Thanks for the encouragement. Selling the car is not an option right now. So I'll probably have to roll up the sleeves.

 

hmmm...not really. Time consuming is the major drawback.

 

It's a 3.0. If it were a 2.8, 2.7t or 4.2, yes, I would recommend he try to fix it. Not a 3.0.

If it DOES turn out to be a head gasket, then a used engine would be my recommendation. Again, because it's a 3.0. And, he is not a mechanic.

Just because this is an automotive forum, doesn't mean we can assume everyone has mechanical skills, tools, a place to work and the time and inclination to take on a major repair. We should tailor our advise to fit the requirements of the poster.

Stad - good luck!

Bob

 

No disrespect, Bob and I'm not trying to argue your opinion. You're so darn knowledgeable with these darn German cars, and I know your last post was more a response to n77's suggestion.
However, a couple of things are poignant out of this thread:
1) Stad already suspected a head gasket problem on his car, so even though his mechanical knowledge may be limited or lacking (supposedly), he has at least some knowledge to diagnose that particular problem. I mean he's not like for instance PrincessG who calls the oxygen sensor a "O2 computer" (again, no disrespect PrincessG, if you come across this post), so maybe he has the ability to hold some wrenches in his hand.
I didn't know much about working on an engine before replacing my head gaskets; however, I did it regardless; This is a good segway into the second issue I wanted to point out:

2) What's so much different about replacing the head gaskets on a 3.0L as compared to a 2.8? I know Auditech79 hates that engine ( ), but what's so special about its head gaskets?

 

I've been a forum member for 3+ years and a regular reader. Why the venom towards the 3.0l engine? I have one in my 2003 A4 MT6 and it performs very well (other than throwing, then clearing, an occasional misfire CEL). It's got good linear power (agree, it's not a 2.7T) and with 75k on the car, runs like a charm for the 5+k miles and the year that I have owned it.

 

I dunno.. if its not one of the turbo engines, people hate them. I dont know why, the turbo'd cars seem to have more issues.

 

Next weekend I'm pulling the heads on my 3.0L If your interested in doing it yourself I'll have a good post for you by Tuesday Sept 15th. I'm doing the valves while I am in there but you don't have to as long as the heads aren't warped. DID YOU OVERHEAT YOUR ENGINE???

If this isn't your thing and you don't have the tools It might cost you the same as having a mechanic do it.
But don't let that stop you.

The aux cooling pump he is refering to is on the bottom drivers side of the engine.

Have that mechanic look into that for you or you can access it yourself by jacking up the front and removing the belly pan. Basically it is an aux pump that is powered by a shaft from the oil pump. So if the pump broke I can see them mixing but most likely the otherway around and the pump sucks oil into the cooling system. Worth investigating!!! I still think it's your heads. So you should also look hard at the heads and see if there is anything leaking from them or any oil on your driveway or the belly pan. Then pull the coils and spark plugs and do a compression and leak down in each cyl, (change your oil first).

This is the part;

 

Water in the exhaust may be from bad head gaskets. A bad head gasket may also destroy the radiator or heater core and cause overheating.
The BentleyPublishers.com Audi Shop manual is necesary when working on the Audi engine, since it lists the required tools and torques.
Also, if you don't do the work yourself, avoid picking a place which never before repaired a 3.0L Audi engine, since they won't have the tools or knowledge.
There are just too many unskilled workers pretending to be mechanics, who got a certificate from an unknown tech school. That certificate may be good for changing oil and safety inspections but not for repairing the newer Audi engines. Also, there are even lesser workers without any certification, who may actually be doing the work without supervision.

 

Wow, as a 3.0 owner, sorry to hear about your situation.

Now, seeing that I'm about 75% through my timing belt job, I am curious to know why everyone is saying his car is trash? This motor isn't THAT difficult to work on (granted, it's no Jeep 4.0 inline 6, but I find a lot of things on it easier than my Camaro Z28. The Z28 is a much simpler motor, just in a terribly cramped chassis).

Maybe I'm just naive, but it would seem once he hits the point of disassembly that I just was not more than 45min ago (timing belt off), he would remove fuel lines, intake manifold, exhaust manifolds and then the heads. All the bolts look relatively easy to access (w/ exception of exhaust, but I didn't really look). So, the entire disassembly can be done in a day. Assembly would be another day and if the heads have to be decked, well, that would depend on the shop. Regardless, hardly warrants replacing the whole engine as suggested earlier. Headgasket kits on ECS are $110, so mix a timing belt job into while you're at it and you can easily get it all done for under $1000 (and get to use all of Blauparts' specialty tools so that you don't have to buy any).

I'd personally be more concerned on WHY it happened. You definitely don't want to go through all that work and have it happen again. So, if it is overheating, etc, definitely fix that while you're at it. I wouldn't do anything though w/out first doing a compression test - might get lucky.

 

Also, not meaning to hijack, but JACKMUP, why are you pulling heads and replacing valves?? I know you're big on maintenance, but that's taking it a little too far....