Hi,

I am sure these issues may have been addressed individually on this forum but maybe not all together. There seems so many problems im not sure where to start. Apologies for the long post

I have a 2005 Audi A4 B7 2.0 Tdi. Up until a few months ago everything was tickety boo. It has been serviced regularly and had the timing belt replaced a couple of years ago.
A couple of months ago my EGR went and was subsequently replaced with a new one at a very good nearby garage.
Normally the car chucks out thick grey smoke until booted and cleared out.
However the other morning (very cold!) white smoke was pouring out of the exhaust and didnt really stop when i drove for a couple of miles. The coolant warning light came on also. I pulled over for a few mins to see if the problem would clear but then the car wouldnt start. I checked the coolant (all gone) and topped up, however it just kept coming out of the valve on the bottom of the coolant reservoir. The heating in the car was also luke warm even when up to the max.
the things I had in mind as issues were:
1. head gasket (theres no white gunk in the oil tank though)
2. water pump (was pressure tested and no issues found)

Took it to 2 different garages and both have given different diagnosis but cant find exactly what the problem is, even with engine diagnostics done.

First garage advised: change turbo, water pump and timing belt as a starter (£1400) but that may not solve the issue so may need new head gasket!!

second garage said it may be problem with piston rings but wont know for sure until they strip the engine down completely (£900 to start)

obviously i dont want to shell out north of £2k and find its still not right, would rather scrap and get £850 and take the hit for it rather than it break 6 months down the road.

any help would be appreciated as im at a loss

 

Curious that coolant comes out of the tank bottom. Never seen that before, would make me think that is your leak. I doubt water pump is the issue as there should be signs of coolant leaking from around it. Shady tree mechanic way to check that is to pull a hose off and start the car. If it spits the coolant out the pump is working. What did the oil look like? If it is a head gasket or rings your oil should have a milky color to it.

 

maybe with this thread could help a little bit or out of it https://www.audiforums.com/forum/b7-...ervice-223220/