[ba] Mystery fluid leakage -- '04 A4 1.8T

[Arun Rao]

Thanks, guys ... I tasted the stuff, and it's coolant all right.  I was mistaking the soapy feel for oiliness.

At any rate, it appears that other people have had this problem, and it's a leak in something that Audi simply calls a "plug" that goes into the thermostat housing.  Audi has a TSB detailing the problem, and it sounds a lot like ours.

Hooray for the Internet!

-Arun
 
On Dec 31, 2010, at 10:02 AM, Matt twentyV wrote:

> that's what I was thinking too.  Look for tell-tale pinkish white crusts that will identify the source of the leak.  Usual culprits are the afterrun pump, the expansion tank, and the radiator.
> 
> -Matt
> '91cq//20vt
> '95.5S6//avant
> '08A42.0T//avant
> 
> --- On Fri, 12/31/10, Brian Devlin <nilvednairb at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
>> From: Brian Devlin <nilvednairb at yahoo.com>
>> Subject: Re: [ba] Mystery fluid leakage -- '04 A4 1.8T
>> To: "Bay Area Audi Group" <ba-group at audifans.com>
>> Date: Friday, December 31, 2010, 9:26 AM
>> Coolant feels oily sometimes- have
>> you tried to mix it with water? I usually 
>> just get a bit of any mystery fluid on my finger and then
>> drip some water on it. 
>> Oil repels water 100%, coolant mixes, DOT 3&4 brake
>> fluid mixes slowly. 
>> I don't think any other fluids are pink on that car - maybe
>> the gear oil, if 
>> it's synthetic (a lot of Redline oils are pink). 
>> 
>> -Brian
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> From: Arun Rao <rao at pixar.com>
>> To: ba-group at audifans.com
>> Sent: Thu, December 30, 2010 12:00:37 PM
>> Subject: [ba] Mystery fluid leakage -- '04 A4 1.8T
>> 
>> Folks,
>> 
>> My son's 2004 A4 recently started doing two things, which
>> *might* be unrelated:
>> 
>> * Dripping clear oil 
>> * Losing coolant
>> 
>> Both of these things started happening soon after he
>> changed the oil and 
>> replaced the stock exhaust with a Magnaflow. 
>> 
>> 
>> The oil seems to be very clean, almost clear, but with a
>> slight pinkish tinge to 
>> it. Is manual transmission fluid pink? Never heard of it
>> leaking.
>> 
>> We've checked for obvious leaks (engine oil, brake and
>> hydraulic fluids -- none 
>> of which are pink anyway), but found none.  None of them
>> are particularly low, 
>> except for the coolant.
>> 
>> The timing belt was overdue (96K), so I had it changed
>> along with the water 
>> pump, but it looks like we're still losing coolant.
>> 
>> I'm baffled. Any tips would be appreciated ...
>> 
>> -Arun
>> 
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> 
> 
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