Loosing coolant help/ might be a stupid question..

ronny

ronny

Member
Two months ago i took the car in as it was loosing coolant, they replaced the pipes leading to the tank but everyweek i still have to it top up this evening just noticed the cap has a broken piece where the O-ring sits, could this be the culprit? In the pic you can see the o ring pops off when unscrewed even though before screwing the cap i make sure its sat correctly..

And finally where would i get a replacement and whats the avarage cost?

Many thanks ImageUploadedByTapatalk1317230049.870167.jpg


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This sounds very familiar, we had the same issue, as she needed a cambelt change we replaced the water pump just in case that was broken, we then replaced the tank and cap (as this was where we could see dried coolant) and still had the coolant loss, took it to a garage that I trust and got them to do a coolant gas test (blue liquid turns green if the head gasket is gone). I had to put up with the coolant loss for about 8 months before we finally got a repeatable result – I was never going to pay for a head gasket unless I was sure and yes the gasket was gone.
 
Yes coolant gas test needed you will know straight away if the head gasket gone (not the end of the world tho)..
 
So the broken cap would not be a problem?
Because when my cam belt snapped they replaced the gasket, surely it cant have gone again in a couple of months?

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The cap only acts as a pressure relief valve and for you to be loosing that much coolant I would be looking for something else. Have you checked around the system to see if its leaking. A new cap is about a £10er. Do you know if the head was skimmed, if not then the gasket could be gone again.
 
Just ordered a new cap and checked my receipt from the work that was done it states "replace gasket" and they also told me they'd have to skim the head so im hoping that comes under the "engine repair" according to the receipt


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shezlee said:
This sounds very familiar, we had the same issue, as she needed a cambelt change we replaced the water pump just in case that was broken, we then replaced the tank and cap (as this was where we could see dried coolant) and still had the coolant loss, took it to a garage that I trust and got them to do a coolant gas test (blue liquid turns green if the head gasket is gone). I had to put up with the coolant loss for about 8 months before we finally got a repeatable result – I was never going to pay for a head gasket unless I was sure and yes the gasket was gone.
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As a matter of interest how much did the new head gasket cost to be fitted? I THINK I may have the same issue :-s
 
I will check tonight but £1100 rings a bell but i did have it done by an independent audi specialist it took over a week to get her back so I had to factor in a hire car
 
ULP said:
ronny, do you have an FSI? If so, I would suggest a logical place to look would be the thermostat manifold as the original part has a design fault that makes them fracture. You may, on occassion, see a small drop of coolant under the car but this is difficult to trace without removing the aerodynamic cover. We had an FSI that continued to leak coolant, initially a small amount, then ever-increasing, for a number of months and after replacing any dodgy looking connectors, the pipes through the bulkhead and so-on discovered the thermostat housing was at fault.

The bill was about £500 as this included a driveshaft being removed and the subframe being dropped so a full 4-wheel alignment also... Some people on here mention it can be done without dropping the sub-frame but is a tight squeeze - my garage considered the most economical way was to drop everything out of the way rather than swear for 3-4 hours at it! The part is about £180 but includes a new thermostat and coolant sensor and yes, it does have a modified end where it goes into the back of the block.
Click to expand...

Its a 1.6 fsi..so wheres the thermostat manifold?


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Just had another look and on the actual coolant tank theres a lip going all the way around it..well theres some kind of liquid there and also directly under the tank, ive checked the hose and it all seems dry


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Looking at the header tank from the front of the A2 there is a pressure relief hole to the right hand side, this is where ours was actually leaking due to the gasket gone between the cylinder and waterjacket. If you have no other signs of leaking have the test done to check for gases in the coolant. My tests were free so I dont know any costs other than the £900 the job cost but I had to have I hire car and that pushed it to £1100 hope you dont need to go there again.
 
On thursday i ordered a new cap for the expansion tank off ebay only £6, yesterday morning i asked my patner to take the car to the garage to check the coolant issue, i asked her to call me while she was there so as i could speak to the guys and if they could call me before any repairs, around 1pm she calls me to tell me its all done and paid for, i get home look at the receipt and she'd been charged £35.40 for replace and fit a new cap, how can they justify £35.40??? Ive now got my ebay purchase and its the exact match to what they supplied...bumped comes to mind :(


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