Hi. I have a 99 A6 Avante. It has developed a coolant leak and is significant. It is coming from the front of the engine. I used a mirror to look around up there and found a drip (at a rate of about a drip every 10 seconds) coming off the bottom of the crank pulley. I see nothing above it, nothing on the passenger side of it, and some wetness to the drivers side but could be oil (from a valve cover leak that has been seeping for a while), however it does not appear wet enough to be a drip every 10 seconds.

I'm not too familiar with these cars, so I'm not entirely sure the lay of the land, but is the water pump driven by the timing belt and behind the timing belt cover? Is that the mostly likely cuplrit? Could there potentially be a head gasket leak that might make it's way down to the pulley? I've not had the car overheat or anything, but my darling wife was the last to drive it....and well, who knows?

Anyways, If anyone can offer up anything else to take a look at, that would be great. At this point, it looks like I need to have better access to seeing what's going on, which might require removing the radiator, which appears to be a more complex job that just removing the radiator. Does the whole front bumper and braces and all that have to come off? Is this the easiest way or can all that be disassembled without removing it?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

There's actually a few ways to check it. If you have the tools and some know how its not very hard at all. I would pressurize the cooling system first to see if i'm holding pressure, if not you should be able to hear the leak or at least see it. Also check your oil if you think its a head gasket, there would be coolant mixed in there with it. Next step would be to compression check each cylinder to find out which isn't holding and pressure. Seriously doubt it's a head gasket, you would notice a significant power loss with white smoke coming from your exhaust, all depending on how bad it is of course. Hope this helps and points you in the right direction.

 

Thanks kev. I don't think a head gasket is blown....just fearful of it since I cannot find the source of my drip...and that's just my luck.

Can you see the water pump without taking stuff off? It's getting to the bottom of the crank pulley from somewhere, but don't see where it's coming from above pulley. In fact, with the exception of the oil seepage, is mostly dry.

 

Also, is this the repair manual I need for this car....

Audi - Audi Repair Manual A6, S6: 1998-2004 *-* Bentley Publishers - Repair Manuals and Automotive Books

Are there less expensive ones out there that are adequate?

 

If you see water dripping from the front of the block above the crank pulley, then most likely that your water pump is failing.

As for the repair manual, ebay manual is cheap and adequate. If you are lucky, you get a copy of Elsawin, which is what I ended up getting.

 

Thanks hxgaser. I see nothing on the top of the pulley, it's dripping off the bottom...but not to the sides or above it. Like it's coming from something behind it.

What do you mean by ebay manual? Doing an ebay search gives lots of stuff, none I'm particularly confident of that isn't the Bentley Manual. There is one that looks like something, but not compatible with 64 bit Windows.

What's the Elsawin? Does that cover Jetta's too?

 

There is nothing behind the crank pulley that would leak. I think there is a metal crossover pipe at the front of the engine under the crank, but I doubt that this pipe is broken. You may have to do some more investigation.

Elsawin is the software that the dealers use. If you get a DVD based repair manual that covers wide range of audi vehicles, then most likely it is a copy of elsawin. In theory, it can cover your Jetta too, but it all depends on what is covered.

As I said, I got lucky. But most likely if you get a DVD based version, then it is one.

 

Thanks again.

The crossover pipe is good. It drips off the bottom of the crank pulley, with nothing else immediately presenting itself.

Is it possible something above is leaking down the front of the block (behind the timing belt cover), reaching the crankshaft, then working it's way to the bottom of the pulley? If so, what are the likely causes back off in there?

I'm not familiar how things are laid out, or only vaguely familiar. I'm just a dude that used to work on cars and work on my own when they break. All I have seen are some pics and videos and piecing it together from that....because they spared no empty space in the engine compartment.

 

hxgaser mentioned it above already, it's likely the waterpump (sits right above the crank pulley, behind the timing belt cover)

here's a photo showing the front of the motor with the timing covers removed:

(credit ecstuning for the photo)

A Tension Roller
B Tensioner
C Idler Roller
D Water Pump
E Timing Belt
F Fan Switch
G Snub Mount

As you can see, the water pump would be the likely culprit, judging from your description.

Another possible source of the leak, could be the thermostat housing, it's not labeled, but it's that silver piece between E & A.. (which is actually a black housing on my 2.8) to the left of the of the water pump.

 

Strange. I posted something earlier and it didn't stick.

Anyways, yeah, thanks for that pic. It looks like anything leaking from area would drip down and end up coming from the bottom of the crank pulley.

So, special tools and/or tricks addressing them..

I need two that I know of so far...a fan tool and cam tool. Neither look like something rentable. I don't want to buy anything for this one time use. The cam tool looks kind of pricey. Any tricks to get around having to use those special tools?