Audi A2 - first 100miles

Following on from my introduction thread. http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?32024-Audi-A2-purchase

Briefly, bloke from work, bought the A2 as a workhorse to do his work commute from Ilminister to Poole 5 days a week, he put 30k on it in 12mths, it started losing water, and he was having to put water in before work, and after to get it back..so he decided to get into a garage, who diagnosed head gasket failure, he didn't want to spend out on it and bought something else, he wanted £300 for this as it was, i wanted it as a training rig as I'd never done a head gasket before, so wanted something that didn't matter if I ruined it...so told him not to worry and I'm sure he'll get that, the next day, he told me to come get it, and if I fix it, sell it and give him something out of it, if I don't then not to worry..

Anyway.....

I have driven this car around 100-120miles since, and it's great, I really do think it's a great little car, nippy and light, it goes really well, in regards to the suspected problem of Head Gasket, I'm not too sure if it is Head Gasket,

On day 1 when I picked it up from Ilminister and drove it back to Weymouth (41miles) it never overheated, temp gauge sat at 90 all the way back, even when I stopped outside the house and left it running, it never rose any higher, fans kicked in, and back out again as normal, slight water leak, but not a gusher, more a drip, I took it shopping, and home again, again nothing out the ordinary...

The next day, I took it to the local jet wash and about 5mins in, the 'coolant level low' light and alarm came on, finally something to show me, got it to a safe place, took the bonnet off..( that feels strange lol) and opened the coolant bottle and it spurted at me... that was under pressure!! Topped it up, it took, no exaggeration, about 1/2 litre...this was 2 weeks ago today, 12th February, and I've not put anything in since, no leaks...no overheating, heaters get warm..fluid level spot on...

So...maybe a blockage that has cleared itself, I'm going to check for kinks/splits/cracks in the pipes today, just to rule it out, it really is a great little car

So, that's where we are at the minute..
 
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Which model of A2 is it Hard monkey? The 1.6 Fsi is known to have coolant and water leaks due to the nature of their plastic pipes and with the engine running hotter these are prone to leaking.

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Hmm. First thing I'd do is see if anyone local to you had vagcom so they can scan your car to see what errors are popping up. That will give you a good indicator on what the issues are. Hopefully someone close to you can help out

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my bet would be a stuck thermostat, cheap to replace it anyway so worth doing, a bit of a pig of a job as the alternator needs to come off (some say not but my finders and tools could not do it with the alternator in place, you only need to move it out of the way on the pivot bolts, to access the bottom boit of the thermostat housing.

Cheers,
 
I've got Vagcom, will have a scan later, I did put it on a few weeks ago, and it came up with a cam position sensor, but the laptop battery went, so didn't get chance to see fault codes or anything, will have another scan later and post up any findings.
 
my bet would be a stuck thermostat, cheap to replace it anyway so worth doing, a bit of a pig of a job as the alternator needs to come off (some say not but my finders and tools could not do it with the alternator in place, you only need to move it out of the way on the pivot bolts, to access the bottom boit of the thermostat housing.

Cheers,

I had thought that, will price one up and replace anyway, new parts always help,somewhere along the lines
 
I've done a vagcom scan, nothing came up, fault free :)

weather has taken a turn for the worse now, so inside. really wanted to get it out and about and warm, to see what was happening..still, always next weekend. Thanks for all your help
 
I've had my A2 for 12 maths and it never used any water... changed thermostat and I've had to top up 2 in the last 6 weeks? No leaks as I can see and no oil/sludge in expansion tank. So if you ever find out let us know, thanks.

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I've had my A2 for 12 maths and it never used any water... changed thermostat and I've had to top up 2 in the last 6 weeks? No leaks as I can see and no oil/sludge in expansion tank. So if you ever find out let us know, thanks.

