Do you have access to air tools? I look for leaks by pulling off the small line from the upper coolant hose to the reservoir, blocking the nipple on the reservoir, and using my blowgun attachment to blow pressure into the system. Works great. It'll be even more helpful if you put the car in service position first so you can see everything more easily. And to back up what was stated earlier, plan on t-belt service including water pump and related parts every 60k to be safe. When doing this job, always replace the tensioner and relay tensioner - if they fail, the belt can jump and you'll mulch your valves and destroy the engine. Finally when it comes to cam and crank seals, if they're not leaking and look good, I leave them alone. It's easy to cause permanent oil leaks by scoring the gasket-mating faces of the cams and crank so if the seals don't have to be done due to leakage, I leave them.

 

I did consider pulling the accessory belt off and the TB covers, but the leak only starts once operating temperature is reached. I don't know the risks involved running the car that long without an accessory belt.

It doesn't really matter now, I've bought a kit and am now in the process of removing the lock carrier, breaking half of everything as I go. I know it can just be put into service position, but I think the job would be easier if it was just out of the way.

 

The idea was to remove the TB cover to look for the exact coolant traces - no need to run the engine. From what others report, the Audi coolant leaves some powdery residue as the coolant dries out.
However, as far as running the car without the accessory belt the only "risk" involved is that you run the battery down...

 

Did not know about the residue. I will certainly look for it. Though I doubt I'll see it with so much greasy dirt on the front of the engine able to soak up some of the leaking coolant. This dirt is most likely from the lower engine cover missing for at least as long as I've had it.