Burning antifreeze!

[Elliott Potter]

Well every V6 car that Audi made in 1992-1993 leaked from every gasket
that involved fluids; valley pan, camshafts, crankshaft, rear main, and
head gaskets.  Head gaskets tend to be the most noticeable.  Usually the
head gaskets only leak oil, but coolant runs through them too so you
never know.  I replaced everything except the front crankshaft seal and
the rear main seal about a year ago, and haven't had any more problems.
--
Elliott

Dan Simoes wrote:
> 
> In my experience, the V6 in the 93-95 90s has a tendency to eat head
> gaskets, I'm not quite sure why.
> 
> Diana Johnson wrote:
> >
> > Wow!  We our Audi has a twin sister!  We bought our '93 Audi 90 quattro
> > with 100,000 mi. on it and within a couple of days noticed some white
> > smoke and a bad odor after driving it.  It was definitely leaking some
> > oil, so we took it to the dealership where they quoted us almost $2000
> > to replace the head and valve cover gaskets.  We decided to try
> > replacing the valve cover gasket ourselves, which seemed to slow the
> > accumulation of leaking oil, but the head gasket is still leaking since
> > there's a bit of oil still dripping, the smell has returned and the
> > antifreeze is looking sort of orange.  In addition, the muffler sounds
> > like crap and needs to be replaced.  The previous owner replaced the
> > catalyst at 84K miles and I know he had a coolant leak which got into
> > the interior.  I also found out after buying the car that the valves
> > were machined at about 75K miles after the serpentine belt snapped and I
> > assume they replaced the gaskets then.  They have probably been leaking
> > ever since.  We've been debating whether to try to replace the head
> > gasket ourselves, but we've also heard of others who have replaced it
> > and still had it leak.  It sounds like we have to do something or we're
> > going to be in for more exhaust system repairs like you have had.  The
> > amazing thing is that it runs perfectly cool on 90+ degree days in 90%
> > humidity.  I wish I knew what to do about it myself, but all I can say
> > is that I feel your pain!
> >
> > Diana Johnson
> > johnson55119 at qwest.net
> >
> > I recently had to replace the entire exaust system on my 1993 Quattro 90
> > and found that my car was emitting white smoke just before and after the
> > repair took place.  My Audi Mechanic told me that it was possible that
> > the smoke came from burning Antifreeze which also ruins catalytic
> > converters and mufflers.  This could have been the reason why the entire
> > exaust system went bad at just 85K.  Burning antifreeze in my experience
> > points to a bad head gasket or a cracked cylinder head.  I know that if
> > it is a head problem then things get expensive real fast.  As it is, the
> > new exaust system was a bargain of an aftermarket job done with Porsche
> > turbo parts at about $700 labor free.  Any advice, or anyone else with
> > the same experience from a 93 Quattro 90.  As a side note Audi also has
> > a recall on all model 90 mufflers from 1991 to 1993.  Just my luck this
> > didn't include Quattro's.