Last night while driving on the freeway in single digit temperatures, I noticed a large amount of smoke coming from the back of my car. The first thought that came into my head was NH_USA's thread on his oil problem! I looked at the gauges expecting to see the oil can, but all I saw was the temperature needle moving to the right. I pulled to the shoulder and just before I cut the motor off the thermometer appeared in the driver's display. The car smoked for a good half hour after I shut it off, but a quick look revealed no immediate cause. My guess is some small coolant line gave up the ghost in the cold weather (cars were everywhere on the freeway shoulder last night) and slowly pissed out all the expensive Audi coolant. I got the car home thanks to AAA and RV-Plus coverage (its the ONLY way to go!!!) and now I get to try and discover the root cause. The reservoir appears intact with no evidence of a leak below it. My bet is on the secondary water pump, just because it is so hard to get to!

Lost my bet - it's the primary water pump. Ugh!

Bob

 

You mean the water pump on the front of the motor? Wasnt it replaced with the timing belt? How many miles did you get on the current one?

I JUST changed my TB and water pump, i hope it lasts 50k or so.

 

Did the water pump seize up?....causing damage to other timing related devices....?

 

I had exactly the same experience and the culprit was one of the heater core hose. Replaced both of the while at it.

 

Bob -I don't remember which motor you have but I hope it's a hose or connection instead of the waterpump. Maybe you should have left the aero - dust - road grime - snow block - PITA plate on. :-)

 

Its the water pump leaking out the front seal. 35,000 miles on it. Cheap Chinese junk!

Where are the heater hoses you speak of?

Bob

 

I got my pump from BlauParts.com, I really hope it lasts longer than 35k!! Good luck with the install!