rstier

Hi,
I'm trying to keep my son's 2005 Audi A4 Quattro Cabriolet 3.0L alive for a bit longer. He loves the car and can't afford a new one but it's turning into a money pit. It started leaking coolant and it appears to be leaking somewhere above the crank pulley, as it is dripping steady off the front bottom of the oil pan. I'm guessing it may be the water pump based on the area. Does that sound likely? If so, what would be the rough repair cost? I assume if it is the water pump, we'd do the timing belt as well. He also has the typical oil leaks which I believe are coming from the valve cover gaskets. Trying to get some idea on the costs and see if it is time to cut our losses. The car has 160k on it for mileage.

Thanks for your help!

SmellyCat

Lots of videos on YouTube. It’s time consuming but doable. You buy $40 buck cam clamps and some socket hex tools. Parts are $200 to $500 depending on how you like your parts. I buy cheaper parts Pvc hoses, new rubber engine mount. Thermostat. Time belt kit , valve gaskets. Be careful if you are driving it, if your water pump fails it , engine goes out of time , and shanks the valves, 12 hour job for pro. 50 hr job for me

rstier

Thanks for the reply, that is helpful!

turbo510

160,000 miles sounds low to me (275K on my 2005 3.0)! I've just gone through a lot of what you mentioned; a "timing belt" job that include a new pump plus the three rollers. In addition, I pulled the alternator to install a regulator, and found the brushes very close to their limits. Your coolant pump is likely the cause of the leak, as mine was. I had an additional problem concerning the coolant 'manifold' beneath the intake manifold, which I had repaired before and now replaced entirely, along with the O-rings. This job requires the valve covers to be removed to lock the camshafts in place, so the valve cover gaskets should always be replaced.

Because of the significant labor involved, this is roughly a full day's work (8H), and far longer if you fiddle with details like I do. If you have a recommended shop that specializes in German cars, ask them for a quote. Here's a link to familiarize yourself to the timing system of the 3.0:
https://www.blauparts.com/blog/audi_...nt_30l30v.html

It may be time to cut your losses after all, because once a technician gets started on your 17 year-old car, they are bound to find more that needs attention. If I didn't or couldn't do my own repairs, my A4 would have been too expensive to keep.


Audi 3.0 showing valve cover removed, start of timing system maintenance

rstier

Great info, thanks for all the detail! My son is a fairly new driver and got this as his first car from my sister for pretty cheap ($1000). He's had it for about 10 months and we've had to pay for some exhaust repair and CV Axles. I did most of the maintenance stuff (fluids, filters, bulbs, etc.) myself and we did the front brakes together, so saved a few bucks there. Good learning experience for him too. I'm pretty good mechanically, so I can do a lot but this job seemed a bit over my head. I just don't have the time to take it on and he can't be without a car for work. Today I called the dealer and a few Audi repair shops. The dealer wanted over 3k to do the timing belt/water pump maintenance. I knew they were going to be high. I did find an Audi mechanic that estimated he could do the pump/timing belt, along with the valve cover gaskets and plugs for about 2k. He mentioned the coil packs too if needed. I have been getting random misfire codes on all the cylinders, so was planning on doing the plugs anyway as part of maintenance and a process of elimination. That said, I thought his price was pretty decent compared to others, and the shop gets good reviews. Used cars around my area are almost 10k and have over 100k miles, so I'm leaning towards rolling the dice and keeping it. Side note, we have a family friend who is a mechanic but does not work on Audis. He suggested I try K-Seal for the leak. I added some tonight and once the car warmed up, the leak stopped. I'm guessing this will only be a temporary fix but at least I can get to the repair shop without leaking the whole way and it may buy us a little time until we can get it in there.

turbo510

To use a worn cliche, I'm "not a fan" of using leak stop compounds in the cooling system. But if it buys time for a proper repair, then the cooling system will be drained and refilled fresh anyway. If you have your mechanic do this job, have them flush out the heater core too, otherwise they might mix incompatible coolant types when refilling (the proper Audi coolant is named "G-13"). If you haven't done so, add Techron fuel system cleaner to a full tank of gas, which might correct misfires if the injectors nozzles are not perfectly clean.

The A4 Quattro Cabriolet was a limited production Audi, especially the 3.0, and was expensive when new. If in generally good condition, I'd put $2K ~ $3K into it, considering that your investment is still pretty low, and you can handle much of the routine stuff. I would encourage you to spend another $200 and get a Ross-Tech scan tool to make diagnostics quicker and easier. Everything electronic which is connected to the data bus can be checked and, in many cases, tested using this tool.

rstier

Ok, thanks for the insight. All this feedback is definitely helpful, as I weigh the pros/cons of keeping it.

I did put Techron in several months ago but it probably wouldn't hurt again. I do have a scanner that works for VW/Audi which has helped me trace down the airbag light issues, misfires, and various other fault codes. It's not as good as the Ross-Tech one, so will consider making that investment.
Thanks!
Ron