Help - high usage of coolant

[csducks]

Help guys please,

My A3 53 plate is using allot of coolant.

SO far what ive had checked..

its had the gas check done to check the head gasget, thats fine
the heater is working fine, so the water pump must be working
the air seal check on pipes and stuff, and all clear their also.

Im told by mechanics so far that it could be just the seal on the filler cap on the coolant tank which is letting in air, although they seem doubt thats the problem with mine.

No one so far can give me any other ideas..


So if anyone can give me any idea whatsoever what it could be, id be greatly appreciated.

Basically if i do a 100 miles journey it used about 100ml of coolant or around that much. there are no leaks, nor is there anything visable around the engine or any of the pipes from what i or any of the mechanics can see.

I am truly stuck by this...

cheers guys for any comments.

Regards

[johnloaderuk]

Im told by mechanics so far that it could be just the seal on the filler cap on the coolant tank which is letting in air, although they seem doubt thats the problem with mine.

Have you changed the cap. It cured the same problem on the wife's Passat, and only cost a few pounds,

[Mike Foster]

I assume you have a 2.0l TDI with a BKD engine ?

If you have then I'm afraid to report that early versions of this engine had what is called a ' porous head ' which allows the coolant to disappear without there being any apparent fault ! It was a manufacturing problem which Audi knows existed but are very reluctant to accept.

However, other symptoms usually manifest themselves such as poor starting from cold and white exhaust smoke rather than black. Also the underside of the oil filler cap will tend to have a 'milky' appearance.

You could always buy a bottle of K-Seal from Halfords etc. which you just pour into the coolant header bottle and this is likely to help by reducing the porosity of the head. It costs a tenner and must be worth a punt !

I hope I am wrong in my diagnosis but you should be aware that very many threads on this and other forums all come to the same conclusion.

If you don't have a BKD engine then that's great and it will not be the above symptoms - however still use the K-Seal !

Good luck :beerchug:

[onzarob]

Don't put in any additive! But do check the radiator. They are well known to leak, sometimes very slowly! The are difficult to check because the air-con rad it the one infront and visible through the front grill and the fans cover the other side!

;)

My car is a BKD 2.0tdi but the rad problem happens on all of them

[Mike Foster]

Don't put in any additive! But do check the radiator. They are well known to leak, sometimes very slowly! The are difficult to check because the air-con rad it the one infront and visible through the front grill and the fans cover the other side!

;)

My car is a BKD 2.0tdi but the rad problem happens on all of them

Totally disagree with the comment about not putting an additive in.

It can't do any harm and will help to seek out and fix all sorts of leaks.

I used it when I had a leak (BKD engine) and, after checking with the manufacturer of the product, I was assured it was more than likely to help and would certainly do no harm.

After checking the obvious ( which I must admit I thought you had already done ) try the additive. For a tenner it has to be worth it !

Your next alternative will be to talk to a guy on another forum who reconditions BKD cylinder heads.

[csducks]

@johnloadenruk, thanks for that, yeah its certainly worth a try. cheers.

@Mike, i dont think its that, as there is no white smoke, nor is they any white creamy sludge on the oil cap, althoug its something i take on board, thanks for the advice, i did buy some of that leak stuff to deal with any leaks, and yeah everyone i have spoken to tonight agree with your opinion.

@onzarob, again thanks, all these comments are very helpful, and iwill certainly be looking at the radiator..

however why so set against not using the sealer, in your opinion is that a very bad idea, its seems agreat idea to me, and folk a have spoken to this evening in car shop, they all agree it will sort the problem, and it couldnt a just been them trying to sell it me as they didnt have any in???

again though apreciate your take on it, and through your comments guys i now have a better idea where i should be looking, all comments greatly appreciated.
regards

[csducks]

"Your next alternative will be to talk to a guy on another forum who reconditions BKD cylinder heads."

im not tbh knowledgable about these thing, may be a silly question but is the cylider head another name for head gasget?

as that was checked today, mm a gas test was done on it and it was given a all clear.. there is no gas escaping from there 100% so cant be head gasget.

apart from that im pretty lost with this now, but always learning.

[towcestervag]

check the egr cooler they leak internally and usually only show up leaks on longer journeys

[Mike Foster]

"Your next alternative will be to talk to a guy on another forum who reconditions BKD cylinder heads."

im not tbh knowledgable about these thing, may be a silly question but is the cylider head another name for head gasget?

as that was checked today, mm a gas test was done on it and it was given a all clear.. there is no gas escaping from there 100% so cant be head gasget.

apart from that im pretty lost with this now, but always learning.

No mate - it's not the gasket, it's the actual cylinder head itself that might be porous. Something to do with the metal casting having minute air bubbles in at at manufacture I think. It doesn't leak as such, more that the coolant seeps into the head and evaporates with the heat. Some of this has been known to get into the cylinders and cause the symptoms I have described.

Anyway, if you're not showing any of the other symptoms lets hope it is not that problem and you find what it actually is !

Good luck !

[onzarob]

I'm not a fan of additives, maybe in a £1000 banger but a £5000 + car I would rather find the cause. Sealants also atach themselves to water pump shaft etc and can cause failure. They are not a golden fix.

From what you have said you don't have signs of water in the oil so I would focus on radiator and towcasters suggestion first. good luck

Rob

[phil miller]

As Rob has said i wouldnt put that anywhere near your car, its prime task is to block a leak, now years ago i had an astra that leaked alittle water so i used K **** fine stopped the leak but my heater only got warm not hot, so not only did i have to replace the rad i also had to replace the heater matrix as the crap had blocked that aswell, dont take this the wrong way but if you cant fix it properly then maybe you should have a car that it wont matter on, your car is not worth £1000 so why fit it as tho it was

[zollaf]

indeed, any type of rad weld repair stuff is designed to either make a car last a little bit longer before you scrap it, or to get you out of trouble, say on a journey and your radiator springs a leak due to damage and you cannot replace it because its sunday, and you forgot to renew your aa membership, and you are miles from your destination and just happen to have some in the boot.
however, a pressure test of the cooling system will usually show up any small leaks, you just need to find a garage who can do it.

[ford776]

I've never found gas leak tests to be very good, try a cylinder leakage test, where compressed air is pumped into each cylinder at TDC. If the water rises in the header tank you know you've got a crack.

[phil miller]

I've never found gas leak tests to be very good, try a cylinder leakage test, where compressed air is pumped into each cylinder at TDC. If the water rises in the header tank you know you've got a crack.

the sniff test is great aslong as the analizer can notice a small difference in gases, another good way is to pressure the coolant system then put the engine running and see if the pressure raises or not

[audi a3 chick]

I had the same and it was a cracked head... checked all the same things you did. Audi not for admitting the problem but I kept on and on at them and in the end they confirmed my suspicions. At one point they told me A3s did it... They didnt know this wasnt my first A3 so I knew that was rubbish. Then tried to tell me i was hearing things.... Had to take legal advice and turn up with some muscle lol, but they took the car back (id only had it 2 weeks) and gave me a full refund. Dont give up!!!

[petejjunior]

hi ive hade the same problem the coolant leaks in to number 1 via the intet valve port and wot an *** to find a new head would rush you around £500 from ivor searl not worth havin recon and risking it going again in another cylinder