Coolant leaking

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craig20102010

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So iv had the car around 7 months now and I've noticed after i had a warning for low coolant. Checked the bottle and it was empty. Admittedly I didn't check it when I bought the car but I wouldn't of noticed as the bottle is stained.

I topped it back up above the min mark and iv looked again and it's now below the minimum mark. Problem is I can't see any signs of a leak..

Is there any common areas that these leak? Known faults?

It's a 2012 A6 3.0tdi quattro 245ps.

Thanks Craig.

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craig20102010 said:
How would I know? Is the egr cooler easy to get too?

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Click to expand...

Possibly the undertray is catching most of the fluid and it gets burned off? I guess you'd need the system pressure tested whilst the car is up in the air

I don't believe so :( I know a mate of mine had his replaced by Audi on his BiTDI and that was £900......he was lucky he had an aftermarket warranty and Audi picked up the bill
 
Rhyso said:
Possibly the undertray is catching most of the fluid and it gets burned off? I guess you'd need the system pressure tested whilst the car is up in the air

I don't believe so :( I know a mate of mine had his replaced by Audi on his BiTDI and that was £900......he was lucky he had an aftermarket warranty and Audi picked up the bill
Click to expand...
Certainly won't be paying £900 to have an egr replaced... But I guess that's better then spending £5000 on having a new gasket fitted to the engine.

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Mine's just started doing this, coolant bottle was almost empty - I topped it up yesterday so it was half way between min and max and this morning it's dropped below min. I only drove it a couple of miles after topping it up. Anyway, I've taken it to my local garage and he said he'd do a pressure test on it. I don't see any sign of leaking on the driveway. I'm worried this is going to be expensive, perhaps I should have paid to extend the warranty which would have covered me until March.
 
Just as I posted he rang me.. Water pump is leaking and it will cost about 270 quid to replace.
 
fafa said:
Just as I posted he rang me.. Water pump is leaking and it will cost about 270 quid to replace.
Click to expand...
I haven't checked mine since this post.. I'll check mine tomorrow and if it's gone down I'll be going to the garage as well. I hope mine is as simple as yours.

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Just to update everyone.
Last week I took my bitdi in as it was using or leaking water too often. I read reviews of it being EGR cooler or worse.
It ended up being the coolant hoses at either end of the radiator to start with. So no big issues.

Whilst we were down there, we decided to change the water pump from a local auto factors.
Replaced the seals and pump, took it home. Next day, still leaking...
This time the water pump seal was at fault.
So I rang Audi, they said they had never sold a water pump or belt for my engine before. I paid £110 for the pump and £50 ish for a new belt directly from them.
All fitted and word from the garage, no more leaks now, and i'm collecting it later from the garage.
 
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evans1089 said:
Just to update everyone.
Last week I took my bitdi in as it was using or leaking water too often. I read reviews of it being EGR cooler or worse.
It ended up being the coolant hoses at either end of the radiator to start with. So no big issues.

Whilst we were down there, we decided to change the water pump from a local auto factors.
Replaced the seals and pump, took it home. Next day, still leaking...
This time the water pump seal was at fault.
So I rang Audi, they said they had never sold a water pump or belt for my engine before. I paid £110 for the pump and £50 ish for a new belt directly from them.
All fitted and word from the garage, no more leaks now, and i'm collecting it later from the garage.
Click to expand...
I hope this is the case with mine as well then. Other wise I'm knakkered.

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So just collected it. Got it home...
And it’s wet again.
Under load it’s dripping somewhere. This time my mechanic has added UV fluid into the coolant to see leakages under a uv light.

We’re going to have to remove the front end to see everything at eye level.
Will update next week.


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evans1089 said:
My situation is looking more like the EGR cooler. Anyone got any advice?
Just buy a new one?
Click to expand...

Mine has just been pressure tested and he couldnt find any external leaks on the engine. That to me would look more likely to be the EGR cooler or the head gasket. Any one had any trouble with a head gasket leaking.

Can anyone help me determine which one it may be? Will removing the EGR cooler make it obvious that there is a leak within this unit?
 
Mines been pressure tested about ten times, even using UV liquid.
It only leaks under load or when driven. Which points to the egr when the valves open etc.


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evans1089 said:
Mines been pressure tested about ten times, even using UV liquid.
It only leaks under load or when driven. Which points to the egr when the valves open etc.


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So yours might actually be the egr valve its self. I can't believe this is a common fault and it still happens on the bitdi. I'm taking mine to a specialist on the 23rd so hopefully he can pin point the leak. Unfortunately mines not as cut and dry as yours in that I can't even see a leak so mines leaking internally which is not good. I just hope it's not the head gasket.

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Anyone know if the A6 has two heater matrix's for the dual zone climate control? Or does it just have the one and splits the air supply?

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Tendaimwari said:
thread bump: Did you ever resolve this problem? Was it the EGR?
Click to expand...
No sorry still haven't had it looked at. The leak is so small it'll be hard to trace I think. It's on my list of jobs to check.

I'm still trying to work out what the issue is with my heating on the driver's side only.

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evans1089 said:
Mine was egr cooler. After going through and replacing water pump and belts.


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It's on my list lol. I'd like to get it into the garage to get it tested.

How much did it cost for you to get it replaced?

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craig20102010 did you ever find the cause ?

I also have a 2012 A6 3.0 TDI 245 and have the same problem i.e. slow'ish coolant loss with no obvious signs of a leak.
 
