S6 leaking antifreeze ft right/ passenger side

[fattire]

It is -10 out so I'm not too excited to dig into the problem so I'm seeking any help I can get here to narrow down the problem. I had to drive somewhere today and I noticed I had a steady antifreeze drip in the front right side because the snow turned red. Any guesses to what it is? 2002 S6

[Dcass08]

When that stuff dries it turns kind of white. Can you see any white splash marks or drips anywhere from up top?

[Vinnie981]

Picture?

[fattire]

How do I add a pic? The thing in the pic I want to include looks like a plastic corrugated pipe.

I lowered the belly cover, and there are no drips that are apparent. The crazy thing is the car was parked on a slight incline and leaked when I noticed it. Now it is not leaking and sitting level with the car not running. I turned the car on, and still no leak while sitting level. It is too cold to go park it at an angle to see where it is leaking. When looking at the belly tray, it appears the antifreeze originates at the front of the car, passenger side, and then runs back towards the tire at which point it drips. I included a pic of the only thing in the area that was covered in white residue. It could be salt. Is there a secondary radiator on that side. The thing covered in white residue sits immediately below it. It looks like liquid has been running down the metal support that holds it in place, but it is hard to tell. I could not get a pic of it.

[fattire]

I just went and rubbed a piece of paper towel all around in that area and it does not turn red. It is not leaking now. Is there any chance it was just so cold fittings were shrunk, and therefore leaking? Now it is in the garage which is around 30F it is not leaking.

[Scotty@Advanced]

I'd bet its the oil cooler pipe or secondary radiator.

[fattire]

The oil cooler is in the back of the motor right. Can it be fixed without pulling the motor? If it is in the back of the motor could it possibly finally leak in front of the passenger tire?

[fattire]

Scott your probably onto something with the oil cooler after reading about it. Crap. What is the normal hours billed for a job like this if I take it to an indy?

[Vinnie981]

agh the plastic oil cooler pipe....better replace with this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Audi-oil-cooler-pipe-for-4-2L-V8-Engine-A8-A6-RS6-Phaeton-/261324657410

http://www.audipages.com/Tech_Articles/enginemechanical/oilcoolerremovalreinstall.html

or

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/511685-Second-Radiator-C5-S6

[BRTN639]

Funny, one of my other cars that I'm driving for the winter dropped a bit of coolant twice during the -20degC days last week. Now its up to a balmy -8C and no more leaking coolant. I have attributed it to being so cold that things just got a bit to loose. This should not normally happen though and its the first time for me with any car.

[SteelyS6]

I'd bet its the oil cooler pipe or secondary radiator.

^ This, my secondary rad started leaking again for the third time.

[fattire]

I'm taking it in to get it diagnosed on Thur. I will report back. It still has not leaked so I am at a loss. Secondary radiator should be a straight forward job, but I will just pay the money to have the oil cooler tube changed. The instructions were awesome Vinnie.

[rzx97]

check main radiator hose, just fixed mine today. Clear shot down to belly pan then pooled and dripped of the back of it.

Something to look at before you go tearing into it.

[rollerton]

The plastic oil cooler pipe will typically not leak when the car is running i don't think. And it doesn't leak when the engine is warm much either. From what I've read, and when mine was leaking, they leak after the engine cools down and the parts / seals contract.
Do you know where the oil filter is? It's kind of above and in front of the passenger front axle.
If Thats where your tiny leak is then it's the oil cooler pipe. The repair wasn't near as hard as it looked like it would be- about 5 hours.
But, get ready for a bill. The parts (some tiny orings) will be $120'ish and they'll bill you $600-$800.

[fattire]

I took the car in today to an indy shop close to my house. It is the second radiator. They did a thorough job looking the car over. No tranny leaks or other coolant leaks. My guess is the job should be much cheaper than the oil cooler pipe job. I might just do it if the quote seems high. I have changed radiators before.

The thing the shop keeps stressing is that they do not like the way the tensioner pulleys look. They think the stuff should be changed because the pulleys have lots of surface rust. The car did sit for 6 months. I do not know if this is a scam or not. The guy seems legit, but who knows. I included a link to two pics of the tb and stuff. The car has 109K and the tb, wp, and the pulley seals or gaskets (I do not remember what they are called) were changed at 82K miles in 8/2010.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=827E86AFCD92CFC0!9110&authkey=!AAJ86tCPjbHDt4E&ithint=folder%2c.jpg

[Scotty@Advanced]

The secondary radiator is easy to change but the part itself at ~$250.00 is pretty expensive.

[fattire]

Thanks for that info. Since you are knowledgeable do you have any opinions on the timing belt pics?

[Scotty@Advanced]

Thanks for that info. Since you are knowledgeable do you have any opinions on the timing belt pics?

It's not uncommon to have those timing rollers rust like that, especially if the car sits, or has not had them replaced with the regular timing belt change intervals. If your worried about it you can replace them, they are about $35.00 each..

[fattire]

Well it is on. I purchased the radiator. Scott you have a good deal at $250, but I needed it now so I could do it this weekend. The link below is going to make this job easy. I hope.
I was quoted $675 plus hey while we are in there lets do the serpentine belt for another $145.

The plan is to remove the front bumper and move the radiator support. That should provide direct access to it. If anyone thinks differently let me know.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/539952-Reference-1998-2004-C5-A6-allroad-Front-Bumper-and-Lock-Carrier-Service-Position

[fattire]

Alright I have a new question. I took the bumper off and had the secondary radiator hanging out of the front of the car, and I could not get the coolant hoses off. I had to put it all back together, and figure out a new approach.
Is the tool in the link below the best option to get the hoses off?
https://mercedessource.com/tech-help/videos/stuck-auto-radiator-hoses-enter-one-kent-bergsmas-favorite-tools-part-1