help plz! car dying.. oil sludge etc, etc..

[mrleeS3]

Hi peeps, hope all is well..

having massive probs with the (not-so-)trusty s3..
(excuse me if the probs arent related, i'm not really a mechnically minded)

1st thing was coolant warning light, found out the expansion tank may have cracked, snagged new 1 off egay, filled up coolant... fine
(this was after experiencing almost boiling coolant n very very hot engine block????! :confused:)

2nd was the thermostat sensor, so got a green one (which it already was?) & now the temp gets up to normal, still not as quick as it did before failing, but at least within 15mins instead of just staying on 0 forever..

3rd. i'm getting this misfiring, so i replaced all the sparkis with bosch fr78s (as they were due) & put my new coils in & i thought it was fine, now this morn the misfiring appears again, its very spontaneous, like 1/10 starts now...
whats the next place to check that could be causing misfires? (again apologies, i dont know whats next along the iginition/firing system)

4th now...! i've got eggy sludge & a low oil light although the car has just been serviced?
(i only do short journeys, like 20-30miles at a time, i read something about short journeys n sludge on a US motor forum)
the oil was HOT today, almost smoking when i opened the filler...
stopped car, had a cig, started car again & the light went out...
put a drop of oil in when i got back until its nice & max on the dipstick (which tbfair it nearly was)
*never* in my years of driving have i seen oil smoking hot like that?!

all this heat is concerning shouldnt be getting this driving sensibly to work & back!?!?! (srsly, i drive like a pensioner i'm told :O )
plz, plz tell me this could just be the prats at the cheapo garage i used have just put in crapppy oil!!!!

*is this likely? (tbh i only paid £40 for oil & filter service thru a *mate*)
*can i just do an oil service myself with some new 501.01 oil? or is there a flushing solution for mishaps like this?
*am i just to face facts that my head gasket might be going :( &
take the poor thing out into the fields like an old horse n shoot it? (jokes)
its 2000(x) w/ 92000mls

soz for the essay, i'm a bit worried/angry/sick of things going wrong with the old hag lately it used to be a diamond...any help much apprieciated!

M

[Crasher]

Is the temperature gauge needle going above the middle at the 90 mark?

Is it using water?

Is the sludge on the back of the oil filler cap very thick and also inside the cover or just a light coating? We tend to call that build up mayonnaise, for obvious reasons.

[mrleeS3]

temp is staying in the middle now just below 90 average after replacing the thermo

not using more water than usual i dont think, i filled it up normal maintenance 3 weeks back & topped up last weekend (but it didnt take much to fill?)

& the sludge is just a few a light coating on the back of the filler cap at the mo (aye mate looks like spicy mayo :biglaugh:)

cheers in advance as usual!

[Crasher]

In that case, I do not think you have anything to worry about.

[mrleeS3]

cheers for the reassurance muck, i'll keep an eye on it for a few days

:p

[mrleeS3]

no warning light, but smoking oil again today, it starts to smell after driving a while.. the dipper says the oil is at full

surely its not normal for the oil to get this hot?

could the fact the thermostat is still taking ages to get to 90 be making the engine excessively hot = smoking oil?

again bear mechanics/engine knowledge so dont know where to look next..
(i cleary dont want to go to audi & get bummed... )

i'm quite worried its going to blow up of something :confused:

any other ideas? i've got a laptop/lead & demo of vag.com/vcs thing but that probs wont show much up if theres no warning lights right?
last time i had a mooch on that it said no errors?

(time to start saving the rest towards a nice 07> golf gti methinks )

:1zhelp:

cheers in advance

[Crasher]

If the thermostat was ticking open, the engine would over cool not over heat. You cannot guess the temperature of the oil; you have to measure it, which is quite involved so as the engine is not overheating you have to assume the oil is not overheating.

Why would going to Audi get you bummed? Just because they are the main dealer does not mean they will rip you off. I think you need to take it to a garage experienced in these particular VAG engines and get the opinion of a mechanic.

When you take the filler cap off a hot engine, the oil does smoke but we cannot see this so we have to go on your description.

[mrleeS3]

Is it using water?



back again. missed this before
(starting & running better now, but )

not so lots of water but seem to be losing or using a lot of coolant?
gone thru a few bottles of g12 in the last month?

ggrrrr..

will update with photos of anything i spot when its better light tommorow.
could this be a leaky radiator or something?

:confused:

[Crasher]

not so lots of water but seem to be losing or using a lot of coolant?
gone thru a few bottles of g12 in the last month?

:banghead: :D

[mrleeS3]

<<<car maintenance noob

:biglaugh: lol

so heres a few photos i snagged this morning..
couldnt get the car very high to get reeet under there on the standard jack

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/9602/18072010019.jpg

(soz for massive photos) this is by the bottom of the backwall of the engine cav, the drip is forming here..
having trouble seeing the source tho, due to heatshields, linings etc

heres an above shot, showing another angle

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6679/18072010022.jpg

& here is something clearly leaking & maybe in direct alignment with where the drip is forming at the bottom?
soz, i dont know what this part is & oldman wasnt about to ask... its top right of the engine bay under the pollen filter area..
dosent look healthy lol, only noticed this today, clearly been leaking a while tho!

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4514/18072010020.jpg

if its any help, its loosing about 'max to min' in the expansion tank markings a week
(using 50/50 g12 & water) if i fill it up sunday, its beeping again by saturday (about 150miles later)

checked bottom of rad for leaks & inside floorpan incase heater etc has leaked & had a quick scout for any obvious leaks by thermo etc

any help apprieciated as per usual!

[Crasher]

That looks like water from the condensation drain in the air con system.

[mrleeS3]

(crasher, youre a legend!)

is that nowt serious to worry about then?
i cant see any substantial leak when the car has been running with a/c

...

on a completely separate note..

the rubber washer/seal under the top of the oil cap is very perished & also
the green larger one under the whole filler cap housing is kinda shrunk/flimsy seal... are these easy to get?

:beerchug:

[Crasher]

The operation of the A/C develops condensation, it has to drain out and that is where it appears.

Just buy a new oil filler cap, I see that a lot.

[mrleeS3]

cheers bud, i'll get one on order