Hello all,
I purchase a used A4 97' 2.8 Quattro and I love it with a passion, but I have a overheating problem..
I've owned the car for a few months now and the weather in Pa. is starting to warm up and on a warm day in traffic the temp gauge moves 2 notches towards hot and if I either start moving or turn the AC on it goes back to the middle.. any ideas?
Cluch fan, temp sensor? I have owned a few BMW's in my life and encountered a similar problem and it turned out to be the cluch on the fan but I don't know AUDI's as well as BMWs because I never owned one.
I have used the climate control inside the car to read the coolant temp but once it reached 90c it stayed there, eve though the gauge went up and I can smell coolant outside the car when it's running hot.
sorry for the long post but I wanted to give as much info as possible..
Any help would be appreciated..
Thanks in advance.

 

sounds like it could be your water pump going out..

 

Thanks, where is the best place to buy one?

 

i'm not saying this is your problem for sure...but it is def a possibility...when idling your water pump may not be pumping because of weak/failing internals (most likely a bearing), and then giving your car gas puts more pressure on the pump, forcing it back into operation (turning the a/c on will also put a load on the engine, causing the same effect). what's the mileage on your car? if you replace your water pump there are a few other things you should do while you're in there (most important being the timing belt)

 

87k on it now. I purchased the car off of the original owner and neither the timing belt nor the pump has been changed..
anything els you can think of?

 

woooow, you need to get your timing belt changed right now....you can do it yourself if you have the resources..let me get a couple links together for you....

 

Thanks...

 

I seriously wouldnt even drive that car, unless emergency... wait to drive if you can until you get your belt changed, just too damn risky.

 

well, audi recommends every 90k, but after 60k you're riskin it, after 70k it's unsafe, and after 80k you're driving a time bomb...

i can't find a write-up for the 2.8L, but here are two for the 1.8T, i think it's pretty similar..
audiworld tech #31
audiworld tech #35

you can buy a complete kit here...and you should also replace your snub mount as well, while you're down there....if you want a shop to do it, ask the mechanic if he'll install parts that you supply, it will be much cheaper that way..

 

i just realized, it's more likely that it's your thermostat, rather than your water pump...not sure how i mixed that up....but i guess it could be either one. both should be replaced with the timing belt anyway, so it doesn't really matter....