the coolant isn't leaking from the radiator. its leaking from the backside of the engine by the cat. i was jus wondering if i can run my engine with the leak. it doesn't seem like its doin ne thing to the performance. the dealer said to make an appointment i don't want to waste my money for them to jus look at it and jus say ur screwed so help me out

 

well just make sure to keep up on the coolant level. Idk where ur leak is comin from, but you dont want it suckin air.

 

You could try a radiator stop leak.

 

if there is an external leak ur good, but its only going to get worse, and possibly leave you stranded. the fix shouldnt be tough, or expensive though. just keep it topped off and keep an eye on your temp guage and you wont have any problems untill the hose completley blows off and ull know when this happens because ur engine will be steaming like a MF.

 

so theres no problem as long as the coolant is at the max level?

 

Well how long have you ran the car on the green stuff

I recommend not ever doing that nonsense again

The leak is probly at the thermostat housing since thats the only thing back there

And those arent that fun to do, but it should be taken care of because ive seen very large holes on the housing

 

NEVER mix the green stuff with the red stuff, it will turn into a jelly! I use the gm approved red fluid, its like 15 dollars for the gallon, and I haven't had any probs yet....been about 2k miles.

 

///A4:

I know you don't want to hear this, but you really need to get the car checked out and get it fixed. We can't tell you whether it's safe to run or not unless we could look at it ourselves. The leak may be small now, but you have two major issues right now. The first is that it could very well blow a hose and leave you stranded which will end up costing you the repair PLUS towing back to your garage, house, whatever. The other issue is that you are likely putting antifreeze into it that could possibly gum up the system (which WILL cost a ton of money to repair) or cause it to break prematurely.

I don't mean to be harsh, but seriously, you bought a nice car and it's going to cost money to keep it running right. Don't jeopardize yourself by trying to get a forum member to say it's ok to drive your car if we can't look at it. Find a friend or relative that works on cars (everybody has one), have them diagnose the leak, and have them repair it on the side or do it yourself if you can. But don't keep driving it until someone has diagnosed the problem in person and says it's ok to keep driving it.

I'm sure you paid a decent price for your car, I don't want to see you making car payments on a lawn ornament because the engine blew up.

 

you could fix the leak in the time you're spending reading/writing.

 

well put. its an audi, one of the things that comes along with owning one is maintnence, sometimes it can be expensive, but come on if not for yourself fix it for us.