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this is likely to be an air lock in the engine after the coolant was remove to do the thermostat change, it should settle down after a few weeks or a long run
 
Using the Audi today; trying to get it to overheat...still nothing, although there is a sloshing sound while driving, almost like you can hear water moving around the engine? Any ideas? Someone said heater matrix?
 
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Hi hard monkeys ---are you sure the sloshing is from engine/heater matrix? as some A2's suffer from the spoiler on the tail gate filling with water and sloshing about. But if your sure its from the engine then you must have an air blockage or a leak---are the front carpets damp at all close to the bulkhead?
 
Ahh, ok that's something else to think about then. It sounded like it was from the front...but hard to tel when driving. I will clear out the boot and get my wife in there to listen carefully. I've had it running today for over an hr, after taking it to the car wash and hoovering it out, still no leak, or warning of low coolant. Strange one...if I'd bought this, without the previous owner telling me he has to top it up EVERY DAY...I'd say there is nothing at all wrong with it...if there was a blockage...maybe I've sorted it without trying...
 
Ahh, ok that's something else to think about then. It sounded like it was from the front...but hard to tel when driving. I will clear out the boot and get my wife in there to listen carefully. I've had it running today for over an hr, after taking it to the car wash and hoovering it out, still no leak, or warning of low coolant. Strange one...if I'd bought this, without the previous owner telling me he has to top it up EVERY DAY...I'd say there is nothing at all wrong with it...if there was a blockage...maybe I've sorted it without trying...

The other places worth checking for water sloshing about are the under-floor compartments and the bonnet air intake. Lift the front carpets and turn 3 plastic catches 90deg then lift the lid away. The passenger one has the engine control ECU and another controller for lots of non-engine stuff, the CCU I think. Obviously you want it dry in there. I keep 500g of silica desiccant in there just in case. The drivers side one is almost empty by comparison, though I guess some models may have something fitted in there. All the best,
Matt


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Just a quick update, drove it to work last night, (75miles round trip) temperature gauge went up to 100'c for about 15secs about 25mins into my return journey after a dual carriageway trip at a constant 70mph for 15mins, it then dropped down to normal its very puzzling ...not had chance to check the water as it was 4:05am and pitch black around the back of the house..will check if fluids have dropped..
 
Just a quick update, drove it to work last night, (75miles round trip) temperature gauge went up to 100'c for about 15secs about 25mins into my return journey after a dual carriageway trip at a constant 70mph for 15mins, it then dropped down to normal its very puzzling ...not had chance to check the water as it was 4:05am and pitch black around the back of the house..will check if fluids have dropped..
WELCOME !!!

It is very unusual to see the temp needle go above 90 and so please do check the levels.

It MIGHT be a dodgy temp sensor but they don't normally over read like that.

It might even be a failed radiator fan motor.

With the engine running and the air con on the fan should be running on the radiator, check that, also get it up to temperature (90) switch the air con off and let it tick over after a run, the fan should kick in from time to time.

Steve B
 
Finished work for the week at 5:30, so I've had my few hrs kips, just having a fry up, then I'm gonna make a start. I'm replacing the thermostat today, see if that helps,

I've read somewhere about combustion gases making there way through, which in turn pressurises the header tank...sounds likely Kinda hope not...but we'll see
 
WELCOME !!!

It is very unusual to see the temp needle go above 90 and so please do check the levels.

It MIGHT be a dodgy temp sensor but they don't normally over read like that.

It might even be a failed radiator fan motor.

With the engine running and the air con on the fan should be running on the radiator, check that, also get it up to temperature (90) switch the air con off and let it tick over after a run, the fan should kick in from time to time.

Steve B

Fans don't kick in at all...
 
Fans don't kick in at all...

There is only one coolant fan on the radiator.

So that looks like we have identified the source of the problem.

You just need to determine if it is the FAN, The FAN control unit or the Temperature sender that is NOT the one for the dash/ECU.

The fan has a hard life and so may be the cause, disconnect it and try 12 volts on the terminals and see if it springs into life. If it does not then you have the culprit.

Steve B
 
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