So my s3 is approaching 5 years old with 34k miles and the low coolant light only came on once (within a year of me owning it). Given the history of how many water pumps can fail or loss of coolant on these engines would you say it would be wise to change the coolant along with the silica bag / expansion tank along with the water pump at only 5 years. I plan on keeping it for as long as possible as wanted to do it as a preventive maintenance or would it be wise to do it if I started to have coolant loss issues.
Coolant Question
- Thread starter Shawn8V
- Start date
I removed my bag with some needle nose pliers very gently, or take the tank off and remove the bag.
Just top up with a bit of pink stuff if needed.
Just top up with a bit of pink stuff if needed.
as far as replacing pump as a preventative measure my one cost over £700 to replace and not through Audi but an independent, so if money is no option go ahead but what next ? replace clutch before it goes and change the turbo just in case. I would advise just wait till you have issues with it then deal with it.
luckily most of it paid for by extended warranty I got when purchasing car , only had to pay the excess on labour as max they would pay was £40 an hour. so cost me just over £100
the pumps is cheap but the labour involved is probably the expensive bit. Not sure how the s3 water pump is driven but if it’s like most other cars then it’s same job as timing belt replacement and while you are in there you might as well replace pulleys/tensioners and the belts themselves. If it’s £700 for timing belt and water pump it isn’t actually that bad.
Lucky my pump is on the front so you just needed to remove the bumper.
The waterpump and timing belt cost me £350.00 which included labour, maybe the S3 waterpump is harder to reach.
The waterpump and timing belt cost me £350.00 which included labour, maybe the S3 waterpump is harder to reach.
That was just pump and thermostat housing which looking online cost about £340. As far as I am aware my engine is timing chain not belt
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My 67 plate s3 is coming up to 30k miles now and last week the coolant level light came on, with it being 7am Sunday morning my only option was to top it up with water (was about 30mm below min level) with the temperature as of late and doing a drive from Manchester to fort William next week I don’t want to be caught short. It doesn’t look like it has dropped since. Am I best emptying the chamber and filling up with the pink stuff? Or will I be okay as it is?
tia
Jack
tia
Jack
If your confidant it's not dropped since top-up then leave it as is but I'd be wanting to investigate where the coolant has gone as soon as possible. I'm OTT & check all my fluid levels weekly. You'll require G13 spec coolant which is actually a purpleish colour until mixed with water. Febi 38200 is G13 spec & 1.5L concentrate at £12 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302398781136 this is what I have for when my MY17 S3 requires coolant top-up.
My recommendation is to get the silica bag removed, replace the coolant, and repeat the replacement every 3 years, along with the brake fluid.
Cheers for that mate, I have no drop patches on the driveway so I’m happy to say there is no leaks. Because I did fill it up with water to the correct level, would you recommend taking some out and replacing with the g13 coolant? If I’m to top it up now with coolant it will be well past the minimum requirements
No reason to remove anything & top-up with G13 spec, with the amount of water you added you won't have diluted it that much to become an issue or concern. Not seeing puddles doesn't mean you don't have leaks as it can evaporate due to heat from turbo cooling & other engine hot spots with no floor drips evident. Recommend you keep a close eye on the level from here on. Look for pinkish crystal formations at all coolant connections, especially around the coolant pump assembly as they are common/prone to leak.
What temp are people’s s3 at this time of year? Mike is anything from around 102-106 when driving round either motorway or normal slow roads. This around normal temp?
My electric fan seems to 'run on' more than previous A3's when I switch off the ignition, I have always thought this is because of the high under bonnet temps, any thoughts??
No coolant usage, no high temps seen. (not done silicone bag - yet)
No coolant usage, no high temps seen. (not done silicone bag - yet)
With the extra oomph from the S3 the vehicle has an in-built turbo timer (so I believe) to cool the turbo when the car is turned off. I've noted on my S3 mk3 FL the cooling fan does run-on & I can hear an electric water pump merrily whirring away after the fan stops a few mins after powering the rocket ship down.
Is that coolant temps or oil temps?
My oil temps hover around 102 but sometime seen 107 around town slow driving but coolant always hover around 90 on the gauge.
Turbo timer. Blast from the past. Must be close to 20 years since a I’ve had one of them
I was commenting about oil temps not coolant temps. The VC for coolant temps is poor but hovers around halfway so around 90C ish. Never compared dash reading to actual using VCDS.
