2003 a3 2.0 tdi 140 water loss

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Rallynut87

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hi all, my a3 seems to be using water like its goin out of fasion there is no visable signs of a leak and no white smoke suggesting the head gasket has gon, it empties the expantion tank every few hundred miles, ive been told its the waterpump, allowing water to seep past it and escape out, and evaperate, and also the temp guage was being funny this morn, saying its sitting at 90 next minute its on 50 then climbed back up to 90, im just wondering if anyone has experienced the same issue,

its doing my head in, help me please
 
With that much water dissapearing, it should be obvious where the leak is. Suggest you get the car up on a ramp and take a good look underneath while the engine is running and up to temperature. A lot of water leaks only become visible when the water is hot and the system is pressurised. Sounds to me like it could be a split pipe or water connection. On the temperature gauge, you will need a VCDS scan to determine if you have a temperature sensor problem. Good luck.
 
Sorry to say it's the classic age and classic symptoms of a porous head. Nothing to do with the water pump.

The early BKD engines with a cylinder head number with an 'A' suffix were prone to this and it was caused by a manufacture problem although Audi never accepted responsibility. The fault was in the casting that allowed water to seep into the cylinders ( mainly 1 and 2 ) causing the coolant to evaporate without any signs of a leak.

There are many threads on here about the same problem. Do you have any signs of a milky type substance on the oil filler cap ?

The temperature gauge relies on water to determine the temperature (obviously) and if the water level is low, or there has been some sort of airlock then it can fluctuate.

You can try a bottle of K-Seal which you can get from Halfords for about £7 ish and you just pour it into the header bottle and run the engine. It looks for leaks and seals them.

Obviously you should check the radiator for leaks as well but if K-Seal doesn't work then the only permanent fix is a new or secondhand head.

Do a search for 'porous head' on here and you can read up about it.
 
In order that I would check,

Heater matrix - Check floor carpet in both driver and passenger footwells
Radiator & all coolant hoses - fairly common to corrode in the bottom 2 corners and begin leaking.
Water pump
EGR cooler - just to rule it out
Cylinder head - get a cylinder leakage test/compression test done
 
im just doing a pressure test as we speak there is no emulsification on the oil cap, ive just started the car, to get it up to temp, to see if i can trace any leaks on pipes or joints , lets hope its somthing simple like a bad connection, there is a tiny bit of white crust on the bottom pipe of the expantion tank, im just hoping its there when its up to temp, it should start to leak fingers crossed,,,,,
 
test inconclusive the expantion tank doesnt show any signs of leaking, the visable hoses from top, no signs of leaks, going to get it on the ramps and see if any signs from underneath,
 
Hi
Had a similar issue with my TDi, turns out it was just my radiator, £160 fitted, problem sorted.
 
im going through the same problem done all the test as above replacing head this week
i have also got the dreaded A head wich has had pourous issues !
 
could someone in the know please describe where to find the number on the cylinder head for any newbie/novice who wants to know which version they have (like myself) to check if theirs may have been replaced
 
Problem Solved had the car back a few days now and the water doesnt seam to have dropped, turns out it was the egr cooler and gaskets,
 
im deleteing the egr cooler all together this week as the egr is mapped out the cooler is not needed.
 
I personally feel like the whole "A" suffix head thing has been blown way out of proportion. Seriously how many thousands of BKD engines have this head, and if all or most of them failed surely Audi would be forced into a recall.
 
tdi-man said:
im deleteing the egr cooler all together this week as the egr is mapped out the cooler is not needed.
Click to expand...


how do you mean egr mapped? im just glad thats it fixed now, when you spend £000's on a car you dont expect to have problems within 2 weeks of buying it, but hey ho, they fixed it, out of warrenty i just told um fix it or keep the car, lol
 
just what i wanted to here mines 53 plate :s.where is the a stamped?whoops i just read on sorry,time to get my torch!!!:p
 
EGR WAS MAPPED OUT THE SYSTEM WHEN HAD THE CAR MAPPED. SO no need for an egr cooler so will be removed this week. cost to remove egr is about 10.00 for the part and an hour if that to move the pipework
 
im gonna take a look under the bonnet today to see what head its got on it, just for personal referance, mines a sport 140, how much extra bhp/economy can you get out of these with a ecu remap
 
should give you 30 to 40 more bhp
do your research on your map as some give economy and some just give you power remember if you remap you will put other parts ie clutch flywheel under more strain witch could cost you in the long run loads of threads on here regarding remaps good luck
 
i think i might leav it as it is, :D its quick enough as it is so cant be bothered with getting it done, was considering it,
 
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