[V8] A6. Black Pepper to stop a leaking water pump?

[Bryan Kamerer]

I can add a little to this.  Both on Chemistry and timing belts

A) Chemistry
Pepper can work as a very short-term fix. It will get in suspension, then
what it does is once in suspension in the fluid, when it encounters air
again, it oxidizes rapidly and forms a gunky solid. So it will seal leaks.
But it is unstable, and prone to re-suspension.  So it won't last, and it
will rapidly degrade the cooling and anti-oxidizing properties of your
coolant.  As my Jesuit friends might say - if you choose this method, go
with God.

So if you need a fast fix, use it, but then you will still need to replace
the pump or seal soon, as well as fully flush and change the coolant.

B) Belts

I have had a bad experience with belts on my V8 and also an Acura.  On
both, Dealer did it, didn't do it right.  On the V8, it failed 30k miles
 later and cost me about $4,400  to fix the damage.  Acura dealer did the
t-belt on my SLX.  But they skipped changing the tensioner; it failed 30k
later.  Non-interference motor so no head damge unlike the V8.  Now
realizing dealers were idiots in general, I did the repair myself - belt,
water pump, tensioner ,pulleys, etc - $200.  Recently our Lexus ES300/330
needed a 2nd belt - did it all myself and many other minor repairs, $200.

So - find a VERY GOOD private mechanic you trust and pay $500 to $800.  Or
pay a dealer double that and roll a roulette wheel.  Better yet, get dirty
and do it yourself for $200 and know it is done properly.  There are good
private mechanics, but it takes effort and time to find one. Since Bruno
Kreibich wrenched on mine a long time ago, I have not found local people up
to the job.





On Sat, Nov 22, 2014 at 6:47 PM, <bkrussow at comcast.net> wrote:

> You basically have to do a timing belt job to replace the water pump. That
> should be done about every 80K to 100K miles the cost would be about
> $1100.00. If its the secondary water pump that's $800.00 to $900.00. It's a
> 2000, with a 115K miles? I hope that's at least it's 2nd belt. You may be
> ready for a new belt just because of the age.
>
> Bob
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: "Brad Hartman" <info at speakoutpro.com>
> To: "V8 List" <v8 at audifans.com>
> Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2014 6:40:09 PM
> Subject: [V8] A6.  Black Pepper to stop a leaking water pump?
>
> 2000 Audi A6 Quattro -- 2.7 twin turbo, AUTOMATIC.  About 115K miles.
>
> I have been slowly losing coolant for several months.  Decided to have my
> Audi mechanic have a look, but he's not available during the weekend and I
> really wanted someone to do a pressure test, so I spent $30 today at Midas.
> They traced it to the water pump and thermostat housing -- both leaking.
>
> Quoted something like $2K to replace.  Indicated that you have to drop the
> entire front end of the car, have the Rolling  Stones flown in to play
> while
> the mechanic works, etc.
>
> I asked to speak with they guy who diagnosed the leak and he suggested that
> I add three teaspoons of black pepper to my coolant -- said it could work
> wonders.  General comments on adding pepper please?
>
> Also, any comments on what I should expect to spend on this would be
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brad, former V8 owner and long-time list member.
>
>
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