100CS & pig roasts & overheating

[quk@sievers.com (Phil Payne)]

In message <970614001736_-1194457635@emout17.mail.aol.com> Licubar@aol.com writes:

> Since I bought the Audi, I have been slooooooowly educating myself about
> cars, and I actually ask my guy coworkers to teach me more about cars.
>  Here's the "bug".  When I drive the Audi for 15-20 miles, and let it sit in
> the garage for 1 hour, the hood of the car is still very hot.  It feels like
> it baked in the sun on a parking lot.  Meanwhile, the BMW is half as hot, and
> the Toyota is much cooler.  Thus the joke, my Audi heats up enough to have a
> pig roast under the hood. 

I'm tempted to say "that's normal".  Engines are designed to run at high 
temperatures, and Audi intend the engine - once warm - to stay warm ready for 
imminent use.  What's "hot" to you is "normal" for an engine - you'll see the 
benefits in 100k or 200k miles, when the engine still runs without any apparent 
signs of wear.
 
There _is_, however, one potential issue in the after-run fan.  This runs to 
cool the radiator if it's _really_ hot, and sounds (in an enclosed garage) a 
little like a Jumbo jet taxiing.  You should hear this at least occasionally, 
and if you don't it usually means that the switch (on the rear of the radiator, 
at the bottom) is either disconnected or defective.  On a five year old car, 
there's a reasonable chance that this switch has gone.

--
 Phil Payne
 phil@sievers.com
 Committee Member, UK Audi [ur-]quattro Owners Club