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Good day to all. need some input
My car 2011 A8L with 65 k miles . own the car for the last 6 years. cars looks and drives like new. butttttttttttt
have an issue with a very small coolant leak. every 4 weeks need to add coolant. it will go down one inch below the min line.
then I top it up. took my car to my mechanic and he can NOT find any leak. which means one thing, the leak is internal and not
external . which is a time consuming to find. according to my mechanic , since the oil is clean
and NO white smoke from muffler, his recommendation , just wait and see. fill when low, make sure engine not heating ( never did )
at one point the leak will be bigger and them we can find it. just chasing the leak , will be very expensive.
( took car to 2 different shops , and they said same thing .) no danger to engine or car when driving.
any input ? did any one had similar case with the 4.2 engine ?
One of our Audis does the same routine. I stopped topping off the coolant and the level never drops. Why don't you monitor for a couple of weeks and see if the level continues to fall..
Did it use more coolant in the summer compared to winter? To me, topping off coolant is a small price to pay, better then the alternative. Pulling the motor and removing parts has more chance to cause a new issue then its worth.
My D3 V8 is leaking coolant between the oil cooler and engine block. My shop wants to pull the motor. I told them, the internet forums can fix this without pulling the motor
Basically, they wanted to fix it there way, and not what made sense. So I didn't fix it and top off the coolant every two weeks. As long as it doesn't over heat, a small leak is annoying but not critical.
Did it use more coolant in the summer compared to winter? To me, topping off coolant is a small price to pay, better then the alternative. Pulling the motor and removing parts has more chance to cause a new issue then its worth.
My D3 V8 is leaking coolant between the oil cooler and engine block. My shop wants to pull the motor. I told them, the internet forums can fix this without pulling the motor
Basically, they wanted to fix it there way, and not what made sense. So I didn't fix it and top off the coolant every two weeks. As long as it doesn't over heat, a small leak is annoying but not critical.
yes, I only top it when I get that red notice in dash. it only started this summer, so lets see in winter.
my mechanic said the same, just top it for now.
will keep posted if new info comes in.
it is just annoying. ( before this D4 I had a D3 for 7 years )
yes, I only top it when I get that red notice in dash. it only started this summer, so lets see in winter.
Yes annoying, but it gives you a reason to pop the hood every week. I almost wore out my hood latch sensor. I would check it every week, and top off. Dont wait until the red light comes on, asking for more issues then its worth.. Now.. if you are getting the red light every week, I would say that's more then just a pin hole size leak. Also, check the obvious... Your coolant reservoir and all lines around it.
.I am amazed at my D3 for having such a small leak and still be able to power on like nothing. That car is an engineering study.
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I know I'll get a lot of flak for this, but you may try adding a small amount of one of the particle style coolant system leak sealers. The key here is small amount. Sneak up on it. Make sure that it is thoroughly dissolved in the added antifreeze, and it must go directly into the hot stream, not into the reservoir. There was one I used many years ago which was pretty much like oatmeal... they simply work.
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On the topic of finding a leak it's been said many times here that the underbody shielding will hinder most attempts to detect an obvious leak that might show up on a garage floor. Once removed do you see any signs of chalky pink residue on the inside of the shielding? If the leak is small enough it may clear up and dry before your mechanic has a chance to check. I would consider removing the panel and doing a fair bit of driving to get things to operating temp and head back to the shop to examine the results underneath with my own eyes.
yes, this is our next move. drive the car , get it warm up and then look under . all the panels
where remove ( they also fund a leaking oil pan ). and lets hope they can find that red color coolant.
when car is cold and under coolant pressure test, no leak. I hope they can find it.
will post when I know. for now will not use coolant sealant , if the leak is internal.
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If leak is internal, you will have bigger problems than needing to add a little coolant from time to time. Weigh the consequences, and a sealer may still be the best choice.
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That all said, it depends upon how you drive... Forget everything I said if you are a performance driver
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I am happy to report that the very small leak was fix. as you read on my 1 post
my 2 INDY did not find the leak. I did like 4 cycles of adding coolant when low.
takes about a month for a cycle. 1 of my INDY guys had some time to look for the leak.
in the end it was the crankcase vent valve , all the way at the back of the engine.
one of the reasons it was so hard to find the leak, it will only leak when the engine
is hot and running. my total bill was 250$ ( parts and labor )
I am very happy.😎
11-02-2021, 10:44 AM
Input on coolant leak w 4.2L?
