Coolant Loss and Oil Leak

[pgh_avant]

Hi Everyone,

New owner of a high mileage A4 2.0T Avant that gave me a big surprise recently. I took it to a local Audi/VW specialist for an oil change and the day before my appointment, I got a low coolant warning. Checked the overflow coolant tank and see low coolant and steam. (not good!)

Fast forward to the following day where i drop my car off at the specialist and it's much worse than I thought. Mechanic quotes me for all of the service in screenshots below.

Service items include:

-New water Pump
-New Front Control Arms (i suspected these were about ready for new)
-Work to fix an oil leak that is manifesting on the top of the engine

Prior to my purchase of the vehicle, the following had already been done:

-Lower Timing chain tensioner replaced 15,000 miles ago with new gasket
-Oil Consumption Recall under warranty - @ 75,000 miles
-New Turbo @ 75,000 miles
-Front and rear diff service within last 10,000 miles
-Regular Oil Changes


Prior to this appointment, I've had no issues starting and driving the vehicle. In total i've racked up approx. 4,500 miles without the oil light coming on. It's definitely using oil as seen in both the MMI and dipstick test, but nowhere even near the bottom of the min level within that interval of mileage.

My question to you all is this: Is it safe to just replace the water pump for now and monitor the oil leakage? I've heard of these cars leaking oil from the upper timing chain cover/gasket as well as the PCV valve. Mostly, i just think that redoing the entire engine seems a bit much, but i'm new to Audi/VW so i'm not as keen on the issues that arise with these cars.

Any help/insight is greatly appreciated.

Screen Shot 2022-11-11 at 6.03.02 PM.jpgScreen Shot 2022-11-11 at 6.03.10 PM.pngIMG_6426.jpg

[Scott Long]

Water pump leak is super common with these engines. Its an easy job to DIY with an aluminum pump kit from ECS for under $200 and an hour or less of your time (if you work fast).

This video shows a no-nonsense way to replace the water pump yourself quickly. You don't have to remove half the crap that other videos show, just move it out of the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3TfykE4uFo

Make sure to pinpoint the leak. If your timing tensioner isn't out of range and you don't hear a rattle at startup you probably don't need timing service (though it wouldn't hurt).

By the way, those prices are outrageous for an independent shop. I'd expect that of the dealer.

[audrobotic]

Yeah those prices are way too high. I’ve heard that a oil leak from the on top of the engine can run down to the water pump and ruin the water pump gasket. Also its not clear if you really need a new timing set.

My first step would be to search for another shop to get a second opinion. Also costs can vary wildly from shop to shop. For example a well reviewed shop wanted to charge $600+ for a simple upper timing cover gasket replacement and I found another great shop that did it for about $130.

[pgh_avant]

To follow up, I just got the car back from the shop and they replaced the water pump. I don’t have a good photo but I can now see the leak. To me, it doesn’t look like it’s coming from the upper timing cover, but just directly behind it at the cam bridge (I think).

Anyone know of any solutions to seal this area up?

[RPMtech147]

To follow up, I just got the car back from the shop and they replaced the water pump. I don’t have a good photo but I can now see the leak. To me, it doesn’t look like it’s coming from the upper timing cover, but just directly behind it at the cam bridge (I think).

Anyone know of any solutions to seal this area up?

If it's coming from high, it's either the upper timing cover, valve cover, or for some reason lately, I've done a handful of oil filter adapter(accessory bracket/oil cooler) gaskets that were leaking.

[silver_tt]

If it's coming from high, it's either the upper timing cover, valve cover, or for some reason lately, I've done a handful of oil filter adapter(accessory bracket/oil cooler) gaskets that were leaking.

Since you see these every day, on the underside when there is a leak what are the most common points? Lower timing cover, RMS, oil drain plug if a new crush washer wasn't used, etc. Anything else? I see some oil on the sound dampening pad that's on top of the underbody splash shield under the engine and will see what it is but was curious what you see most often.

[pgh_avant]

If it's coming from high, it's either the upper timing cover, valve cover, or for some reason lately, I've done a handful of oil filter adapter(accessory bracket/oil cooler) gaskets that were leaking.

The oil seems to be primarily coming from the front right behind the upper timing cover on the driver’s side. I suppose it’s possible to be a valve cover, but it seems like the timing cover gasket is super common for these 2.0t of this year. I’ll take a photo today and add in the thread.

[pgh_avant]

Update: here are some photos of the oil leak, weigh in on the replies!D1387367-411F-4307-BA2D-77185F6861D8.jpg326A2D2B-9CD3-4426-A9CC-36DCAC21EA94.jpgB5F4FCE3-89E1-4C0A-AC21-D822DDE6416F.jpgD1387367-411F-4307-BA2D-77185F6861D8.jpg326A2D2B-9CD3-4426-A9CC-36DCAC21EA94.jpgB5F4FCE3-89E1-4C0A-AC21-D822DDE6416F.jpg

[audrobotic]

Def not upper timing gasket unless its been cleaned up. From the pics it looks like minor seepage. Are you seeing seepage any lower than the valve cover?

[pgh_avant]

Def not upper timing gasket unless its been cleaned up. From the pics it looks like minor seepage. Are you seeing seepage any lower than the valve cover?

From what I can gather, I only see oil coming from somewhere up on the valve cover area. Anything lower seems to be dripping from there. These pics are also a few days old and IÂ’ve noticed further oil accumulation on top just behind where the upper timing cover sits on the driver side. IÂ’ve also noticed oil has leaked onto the lower timing chain cover as well, but when parked I donÂ’t see a single drop on the ground. Eh, beats me. IÂ’ll take some more photos at some point today.

Happy thanksgiving! 😂

[Theiceman]

blast it clean ... put some dye in the oil and run the engine and use a UV light , you will see it .