Coolant + engine cover help

[red or dead]

Hi guys,

I have an A3 tdi 170,

This morning a coolant warning came up, which coolant do I need to top up with?

Also when I looked under the bonnet to check it the engine covers were loose and just came off in my hand!

Hopefully you guys could give me the type of coolant and part number for the "lugs" that hold in the engine covers!

I only had a service 1 month ago and surely these things should have been checked out?

 

[paddy]

Coolant should be about 50% water 50% anti freeze but you could just top up with water unless we get a hard winter ( lower than -4-5c ) thats assuming you have an antifreeze in the system already .

 

[Wabby]

The question is; where is the coolant going?

Is there any evidence of an external leak?

 

[Geraldy212]

Red, the engine cover should be held on by pressing it into some rubber grommets. Perhaps the cover was not pushed down sufficiently at the last service. They should not need changing or replacing. Agree with Wabby, you need to urgently discover where the coolant is going. It is a closed system, so none should be lost if everything is OK. Unless you know precisely what has been added as coolant, do not top up with water. Go buy the proper stuff (G12+ I think) and top up with that. Check that the coolant cap is on and tight, check the radiator with the engine turned off after running it until hot, at the same time check all hoses for seepage. Many cooling system only leak when the pressure is high (hot). Good luck.

 

[red or dead]

Red, the engine cover should be held on by pressing it into some rubber grommets. Perhaps the cover was not pushed down sufficiently at the last service. They should not need changing or replacing. Agree with Wabby, you need to urgently discover where the coolant is going. It is a closed system, so none should be lost if everything is OK. Unless you know precisely what has been added as coolant, do not top up with water. Go buy the proper stuff (G12+ I think) and top up with that. Check that the coolant cap is on and tight, check the radiator with the engine turned off after running it until hot, at the same time check all hoses for seepage. Many cooling system only leak when the pressure is high (hot). Good luck.

Thanks for the replies, the rubber grommets you mention are either missing or totally knackered, these are the parts I need but don't know how to get hold of them exept going down and ordering them from Audi, the engine covers just came off in my hand!

The coolant light hasn't come on again since but the level is just above minimum, can't see any signs of leaks.

 

[paddy]

The question is; where is the coolant going?

Maybe but thats not what he asked

"This morning a coolant warning came up, which coolant do I need to top up with?"

 

[SAiLO]

There's a chance that the coolant sensor rods have oxidised and therefore you got the low coolant warning on the dashboard.
Try and scrape them with a knife. That's in case the coolant level really isn't below the minimum mark.

 

[jrsteeve]

The rubber bits are about 60p-ish from Audi, just had to get some myself. Sadly don't have the part number handy but they'll know what you mean. If it was serviced by Audi i'd complain that they've been lost during the service.

 

[Dannykn9]

There's a chance that the coolant sensor rods have oxidised and therefore you got the low coolant warning on the dashboard.
Try and scrape them with a knife. That's in case the coolant level really isn't below the minimum mark.

As SAiLO said, this could be your problem. Check over the next few mornings, and if your water has not gone done then most likely your sensor rods have gone a tad rusty as this can happen over time. You can try and scrape it off, but is a bit of a pain to get to. I had this same problem a few months back, my water was fine, but on start up, especially in the mornings, i would get the coolant warning.

Before I knew what the problem was, the stealers told me it would cost about £250!! That was to find the fault, replace the part and Labour. I thought **** that!
Decided to by a new coolant bottle, and change myself and refilled with the correct antifreeze. Job sorted, no more warning light, and the best bit was, the part and new coolant bottle only came to about £40ish.
Easy to replace really.

But on saying all this, if you find over the next few mornings that your water has dropped considerably, then you mre than likely have a leak.

 

[dantdi]

The part number is 03G103184C I got them from Seat 58 p each

 

[red or dead]

Thanks for the replies, the coolant light hasn't been on since and the level has stayed the same so i'm going to give it a little top up and see how it goes. Thanks for the part no. dantdi, need to get down to Audi at the weekend order them or see if I can get them to take the blame as jrsteeve says, it's funny how the first time I've opened the bonnet since the service the engine covers drop off!

 

[Smithymartyn]

Good advice chaps as just had the same problem this morning....As a coincedence, my grommets are missing too!

 

[red or dead]

Good advice chaps as just had the same problem this morning....As a coincedence, my grommets are missing too!

By any chance was the bonnet last open in an Audi workshop??????

 

[Baffles]

Lol - the last time I had my car serviced at Audi they left the coolant cap off and shut it between the engine and bonnet! I didn't think to check until the coolant light came on and half of it had spilled all over the engine whilst driving. Great service.