Just had her serviced but got bad news!

[bhavin1986]

Ive just had my car serviced. But my mechanic told me that there's some gunk in the coolant tank used to sometimes block leakages(dunno what it's called). Also found condensation on the oil cap! Im getting a mechanic to get the head gasket tested in the weekend, and my uncle who's a mechanic has advised me the car is fine but I'm doubtful. Any one else had this? Im in a flap as to what to do! Any help would be appreciated.

 

[1animal1]

i bought mine with condensation on the oil cap....a nice creamy gunk that would have made me reject any other car.... apparently if you do lots of short trips...the A3/S3 is prone to it......... regarding the coolant...ive no idea

 

[ash_s3]

Wouldnt be too woirried about the gunk under the oil cap, as said, short trips will not let the engine warm up properly so condensation will form. Should all be gone after a good long run.
The stuff in the coolant reservoir is probably radweld, check the condition of the radiator, could have been used to repair a small crack in the radiator.

 

[HTC]

If you only travel short distances, in colder months condensation can build up in these engines. This mixed with oil causes the mayo substance. Go for a drive to really warm the car up and it should disapear.

Someone in the past may have added another brand of coolant to top up. This mixed with the audi G12 will cause a gunk brown residue. You can run these cars of other brands of coolant, you just have to completely flush the system beforehand.

If the engine is not over heating, using excessive oil and the compression is good then there may be nothing to worry about.

 

[HTC]

Darn, I type too slow

 

[1animal1]

yuup:thumbsup:

 

[bhavin1986]

Yeah the mechanic mentioned radweld. Ive had a look and cant find anything with the radiator. Also no leaks at all since I've had the car. Am always consciously checking for them. Let's see what the test brings up. Cheers

 

[1animal1]

seriously though mate, dont worry about it........seen this quite a few times since ive been on here (only 3-4 months)

 

[bhavin1986]

If you only travel short distances, in colder months condensation can build up in these engines. This mixed with oil causes the mayo substance. Go for a drive to really warm the car up and it should disapear.

Someone in the past may have added another brand of coolant to top up. This mixed with the audi G12 will cause a gunk brown residue. You can run these cars of other brands of coolant, you just have to completely flush the system beforehand.

If the engine is not over heating, using excessive oil and the compression is good then there may be nothing to worry about.

Nice one pal, The car isn't over heating over city trips. Does reach just below halfway(90) at long periods of high speed ie. M'ways and A roads. I'm gonna flush the coolant and replace with coolant. Lets wait and see! Cheers for the help!

 

[S£]

seriously though mate, dont worry about it........seen this quite a few times since ive been on here (only 3-4 months)

Only been on here 3-4 months, but made 888 posts!!! Thats not bad going! You must have a very understanding missus! i get in ear if I'm on here more than a hour! I sometimes try sneaking on the computer when she's not looking!

 

[HTC]

Nice one pal, The car isn't over heating over city trips. Does reach just below halfway(90) at long periods of high speed ie. M'ways and A roads. I'm gonna flush the coolant and replace with coolant. Lets wait and see! Cheers for the help!

Ah-ha, this could be your problem then. Your car should run at 90° on the gauge all the time after warming up. Your engine is probably running too cool causing the mayo to be more possible.
I recommend checking the engine temp via the air con panel. There is a hidden mode for checking that. And/or looking into swapping the thermostat.

Do a quick search for thermostat and temp sender issues.

 

[1animal1]

Only been on here 3-4 months, but made 888 posts!!! Thats not bad going! You must have a very understanding missus! i get in ear if I'm on here more than a hour! I sometimes try sneaking on the computer when she's not looking!

Shes not understanding at all mate..... simple matter of timing when shes on Facebook ...and having a sneak whilst im at work...... although it is a waste of time and no woman IMO will ever understand the passion for cars

 

[themanthatcan]

Ah-ha, this could be your problem then. Your car should run at 90° on the gauge all the time after warming up. Your engine is probably running too cool causing the mayo to be more possible.
I recommend checking the engine temp via the air con panel. There is a hidden mode for checking that. And/or looking into swapping the thermostat.

Do a quick search for thermostat and temp sender issues.

Ah that's interesting. Noticed this morning that mine has the same issue with the temp guage sitting just below 90 while on the motorway. As soon as I slow down it returns to 90.

What sort of problems could be caused by the engine running too cool?

 

[1animal1]

i think we are taking a slight dip on the temp meter...a lil too seriously..... my 1.8T used to go slightly cooler in different conditions.... im talking millimeter movements on the temp gauge.... nothing to worry about IMO unless its moving quite drastically

 

[Turbo Lag]

If you're driving on the motorway for a long time, the temperature is going to drop below 90 degrees because of all the extra air going into the engine, I wouldn't worry about it too much. As long as it stays at 90 while you're doing town driving etc, then it's no problem. I had the same kind of worries, but got it checked out at a recent service and was all fine. Even if you find a problem, it's pretty simple to solve, and as someone said there's a few threads about it on here to help you fix it.

 

[HTC]

The thermostat is there to prevent the the engine temp dropping on motorways.

S3/A3 should always sit at 90 all the time after warm up. A little fluctuation isn't going to damamge anything. If the needle doesn't move or only gets 1/4 way up for long periods, then you are over cooling. Engines are built to warm running tollerances. If too cold then you could be submitting parts to extra wear and you'll be down on efficiency an mpg.

 

[Turbo Lag]

Yep, I should have said - the fluctuation on the motorway for me was a couple of degrees, if that, which is negligable.

 

[1animal1]

think you all sound like a set of old women...... if it drops below significantly, that would start me worrying.. a couple of degrees isnt worth losin sleep over