After engine advise please my 3 litre tdi is poorly

[holmefield]

I've posted this here mods as im trying to catch as many folks as possible to help me figure this issue out..

Right folks im after some advise please long story short my 63 plate audi A7 3 litre Tdi is using about 1000ml of coolant/water mix every 300/350 miles..im gutted have been monitoring it for about 6/8 weeks same amount disappearing...its a 2013 year 245bhp model with fsh and 88000 miles..

I've had a look and cant see any leaks from the hoses i can see and nothing seems to be coming out of the coolant expansion tank that you fill up..i've looked inside the oil cap and theres no milky stuff in there, oil usage is spot on and theres no steam present with the engine running or when i turn it off.

Its going in the garage on friday for some exhaust work and i've asked them to have a look whilst its up on the ramps to see if theres any pools of water.

So other than the dreaded Possibilty that the HEAD GASKETS have failed what should i get them to look @ please??

WATER PUMP ?
EGR COOLER ?
WATER PIPES ?
RADIATOR ?
INTERCOOLER ?

IS there anywhere else to check...

Any advised would be hugely appreciated, to say im gutted is an understatement i've only owned the car 3 months and i love it..

But i just have this horrible feeling the head gaskets have failed with the amount its using.

Thanks

 

[desertstorm]

Head gasket failures on these engines are almost unheard of. A more common issue and could be your problem is issues with the EGR cooler. The EGR gas passes through a matrix of pipes and these are cooled by coolant passing through the cooler. internal leaks can occur, the coolant is vapourised and passes out the exhaust. WIth the amount you are loosing a leak would be pretty obvious I would have thought you should see anti freeze stains.
The EGR cooler is a bit of a pig to get too but it's a cheaper fix than a head gasket problem.

 

[holmefield]

Right cars having a new water pump fitted on friday, i have spoken to my warranty company and got the ball rolling, they agree that water pump is 1st option to try if when pulling the car apart to do that if summut else crops up my garage are gunna speak directly with my warranty company and see what else needs changing/mending..but my warranty only covers upto £40 per hour with a total spend cap of £2000 per claim

 

[holmefield]

So to add to the above post when i got home i took some pics from the front of the car looking down @ the belts in front of the engine block.pics when i got home and all my belts @ the front looking straight down from the front grill are wet...and theres a couple of little water puddles below the belts...looks like the water pump is next to the belts on the right hand side halfway down the block...so either waters running onto the belts from above or the egr or pumps playing up...im praying the head gaskets aren't goosed...pics to follow..then im off to bed thanks for all the great help and advise, this facebook site is full of friendly helpful folks...

 

[holmefield]

Its hard to see but there's wayer on the belts and little pools of water below the belts and some on the under tray below the engine directly under where the water pump is..

 

[holmefield]

Thanks desertstorm for your reply...hopefully its water pump related.

On a side note, have you had some work done @ UNICORN development's? I wasnt sure if it was you that recommend them for remap work??

 

[desertstorm]

@holmefield just come back across this thread. Hope you got the car sorted. And in answer to your previous question yes I did get my catr mapped at Unicorn. Been there 3 times in all, once for a remap on standard turbo, remap for the hybrid and a remap on my 1.8 TT track car.
Rick is a great guy and you won't get a better map on your car.

 

[holmefield]

Cheers desertstorm

I will prob end up going to unicorn for a remap @ some point, but @ the moment still trying to get to the bottom of the water usage.

I had the water pump fitted, but that didnt stop the water usage..its been back since and in all has now been pressure tested 3 times and passed each time.

So then the garage used a bioiscope to check the egr cooler and all the pipes and hidden from the eye joints and couldnt find anything, they left the car ticking over for ages but again nothing untowards..

So they've added a bottle of K-Seal to see if it stops/reduces the water usage..its got me baffled as to wear its leaking from..

On a side note they did notice that my Oil filter housing is starting to leak slightly and will need replacing soon....its around £220 for the part and im now out of warranty...bummer