dhoerl

I have the dreaded coolant leak on the coolant pipe that connects the back of the heads to the front of the engine - the pipe that looks like a "T" and fits under the intake manifold. I was able to get the o-rings from a local VW dealer (no Audi one near) - a few bucks each - and the intake gaskets over the internet (VW wanted over $50 per!).

However, look at the top of the engine - lots of stuff has to come off. If anyone knows of an article or post on doing this job I'd most appreciative to hear about it.

To reiterate the symptoms - in the AM you find a pool of antifreeze under your car (I pulled the pan off too). Look with a flashlight, and you see that the coolant appears to run down the alternator - or behind it. Lifted the driver side belt cover a bit, flashlight shows the water pump hole clean. In my case I put in UV liquid into coolant, then shone a UV light all over engine - the coolant is only leaking behind the alternator (got this at Autozone). The coolant recirculator pump is clean.

I sure don't want to get half way through this job only to find getting a necessary part or tool. I probably will need that hard plastic vent hose assembly that connects the valve covers to the air intake.

David

PS: wife and I both have 99 A6s. Both got the leak within 6 months of each other. One has had a leaking radiator replaced, now the other one has a leaky radiator (seals between plastic and metal going).

thejulex

Yes, hit the "RESOURCES" tab right on top of this page, then choose "TECH ARTICLES" and I am sure you can find the article you need for auxiliary pump repair and manifold removal steps.

Edit:
Since I am this nice :
https://www.audiworld.com/tech/eng69.shtml

dhoerl

My error - should have been more specific - 2.8 AHA engine. However, the above link for 2.7T has some good suggestions (like taping the intake manifold opening to keep stuff from falling inside).

I also looked at the tech articles before posting - in fact went through them all twice, had opened a few that looked remotely like mine (but then left off the 2.8 engine when posting :-( )

Thanks for providing the above info!

David

rocketman4321

I have a 2.7T and followed the Bentley--was pretty good for this. It's really just "get in there" and "reassemble". I was painfully careful and labeled everything, which should be much easier on a 2.8. A bunch of wrenching, but nothing really hard--I broke a vacuum T but I should've been more gentle. My problem was the aux coolant pump--think that's unique to 2.7s.

dhoerl

I should have updated this earlier - in the end the leak was from the water pump. I forget how I got to that conclusion - I think I was told it by an Audi mechanic when they were flushing the break fluid. So I did a premature timing belt replacement, and replaced the water pump, and the leak stopped.

[Then 20K miles later my front crank seal popped out, creating a massive oil leak, so yup - another timing belt (another thread on that). I'm an expert at those now!]