Kebabian

I have the infamous coolant leak problem in my '04 A8L. Dealer wants $1700-$2000 to replace it. Does that sound right? I don't think I'm going to sink that much into the car at the moment..... Thoughts?

RocketSurgeon

That price is way too high in my opinion. It depends on if you want to DIY or not. It would seem the common failure point is an o-ring, or the plastic pipe breaks off in the oil cooler. An independent should be able to do the job for around a third of that plus parts. Here is a DIY link, it's mainly for D2s, but there is quite a bit of info on the D3 as well.
http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articl...reinstall.html
And here is an ebay item number for an aluminum pipe with double viton o-rings.
261324657410

NYCA8L

I also found out on Saturday that i have a leaking oil cooler. and they also said they need to drop the motor to properly get to it. i wish the repair was much easier to do. they also quoted me that range in price.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

It wouldn't be too hard to replace. I did both 32V 4.2L and 40V 4.2L. There isn't any write ups on the D3 yet?

<a href="http://www.dognmonkey.com/audi/2000-a8-40v-oil-cooler-plastic-pipe-replacement.html">Oil Cooler Pipe Replacement 40V</a>

What's the symptom do you have to determine that's it's the broken oil cooler pipe?

Cheers,

Louis

Soro86

I also have a 2005 A8 with 71K diagnosed by dealer with oil cooler leak. I was quoted $4,200! If I wanted the timing belt done, it would be an additional $1,900. The leak is slow,needing topping off every 3 weeks or so. The car has been great since purchased in 2008. I have maintained it regularly at this dealer.
I inquired about an A7 on the lot and they offered me $3000 for my car and not a penny off the asking price of the car. I left and never heard from them again.
I noted this on my survey and asked to be contacted by Audi of America which they did. They offered to see if another dealer in the area could do it cheaper or help on the price of the new car. I just told them I was disappointed in the whole experience.
I spoke with an independent and plan to take the car there. He recommended doing the belt due to age and that the leak could wait and may even improve when the weather warms up.
I'll continue enjoying this fine car, especially in the wild northeast winter we are having.
This site has been a great help and really appreciate it!

jakematic

Good move.
Unless there are mitigating issue we are not aware of, that's an auction offer even if they pay internal rate.
However, you are due for an expensive service at 75k (and? *Mel Blanc voice* as dealerships say) so adding it all up they simply do not wish to sit on a car they have to invest many real dollars in.

ACNA membership alone will get you 6 points off MSRP, but that's a no brainer unless it's an unusual model/color/combo.

My advice would be fix it up, do the service, and put it up for private sale even though you may not get 'book' value.
Take the cash and negotiate at the dealer of your choice for a new vehicle - unless you want to keep the 05.

2fast2c

Lately, I have been getting low coolant level sign and I keep adding but it's keep losing coolant. Is this the symptom of what we are talking about???
Another repair.......crap....

jandreas

On the D3 this is quite a bit more complicated because the coolant pipe feed line NOW runs OVER the water/oil heat exchanger. So you need to raise the pipe 1-1/2" to clear the heat exchanger before you can pull the exchanger away from the crankcase but the exhaust manifold studs are in the way. So you have to remove those too! And of course there is not enough room to fit a Facom/SK or Snap-On stud remover. Which means using a double-nut but there's no room for a wrench so you need a long socket. That means you have to grind down a nut by 2mm so that the exhaust stud nut will lock against it and still allow you to turn the 10mm long socket.

If you have the front of the car removed for the timing belt than it is slightly easier because you can remove the torque mount but its still not anything even remotely resembling a cakewalk.

This is the rusty stud above the black coolant feed pipe showing how much clearance you have.


This is what it looks like removed.





The pipe disintegrates upon removal, its the o-ring that fails.



Slightly better design with double o-ring.

bmwm750

Oh boy. Here's to never having to do this job!! It's funny, so many jobs in the factory manual for these cars say "Step 1: Remove engine," but at least on the Porsche's, removing the motor is a job where thought actually went into how it could be done.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Thanks Jandreas, I hope I don't have to replace the plastic pipe anytime soon. I remembered the last time I had to change was because the car was running hot at sometimes due to lack of oil, but it didn't happen until 150k miles.