Coolant Leak - First Water Pump Now Thermostat Housing
 

Hi All,

I noticed a leak in my coolant a few months ago on my B6 A4 1.8T Q and didn't have the cash to have it fixed or looked at so I asked my mechanic to just top off the coolant.

He did and about a month and a half later the coolant is almost gone so I brought it to another mechanic who's very reputable. They tell me that I need to change my water pump which is causing the leak - they replaced the water pump and the bill was about $650-$700 which included an oil change and some other minor work.

Less than a month later I notice that my coolant is still leaking, brought it in this morning and they are now telling me that it's the thermostat housing which is causing the leak and needs to be replaced. They quoted me at $350 for parts and labor.

They told me that the issue with the thermostat housing is new and that the water pump was initially leaking. A possible reason they gave me was that when dealing with coolant, especially, and you fix one leak the pressure from the fix will cause another leak elsewhere.

Let me know if this sounds shady to you, or if this is something that's common. I'm not sure since the only thing I know how to do on cars is wash, fix a flat, drive and gas them up.

Any advice would be appreciated!

My 2 cents: shady. Never fixed one problem in a cooling system and had another suddenly start a month later.

I would find a VW / Audi mechanic and then have them check the j-plug which is a plug just behind the thermostat.