I picked up a 96 a4 quattro recently. High miles on body, motor has right around 90k on it. I am noticing a coolant leak from time to time. The temp guage stays right in the middle, no steaming at any point.

My question is this?

Where should I be looking for this problem. I am thinking water pump, what is a good test for this on this car? Any other areas to look. hoses are dry, rad is dry. The drip is falling from oil pan.

thanks all.

 

It probably is the water pump. I'm gonna assume that the timing system hasn't been replaced (WP gets done at the same time, along with a host of other parts), so plan on doing it all (it all has to come apart to do the pump anyhow).

 

that is kinda what i was thinking. I saw some kind of tool that goes on the gears to keep them in place. Is that something I can pick up at the local advance auto?

The job doesn't look too difficult, I was thinking water pump, thermostat, and timing belt.

Anything else I should consider? any tensioners or something?

thanks

 

Yes the hydraulic tensioner, tensioner roller, serpentine belt, and idler roller all get done. You can get a kit from Volvo Parts, BMW Parts, European Car Parts | FCPGroton.com. Besides the kit, you'll need 3L of G12 coolant and I'd also get a front engine mount (aka snub mount) since its right there, they get worn, and they're only $7.

The locking bar is only available through Audi, a vendor, or occasionally eBay. You don't need it though - index cylinder 3 (rear passenger cylinder) at TDC on the compression stroke and the cams won't move.

 

When my 2.7 leaks from the thermostat, it drips off of the oil pan on the passenger side. Waterpump leaks usually run down the front of the car and leak from the front of the oil pan as well as the sides. The 2.7T and 2.8 are essentially the same in the front, so yours will be the same as mine.

If you are doing the whole "shebang" you want to do the water pump, thermostat, timing belt, idler roller, timing belt tensioner, and tension roller. Also a good time to do the serpentine belt. A lot of the kits come with new front cam seals, and a crank seal. The necessity of replacing these is a subject of many debates. One camp says change them while you have access to everything. The second camp says if they arent leaking just leave them the hell alone. the choice is yours

as far as the specialty tools, the procedure recommends that you use a cam lock bar and a crank lock pin. Not sure what kind of availability you will have at the local autoparts store. most online places offer them. they really aren't anything terribly elaborate or special. I've heard people have a lot of success getting the cheapies off ebay.

good luck

 

and there goes Jeremy beating me to the punch

 

i will probably end up getting the kit, although i did see some of those same kits on ebay. Doesn't look like I will have access to that tool. maybe this weekend i will get into this. Depending on the unpredictable northeast pa weather.....

thanks for the info guys

 

Lol Beau, once in awhile I'll beat you to the punch. Not often though. OP, I'd be very careful about buying often-inferior parts on eBay. You're trusting your engine's life with the timing stuff - the FCP kit is quality. Many of us have it.

Being that you're in Wilkes-Barre, you're only a little over an hour from a whole bunch of us up in Binghamton. We have a meet coming up three weeks from Friday, starting May 11th. You should come up for it. Here's the current meet thread:

https://www.audiforums.com/forum/b5-...t-time-180082/

If you use the search feature, look for "Tardstock" and you'll find last summer's meet covered too. It's a blast

 

just a quick question about driveability. How can I tell if the water pump is circulating? In case I have to drive it 20 miles? I dont want to mess it up. I decided to go with the FCP kit after looking around more.