Advice on fixing/selling 02 allroad 6 speed manual

[mikefmcnally]

As far as I know the aux pump sole purpose is to supply coolant to the heater core for heat. So if it's not working you will have no heat. My symptoms were no heat at idle. If I revved it up at a red light the heat would blow for a second. If I was driving steady about 60, I had heat. Driving around town it blew mostly cold and at idle it was outdoor temp. My first tried to flush out the system and that didn't help. Then he replaced the aux pump and my heat works like it should. It cranks if I want it to at idle. So, if you haven't replaced your aux pump I would. Mike Originally Posted by brider And now you have heat? I read your post from the beginning, you mentioned early on that the aux pump was replaced to fix a "no heat" condition. I ran a post recently on MY no-heat condition, and the common wisdom there was that the aux pump has NO bearing whatsoever on the heating system. So I am curious, and I don't want to sound like I'm challenging you or your mechanic's/dealer's diagnosis; I just want details on other's heating problems and their solution: What was your no-heat symptom, and did the heat come back when the aux pump was changed, and was there a coolant flush involved?

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by mikefmcnally

As far as I know the aux pump sole purpose is to supply coolant to the heater core for heat. So if it's not working you will have no heat.

I'm sorry to inform you that the auxiliary water pump has absolutely no relationship to the functioning of the heater.
It's sole purpose is to supply additional cooling to the turbos after the engine has been shut down.
So, if changing the auxiliary water pump has provided you with heat, someone did something else to provide you with heat. In some cases it has been shown that switching the flow direction through the heater core will restore heat to the interior. Though I don't know how that is possible, it seems to have worked for several people. It is also a very simple and inexpensive procedure.
However, replacing/relocating the auxiliary water pump is a lengthy, and very expensive procedure.
It sounds like someone has been taken for a very expensive ride, unless the auxiliary water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced anyway.
Just be sure to understand that the auxiliary water pump and the heater have no relationship other than that they are both part of the car's cooling system.
The radiator is also part of the cooling system, but replacing it will not restore heat to the interior or solve the problem of a leaking auxiliary water pump.

[brider]

That's why I asked if a flush was done along with the aux pump change; I learned here that the aux pump is sometimes used as a ruse by unscrupulous dealers to make some serious $$, with no benefit to the customer.

My recent posting here described how my mechanic wanted to change the aux pump for the no-heat condition. I did not let them go that far, but allowed them to check the OPERATION of the aux pump. They said they did, and that "...Now the heat works as it should".

Except it didn't. I had to swap hoses inlet/outlet, and THEN there was heat.

Here's a suprise: The mechanic called me back after a couple of weeks to see if everything was OK (which tells me that they somehow actually THOUGHT the aux pump was related to the heat), and I told them my whole story, and that I wouldn't be taking my car back there.

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by brider

That's why I asked if a flush was done along with the aux pump change; I learned here that the aux pump is sometimes used as a ruse by unscrupulous dealers to make some serious $$, with no benefit to the customer.

My recent posting here described how my mechanic wanted to change the aux pump for the no-heat condition. I did not let them go that far, but allowed them to check the OPERATION of the aux pump. They said they did, and that "...Now the heat works as it should".

Except it didn't. I had to swap hoses inlet/outlet, and THEN there was heat.

Here's a suprise: The mechanic called me back after a couple of weeks to see if everything was OK (which tells me that they somehow actually THOUGHT the aux pump was related to the heat), and I told them my whole story, and that I wouldn't be taking my car back there.

Good for you!!
I'm glad you didn't allow yourself to get fleeced. I hope you find an honest mechanic in your area who knows Audi's.
Good luck.

[brider]

Originally Posted by Mike B

Good for you!!
I'm glad you didn't allow yourself to get fleeced. I hope you find an honest mechanic in your area who knows Audi's.
Good luck.

Thanks for the kudos, but the frustrating thing is this WAS an independent German Auto repair shop, with the mechanic's credentials and certificates posted on their website. Now that I'm thinking of it, I really need to go back to their website and send an e-mail...