Just bought TT - Stranded: Overheating, Check engine light on
 

Hi guys, just 8 hours ago I bought my first Audi, a MK1 TT 1.8 225 Quattro ALMS. I've always wanted one.

I test drove it and after the dealer put in a new battery it ran great. I bought it, and then drove it 4 hours south. On the way down the instrument guage flashed a big F and water symbol, and the temp guage would sometimes go to full H and then all the way down to full L.

I assumed it was just a flakey instrument cluster I heard you guys post about and figured I would get it taken care of by Audi under recall later.

But then I pulled into my half way point my hotel and there was steam coming out of the hood and I can smell coolant.

Then the check engine light came on! :mad:

I'm about 4 hours from the dealer, and 4 hours from home. Its Sunday tomorrow and I think I'm SOL finding a mechanic that can fix whatever is wrong.

What can I do, what is safe, the nearest Audi dealer is 90 miles away. There is a VW dealership 10 miles away, can it be driven that far, should it be towed. I bought distelled water as only a drug store was open this late, so no coolant.

I'm really worried and think I got a lemon, it only has 78,000 miles on it and until this happened drove really well.

Is there any road side tests I can do? On my old MR2 you could stick a bent paper clip into the fuse box and the check engine light would flash a code you could look up on the internet to see what's broken. Anything like that available here.

Has anyone have this happen to them before? PLEASE HELP, I need to get home for work on Monday. There is a train near by, thinking of just ditching the car there and ask the dealer to drive down and tow it back. I feel like I'm getting scammed here by this small time used dealer.

First thing i would say is to not drive the car. It is possible to do further damage by driving a car that has a cooling system malfunction.
Toy for 2 , Did you buy this car from an Audi dealer , used car dealer & if so what kind of warranty did they give you?
If there is any kind of warranty i would contact the dealer & see what they are willing to do for you. If they are decent they should take car of this problem unless it is found that some other unseen problem caused it (like debris from the road damaging or causing cooling system problems).
As far the local VW dealer , they would be your best choice if they are wiling to work on it if it comes down to you having to take care of the repair yourself.
But i would still recommend getting it towed!

more info
 

so now that I have got some daylight.

I opened the coolant resivour, it is bone dry. I see little black plastic pieces sitting in there. When the alarm first went off I had to drive about 77 miles to get out of the boonies which is nothing but farm fields to my hotel.

It seems putting in a new water pump/timing belt will be easy enough. Is there anything else that could have been damaged? What other things would you recommend I replace. No warranty.


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That piece might be part of the water pump. If the timing belt & water pump are to be replaced replace all rollers , tensioner roller & tesioning piston.
It would be a good idea to also replace the thermostat especially due to the overheating.

Got it I will replace all of those.

What tests would I do to make sure the engine itsekf is fine?

Would any of this warp the head, or ruin any hoses?

Leak down test? Compression test? How does one pressurize the coolong system to check for leaks? Also how the heck does one get all the black plastic out, I assume its in the engine passages?

Sorry for all the questions, never in my life have I had such car issues on ownership day 1

Well the first test you can do is just start it & let it run for no longer than a minute & see how well does it run? If it is running smooth it is a good sign. If it is running rough , you could have either coolant in the cylinders or some other type of engine damage.:(
It will probably be best to get the cooling system fully diagnosed , repaired & tested before condemning anything internally.

Thanks M5S5 for all the info. I had it towed 300 miles home and hitched a ride with the tow truck driver so I am home now, and I'll just drive my Civic until I can get it fixed.

I'll tow it to an independant German Auto Mechanic in town. I started the car and aside from the check engine light it seemed to run nice and smooth. I checked the dipstick and no coolant I could see, but who really knows.

Strange thing was when I shut off the car I could hear a whirring sound like a motor wining, it wouldn't stop even with the key out, the only way I could get it to stop was to disconnect the battery.

Should know in a few days what I'm looking at once its at the shop.

Appreciate everything.

I believe the sound you are hearing may be an aux cooling fan? They run for a little while after you shut the car off.

As for your cooling problem, is the coolant level above the MIN line in the reservoir?
You may have been low on coolant and caused your initial problem, the secondary problem that I would be concerned about is the possibility of a cracked head. That will not be a cheap fix.

I would top off the coolant, and then let it idle, once it past the idle test I would drive the car around (locally) and see what happens, if she is burping, stuttering or acting abnormal I would get it over to the mechanic.

Good Luck -

Good luck & let us know the outcome!

get a kit off ecs tuning
 

I spent over 300 getting all the parts that the ecs timebelt kit sells for 210. just too add. sorry about the bad first impression. mine too did the same, except it was a transmission... once they run good though trust me youll love it.