a6 with oil leak/oil in coolant/wont start?? SUGGESTIONS WANTED.
#1
03-21-2011, 09:53 PM
a6 with oil leak/oil in coolant/wont start?? SUGGESTIONS WANTED.
ok so ill make this as short and clear as possible..
i was away at bootcamp and family members drove my car (99 a6 2.8-108k)
granny scraped the oil pan and had oil leak patched.
2. car was being started in freezing cold mornings here in chicago i drove down the street a few hundred feet.and noticed oil light.go back to house and notice big oil puddle in driveway. so i drove it to walmart..literally at the end of the same street. added more oil and drove to the city 80mi round trip. so oil was leaking but i added more and more. driving nicely because i know what no oil can do.car had slight ticking from the top left of engine looking in.one day on the highway coming home and i noticed that if i went above 3k rpms the noise went away..it hurt me to drive it the way it was but i absolutely had to drive it.. this was a daily routine for 2 weeks until i got mad and stopped driving it. i drained the battery messing around in the car w/engine off and had to jump it a few times to move it. very bad. then one day i got gas and went to a store and the car died as i was pulling into a space no warning lights or anything.took battery in for charge and 15 min later place calls and says battery is fine.i did not fully secure the posts when reinstalling but the werent completly loose.could they have misdiagnosed. ive read the oil cooler was bad and the leak was coming from directly behind it...there is "spoiled milk" in the expansion tank but no coolant in the motor..
p.s. the car has had a cel on for bad cats before all this happened...i have ordered the oil cooler and hoses. i know i need the o ring but doesn anyone else have any advice? im pretty handy.
please excuse this mess of words....IM SCARED
i was away at bootcamp and family members drove my car (99 a6 2.8-108k)
granny scraped the oil pan and had oil leak patched.
2. car was being started in freezing cold mornings here in chicago i drove down the street a few hundred feet.and noticed oil light.go back to house and notice big oil puddle in driveway. so i drove it to walmart..literally at the end of the same street. added more oil and drove to the city 80mi round trip. so oil was leaking but i added more and more. driving nicely because i know what no oil can do.car had slight ticking from the top left of engine looking in.one day on the highway coming home and i noticed that if i went above 3k rpms the noise went away..it hurt me to drive it the way it was but i absolutely had to drive it.. this was a daily routine for 2 weeks until i got mad and stopped driving it. i drained the battery messing around in the car w/engine off and had to jump it a few times to move it. very bad. then one day i got gas and went to a store and the car died as i was pulling into a space no warning lights or anything.took battery in for charge and 15 min later place calls and says battery is fine.i did not fully secure the posts when reinstalling but the werent completly loose.could they have misdiagnosed. ive read the oil cooler was bad and the leak was coming from directly behind it...there is "spoiled milk" in the expansion tank but no coolant in the motor..
p.s. the car has had a cel on for bad cats before all this happened...i have ordered the oil cooler and hoses. i know i need the o ring but doesn anyone else have any advice? im pretty handy.
please excuse this mess of words....IM SCARED
Last edited by boostedc5; 03-21-2011 at 09:58 PM.
#2
03-22-2011, 04:49 PM
Scared of what? If you have a car with no coolant in the motor, you have a dead car. Trade it in.
#5
03-22-2011, 05:54 PM
Okay, being more serious... Someone has to open up to really find out where the issue is. It will take a lot of effort just to find there the issue is. Could be head gasket, cracked block, who knows. In any case, it will not be cheap to deal with.
#6
03-22-2011, 08:38 PM
no.. oil is leaking from nowhere else but right behind the oil cooler.this is commonly misdiagnosed as a headgasket.. no coolant in the oil would be a good thing.oil is in the coolant because pressure is greater in coolant right?
not to be rude but does anyone have any real suggestions? trust me im going to get rid of it asap but id at least like to give it a shot at life..
not to be rude but does anyone have any real suggestions? trust me im going to get rid of it asap but id at least like to give it a shot at life..