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Sorry for my late reply:
IMG 0631



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evans1089 said:
Sorry for my late reply:View attachment 169341


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Click to expand...

Thanks for uploading this.

I'm pretty sure mine is also the EGR cooler, taken a peak as best I can with a torch and there is watery looking liquid below the cooler.
Were there any other standout symptoms or tests that led you to the EGR ?
 
We did an ultra violet light test by adding something to the coolant water.
On the road, under load it was spraying it everywhere so was hard to pin point.
In the end, we stripped the front end off.
Located the cooler and kept an eye on it whilst it was running and on the ramp.
Evidently we saw a slight drip from it, which was enough to warrant a new one, along with belts etc.
Not seen a drip since !



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I noticed a pool of fluid on the garage floor that is coming from the rear of the engine on the passenger side. Is this where it would comefrom if the origin is the ERG Cooler?
 
Tendainwari - From my experience no it doesn't sound like the EGR, most EGR coolant leaks (from the 3.0TDI v6) seem to be slow leaks that almost go unnoticed, often leaking into the EGR itself and being sucked into the engine and turned to steam or weeping out onto the surface of the bottom of the V casting of the engine under where the EGR is mounted.
I am no expert but yours initially sounds like it maybe coming from something else?
 
Has anyone got a photo of where the egr cooler is located?

I wouldn't mind having a look my self.

I currently have a problem with the heating in my car as well. No heat on the drivers side. IV checked it all out and I'm thinking someone has used radweld or such product to try stop the leak and they have blocked part of the heater matrix.

Anyone know anything that would break down the likes of radweld ect?

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craig20102010 said:
Has anyone got a photo of where the egr cooler is located?

I wouldn't mind having a look my self.

I currently have a problem with the heating in my car as well. No heat on the drivers side. IV checked it all out and I'm thinking someone has used radweld or such product to try stop the leak and they have blocked part of the heater matrix.

Anyone know anything that would break down the likes of radweld ect?

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Click to expand...

I think my mechanic said it was egr seals.


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had this problem on my a6 c7 v6, coolant leak was visible , had to shine a light and look in the v section under manifold where cooland was collecting , leak was in that area but only when engine under load
changed all the seals egr , oil cooler seals and another couple in that area. problem remained , changed oil cooler and plate new hoses a flange ,inlet valve, basically all that was in that area and it cured the problem .
 

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It's very deep in the engine. I think I'll try doing that in the summer..I'll take the lid off and see if I can see the leak.

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Hi I have bi tdi all rd the EGR COOLER was leeking on to the V and evaporating off it I had new gaskets etc replaced I think it was £450 plus vat it was taking about 2 weeks for the coolant to get low that was done at audi specialist in Hinckley LION GARAGE
 
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Mines taking around 6months to empty. But this is still good feedback and worth looking into. Annoying how they all seem to be leaking in the V of the engine.

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craig20102010 said:
So iv had the car around 7 months now and I've noticed after i had a warning for low coolant. Checked the bottle and it was empty. Admittedly I didn't check it when I bought the car but I wouldn't of noticed as the bottle is stained.

I topped it back up above the min mark and iv looked again and it's now below the minimum mark. Problem is I can't see any signs of a leak..

Is there any common areas that these leak? Known faults?

It's a 2012 A6 3.0tdi quattro 245ps.

Thanks Craig.

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Click to expand...
Hi all
New to site but have been reading to try and help me solve a similar problem. My 2012 A6 C7 3.0tdi quattro was leaking coolant into the v which gradually went from topping up every couple of months to every trip. I could strip the top of the ****** engine with my eyes closed now, I replaced all gaskets then replaced oil cooler with no improvement it ended up being the coolant regulating valve part number 059121737. The valve leaks from the seal where the spindle goes through. I tested mine with hi tech gear which included a bit of wood an inner tube a bicycle pump and some wood screws and could instantly see the problem that I couldn't see when it was on the car. I have included a coupleof pictures, 1 of the part and the other was the condition of the seal which was away. I hope this helps someone sort their leak out.
 

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Stuart 1966 said:
Hi all
New to site but have been reading to try and help me solve a similar problem. My 2012 A6 C7 3.0tdi quattro was leaking coolant into the v which gradually went from topping up every couple of months to every trip. I could strip the top of the ****** engine with my eyes closed now, I replaced all gaskets then replaced oil cooler with no improvement it ended up being the coolant regulating valve part number 059121737. The valve leaks from the seal where the spindle goes through. I tested mine with hi tech gear which included a bit of wood an inner tube a bicycle pump and some wood screws and could instantly see the problem that I couldn't see when it was on the car. I have included a coupleof pictures, 1 of the part and the other was the condition of the seal which was away. I hope this helps someone sort their leak out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pictures. Mine has been slowly leaking for about 2 months now. I added UV dye into mine, Its not coming from the WP so assuming its in the "V" same as everybody else. I did have it booked in to a local garage unfortunately they closed due to Covid, I'm slowly building up the courage to strip it down myself!!
 
ajax1976 said:
Thanks for the pictures. Mine has been slowly leaking for about 2 months now. I added UV dye into mine, Its not coming from the WP so assuming its in the "V" same as everybody else. I did have it booked in to a local garage unfortunately they closed due to Covid, I'm slowly building up the courage to strip it down myself!!
Click to expand...
It is not that difficult a job the worst part is getting the manifold untangled from the spaghetti of wires and pipes. Mine was only leaking initially when under pressure which makes sense now as that's when the valve would be opening. Good luck . If I can help you in any way just message me
 
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