Hey guys. I haven't posted in a while, but that mainly has to do with the lack of problems with my car. I recently was coming back from the gas station before I set out on a road trip, when my CEL came on (not flashing) and my coolant and oil lights came on flashing. I noticed a big cloud of white smoke coming out of the engine well. When I popped the hood, I noticed my coolant tank was drained. Any idea's of possible repair options? I am moving out of the country in 7 months, and I don't want to invest a lot of money before I go since my car will remain here. I have a basic A4 1.8T with 125K. Is it junk, or worth a poosible engine swap? Any suggestions/ideas are appreciated.

 

Sounds like the car overheated and the headgasket died. How were your coolant/oil temps when you stopped?

 

turbo...?

Where are you located?

Do a compression test to eliminate the possibility of a blown h.g.

 

More than likely you will have to replace the headgasket, which can be a cheap repair if you do it yourself. Plus repair the original water leak that caused the overheating. A repair shop will charge you up the @ss, definitely wont be worth the money to replace the engine. Depending on how much you want to spend to repair, it may be more worth while to sell the car as it is. Good Luck!

 

There was a slight coolant leak before I got the smoke, and it happened less then a mile from my home. I am in Monterey, CA. I am not sure about the turbo, I haven't had any problems in the past.

 

Do you know where the leak was coming from? Worse case, it would be the water pump, but could be as easy as a hose. There are a few other things that can leak, but those are the most common. Your headgasket is definitely blown.