#7
03-23-2011, 11:16 AM
It's a long shot but -
There is an O ring behind the small oil cooler near the filter.
When that goes it allows the oil to leak out and might let the oil mix with the water.
The oil pressure is higher than the water pressure.
Sorry but hxgaser and Bob are right - your headed for an expensive fix. The noise from the top front of the motor at low RPMs indicates low oil flow to the lifters and cam bearings. It is only a short time before the cam seizes and breaks the timing belt which is soon followed by belt valves and holes in pistons.
There is an O ring behind the small oil cooler near the filter.
When that goes it allows the oil to leak out and might let the oil mix with the water.
The oil pressure is higher than the water pressure.
Sorry but hxgaser and Bob are right - your headed for an expensive fix. The noise from the top front of the motor at low RPMs indicates low oil flow to the lifters and cam bearings. It is only a short time before the cam seizes and breaks the timing belt which is soon followed by belt valves and holes in pistons.
#9
03-23-2011, 12:25 PM
I would say first of all try to replace the Pressure Relief (Limiting) Valve in that bank's head - the one with ticking. It is about $ 50-60. If the ticking is still there with a new valve in, then you should take it in and have it diagnosed.
As far as leaking oil: it's good you ordered a new cooler, but don't forget the new O-ring.
If the head gaskets are good, then another potential place for coolant/oil mixing up is the rear main seal's flange. It has at top a narrow channel that coolant flows through (great engineering).
In any event, if you still need to add oil that much after oil cooler replacement, then you definitely have other leaks - pressure build-up in the engine is never a good thing and it leads to leaks almost everywhere: upper pan gasket, valley pan gasket, cam seals, etc.
You either need to put a stop to having the women in the family (mother, granny, etc) drive your car, or listen to these guys and throw the car in the river.
As far as leaking oil: it's good you ordered a new cooler, but don't forget the new O-ring.
If the head gaskets are good, then another potential place for coolant/oil mixing up is the rear main seal's flange. It has at top a narrow channel that coolant flows through (great engineering).
In any event, if you still need to add oil that much after oil cooler replacement, then you definitely have other leaks - pressure build-up in the engine is never a good thing and it leads to leaks almost everywhere: upper pan gasket, valley pan gasket, cam seals, etc.
You either need to put a stop to having the women in the family (mother, granny, etc) drive your car, or listen to these guys and throw the car in the river.
#10
03-24-2011, 01:58 AM
I would say first of all try to replace the Pressure Relief (Limiting) Valve in that bank's head - the one with ticking. It is about $ 50-60. If the ticking is still there with a new valve in, then you should take it in and have it diagnosed.
As far as leaking oil: it's good you ordered a new cooler, but don't forget the new O-ring.
If the head gaskets are good, then another potential place for coolant/oil mixing up is the rear main seal's flange. It has at top a narrow channel that coolant flows through (great engineering).
In any event, if you still need to add oil that much after oil cooler replacement, then you definitely have other leaks - pressure build-up in the engine is never a good thing and it leads to leaks almost everywhere: upper pan gasket, valley pan gasket, cam seals, etc.
You either need to put a stop to having the women in the family (mother, granny, etc) drive your car, or listen to these guys and throw the car in the river.
As far as leaking oil: it's good you ordered a new cooler, but don't forget the new O-ring.
If the head gaskets are good, then another potential place for coolant/oil mixing up is the rear main seal's flange. It has at top a narrow channel that coolant flows through (great engineering).
In any event, if you still need to add oil that much after oil cooler replacement, then you definitely have other leaks - pressure build-up in the engine is never a good thing and it leads to leaks almost everywhere: upper pan gasket, valley pan gasket, cam seals, etc.
You either need to put a stop to having the women in the family (mother, granny, etc) drive your car, or listen to these guys and throw the car in the river.
well im going to fix it anyway and see what happens..pics coming soon..
THANKS GUYS!
Last edited by boostedc5; 03-24-2011 at 04:22 AM.