by themselves, can start corroding immediately when in contact with each other.

123quattro

It took me the better part of a day to change the tube on my old A6 4.2. That was with the bumper off. It just sucks.

YRA928

I eventually got my mechanic to change the oil cooler pipe, price $900, 7 hours of work and described as a bear of a job even with the Audipages work notes. Another poster got the work for $400 which is a good deal. I am in the Bay Area and paying $130/hr.
Some good news was that during the work i asked the mechanic to try and verify the previous owners claim that the timing belt and water pump were changed 5k miles before ...he had no documentation to support it. So i had the mechanic open up the cam covers and look at the belt and look for signs of 'newness' on the water pump. Both looked in good condition consistent with recent replacement. Thats all i need, i will take the risk and will hold off on belt changes for now. Lets see if this turns out to be wise..

AudiNut87

so i ran all this past my mechanic who suggested the stainless part to begin with to me.

if what some of you are saying was true then throw your engine away now ... every single bolt on the engine is made from steel and is bolted into aluminum (mostly). And those bolts are all low grade steel, certainly not expensive corrosion resistant stainless steel. also keep in mind there are also 4 little things called o-rings on these parts, which are actually what makes contact between the cast aluminum engine block and the oil pipe, so the dissimliar metals argument is moot, there isnt actually any stainless to aluminum touching.

None of that matters though, in the end im happy with the stainless gruvenparts version but im sure the aluminum version works just fine too.

to be honest most of my decision was made based on where i could actually buy the part from - an actual company who puts a lifetime warranty on it versus a fleabay seller who will disappear soon.

and for those who havent been burned on ebay all i can is you are very lucky. Ebay and paypal will do absolutely nothing to help you once it happens. I bought a godspeed metal radiator which leaked when i installed it. a 2 month battle with the fleabay vendor ensued in which i could get NO ONE at ebay or paypal to discuss the matter over the phone, it was all form emails. What a pain in my ***. I finally gave up and lost the $300.

this part is too important and cost too much to install to deal with some shady fleabay vendor.

S8ilver

To each their own. Gruven's comment about the aluminum part corroding is what turned me off. I understand they need to sell parts to make $, but they put down the aluminum version to promote their steel version. The part definitely shouldn't be plastic, but it doesn't HAVE to be steel either. They could have said "as an alternative to the OEM faulty plastic part..." Why put down a perfectly good Ebay seller that makes a fantastic billet aluminum part?