Audi Quattro 90 disappearing coolant
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AudiWorld Newcomer
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 8
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From: Sydney
Audi Quattro 90 disappearing coolant
Hi I have an Audi Quattro 90 1989 model and I bought this car in mid August and for the past month or so my temperature light in the dash randomly flashed at me every now and then. Then got to the point where it just flashed all the time. I top the coolant up and the next day it would start flashing again. The temperature is just below 90 or 95 so the temperatures fine. Read the car manual on it and it says the coolant could be low if it's not over heating but there is no noticeable leaks anywhere where coolants getting out. Did the test to see if it were the head gasket but no signs of it being that. Can anyone help on where my coolant is going? And how to see where the problem is or anything I can do to fix it? Thanks!
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,532
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From: Canada
Short Trail of the Lost Coolant...
These cars are famous for failure of the "heater core". This item is located inside the HVAC (huge black plastic) box forward of and under the dash. Sometimes the core leaks coolant and it makes its way out of the car onto the ground via the condensate drain for the HVAC box. This can happen leaving little evidence of its passing. Look for coloured coolant on end of drain hose. You may find this while under the car near the passenger side footwell. Un-explained coolant loss is a typical first symptom of a decaying core.
All is not lost (yet)! Anything you can do? Yes. When it does go you'll leave a wet trail behind you on the road. Meanwhile try to confirm if coolant is leaving the vehicle anywhere underneath, or inside in the pass. side foot-well, inside the car. Core is not expensive, but is labour intensive and a great D-I-Y project. See heater core replacement write-up currently just down the page (with over 10,000 views and counting).
Hth
Lago
All is not lost (yet)! Anything you can do? Yes. When it does go you'll leave a wet trail behind you on the road. Meanwhile try to confirm if coolant is leaving the vehicle anywhere underneath, or inside in the pass. side foot-well, inside the car. Core is not expensive, but is labour intensive and a great D-I-Y project. See heater core replacement write-up currently just down the page (with over 10,000 views and counting).
Hth
Lago
Thread Starter
AudiWorld Newcomer
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Sydney
Hey thanks for your reply. I got told it could quite possibly be the heater core but then they said they think there's a leaking pipe but I have never seen any coolant on the road or under my car. It literally disappears. There are no signs of the coolant anywhere.. One thing though is the windscreen on my side gets dirty and I'll wipe it but it gets dirty again and got told that it could be the heater core doing that. I'll keep an eye out for leaking coolant and I'll look into a new heater core, going to be an awsome long job putting the new one in! Thanks again!
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