2000 A6 2.7T overheating

[Ingo Rautenberg]

Dave,

Let the car sit overnight (or over at least a few hours and then  
check oil cap and dipstick for any coolant getting into the oil  
(hopefully not), indicating possible headgasket leak.  As to down a  
couple of quarts -- I'm guessing that's how much you had to refill to  
"proper" level.  You didn't notice any steam?  When was the water  
pump last replaced?  Mileage? Any change in performance?  Smoke out  
back end?

Best case faulty sending unit (but I doubt it).

Ingo

On Jun 5, 2008, at 10:56 AM, quattro-request at audifans.com wrote:

> From: kf21857 at comcast.net
> Date: June 5, 2008 2:38:12 AM GMT-04:00
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Subject: 2000 A6 2.7T overheating
>
>
> I was on the freeway this afternoon when my 2000 A6 2.7T began  
> overheating rather abruptly.  I pulled off and let it cool for a  
> few minutes until the temp gauge dropped to a reasonable level,  
> then made it to my destination, which wasn't far.  I had to stop  
> several times for the trip back home.  The coolant level was down a  
> couple of quarts but not extremely low.  No visible leaks and the  
> coolant level isn't dropping.  The cooling fan is running on low  
> speed but the engine compartment doesn't really feel that hot.  The  
> car has been running fine even on hot days so something failed  
> suddenly.  Bad temp sensor?  Stuck thermostat?  Internal failure in  
> the water pump?  I am thinking of temporarily replacing one of the  
> coolant temp sensors with a mechanical temp gauge before I start  
> tearing things apart.  Any other suggestions?
> thanks,
> Dave
>