Hi folks,
My 2000 A6 2.8 quattro is having trouble again - we are losing small amounts of coolant.
The Audi shop (which I don't trust that much) said it's the auxiliary water pump and they would charge $995 plus tax to fix it.
Now I'm checking it myself, just can't find where this pump is located. I have read that the auxiliary water pumpis a common issue with Audis.
Does anyone know where I can find the auxiliary water pump and what I have to disassemble to get there?

According to the shop the second part responsible for the coolant loss is the rear main seal($1604 plus tax). Supposedly the entire transmission has to be disassembled which takes about 15 hours.
I find that hard to believe, especially since I have read some threads where folks claim to have the job done themselves in 2 hrs with $40 in parts...

Any comments are highly appreciated. I'm a little hesitant to give them3 grand just yet...

Also, has anyone had any luck with K-Seal, Seal-It and things like that??? It may do the trick since the leak is minimal. But I also heard some bad stories about clogging and subsequent water pump issues.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

bump...

 

We had a similar problem and it was the water pump.
Dealer charged $2,400.00 to replace it as the entire front of the car had to be moved out of the way to ge to it. Poor design. 2000 A-6 2.7 BiTurbo
If I had to do it again, and in your situation, I would use one of the sealant products since if it works, no more problem; if it does not work then you can still spend the $2,400.00 or more to have the pump replaced. The sealant is less than $5.00 so it is a cheap experiment
In older cars I have many times used , SUCCESSFULLY, PorterSeal or Barr's Leaks althought I am partial to the PorterSeal and used it many times with no damage to radiator or water pump or overheating. Just my opinion,
Kurt

 

The 2.8 does not have the Aux water pump! are you sure that's what they said?

Rear main seals generally are a pain in the a$$ to replace. Knock on wood that my A6 has not needed one buy my Volvo did and I think it set me back around 700.00, but the AWD transmission in an A6 would require quite a bit more work to remove fwiw.

Unless Audi does things differently, I don't see how a RMS (rear main seal) has anything to do with coolant. Oil yes, Coolant NO.

 

Woooooooow! Jelfa is right! Rear main has nothing to do with coolant and the 2.8 does not have an aux water pump.

Run away from that guy and find a real mechanic.

The first thing I'd look at is the expansion tank for a leak and then the hoses followed by the water pump. If it needs a new water pump do the timing belt, tensioners, seals, T-stat etc while you have it apart.

as for goopy seal stuff. They might work for a short time but sooner or later your going to hav eto spend the money to do it right.

 

Jan 2008....


No idea why it got bumped...

 

The bumper probably had the same problem ans was afraid to ask!