Hey guys. What's happening is the V8 is consuming a crap load of oil, and when it gets heated up...the temperature gauge hovers 130 degrees Celcius. Bar drops VERY low to about 0.3!! This all happens when the car is running under stop and go traffic about 15 minutes.

Power is fine, response is normal, no noises, nothing like that. The only thing noticeable is a burning smell coming from the air vents...whether the climate control is off or on doesn't matter.

No visible leaks, no oil soot coming from either exhaust pipe. Cam and crank seals done. All I notice is oil around the oil pan and spewed across the sway bar and passenger control arm, directly behind the alternator.

Any ideas??

Thanks!!

But have no idea how that would be related to temp.

Yeah, your radiator is clogged. Take it on the highway, is the temperature running normal?

Since the radiator is clogged by the time the coolant reaches the fan sensor it doesn't see an overheat condition and is not turning on the fan.

Replacing the radiator is the only true fix. This is a common problem with the V8.

If I drive the V8 at high speeds on the highway for extended time, it reads normal oil temperature level. If I'm driving at city speeds for extended time, that's when everything goes nuts. With a hot engine, the bar will drop to about 0.3, the oil temperature will creep up to 130 degrees Celcius, and my coolant temperature gauge hovers 100 degrees Celcius.

You think it's the rad? It's the original rad, but the car has only 137 K miles.

Thanks!! I didn't even think about the rad!

I don't know...if the oil cooler was bad or leaking...I would think that the car would be running hot oil all the time, and that the burning smell would be all the time. The car is fine at high speeds, but the car goes wack only when the engine is hot....more particularly in stop and go traffic.

Put a piece of big cardboard piece underneath the car and try to locate the spot for oil leak.

Jack up the car high. Spray lot of Simple Green on the places where oil is seen. And hose it off nicely with water. Let it dry. Top up the oil level. And start the car. Let it run for 5 to 10 minutes and try to locate the oil leak.

The oil pressure sensor may be leaking from the o-ring. Allso the Oil lines get rusted at the connections (as you'r awair of).They maybe rusted at the valve housing which is rite next to the alternator. Could be the oil pan as well.
Hope this helps.
Thanks
Ron
90 V8 pearl 92k 02 OEM S4 17's, Urs4 sport seats, stebro exhaust, Porsche "Big Reds",Euro clear (bumper) turn signals, sport grill
93 V8 pearl 138k

Yep, air doesn't move pass the radiator fast enough in city driving also the clogged radiator is preventing coolant from circulating as it should. Another test is to raise the engine rpm when the engine start to overheat. Around 2500-3000 rpm this will help to circulate the coolant through the radiator your temperature should start to go down. You can also turn the heater to HI, even though is is very uncomfortable it's still better than blowing a head gasket. The heater core acts as a mini radiator to help cool the coolant.

I have to replace my radiator at 120,000 after blowing two reservior tanks. Now every thing is fine even when the outside temperature is over 95 and I have the AC blowing like crazy.

It takes about two hour to replace the first time and yes the bumper will have to be remove. Search the archive for my previous post on replacing the radiator.

Thankyou for the input. A new radiator it is, and I guess I should replace the heater core while I'm at it since I believe it also is the original. I just put in a new expansion tank. Oh boy....I just did the timing belt, valve covers and a bunch of other stuff on the car too. Gotta remember that you can never actually put your tools away when dealing with Audi. :(

Leave the heater core alone unless it is leaking. Just because the radiator is plugged doesn't means that the heater core is also plugged. Use the normal green antifreeze, do not use the lifetime orange.

Sorry Quattrotrac didn't realize that your V8 was a 1993 which might have come with lifetime antifreeze. So to clarify my remarks, use the antifreeze that came with the car. If it came with green then use green if it came with lifetime then use lifetime, but don't ever mix the two.

SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) put out a paper regarding this matter.<ul><li><a href="http://www.sae.org">Society of Automotive Engineers</a></li></ul>

No problem. I always use the green stuff anyways. I know not to mix the two. Thanks though. The only other thing I'm wondering besides the radiator being the problem is if the viscous fan clutch could be causing this too. Because if the fan clutch isn't working, I could be losing air that way. It works fine from what I can see, but it is the original fan clutch...and I'm at 137K. So I don't for sure...

Oil pan gaskets are a possibility though..I'll check those out. Thanks!

Does your electric fan comes on when the engine start to overheat? You can force the electric fan to come on by using a 100 ohm resistor. Remove the coolant thermo sensor electrical connection at the bottom of the radiator (passenger side). Use the 100 ohm resistor to jump the connection. Start you car and the fan will cycle from 1st speed to 3rd speed (jet engine taking off).

Another test is to carefully touch the top radiator hose, it will be very very hot. Now touch the lower radiator hose it should also be very hot. If the lower hose is warm or even cool then your radiator is clogged.

Use the 100 ohm resistor to verify that the fan system is working.

Ran the test...fan doesn't come on at all. But I'll test out the water hoses to see which is cool when the engine is hot. Late last night I noticed a small leak that had just started. It's coming from the rad. Just small drips, but it's still happening. Damn. :(

Thanks!

There is a 80 amp fuse on the driver side fender well, in front of the hydraulic fluid reservior, which supply power to the fan. It is located behind a plastic cover. Remove the cover and test the fuse. The fuse may look OK but you will need a ohm meter to test. The fuse is just a flat metal fuse similar to a fusible link. Due to age and vibration this fuse sometimes breaks.

Hi, I am also dealing with an aux. fan that does not activate at high temps. The 1st stage comes on with the AC. I have tested 2nd and 3rd by unplugging the radiator sensor and the left front head sensor - the fan comes on and cycles thru its stages. My radiator is probably clogged since the lower sensor rod was coated with deposit when it was removed. Would the fans cycle with a bad resistor pack? The strip fuse is functioning. The fuse in the pass. footwell looks good. Can the fans cycle with a bad 2nd or 3rd stage relay? I have three V8s and I have never seen the fans run w/o AC on. My 100 fan races when needed and during cool down. Has anyone ever solved the overheating problem? (Also, my pressure gauge pegs max when running and hunts during idle.) Thanks, Bob

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Hi, I am also dealing with an aux. fan that does not activate at high temps. The 1st stage comes on with the AC. I have tested 2nd and 3rd by unplugging the radiator sensor and the left front head sensor - the fan comes on and cycles thru its stages. My radiator is probably clogged since the lower sensor rod was coated with deposit when it was removed. Would the fans cycle with a bad resistor pack? The strip fuse is functioning. The fuse in the pass. footwell looks good. Can the fans cycle with a bad 2nd or 3rd stage relay? I have three V8s and I have never seen the fans run w/o AC on. My 100 fan races when needed and during cool down. Has anyone ever solved the overheating problem? (Also, my pressure gauge pegs max when running and hunts during idle.) Thanks, Bob