Coolant leak/warm-up issue

[stevengrande]

Ok guys, I checked out several possible issues with that may possibly cause this coolant leak. What I did notice is that it's not warming up unless I drive it. Just idling in the garage or driveway doesn't allow the gauge to move in anyway.

Someone want to throw out something I'm not getting?



-Steve G - 2005.5 A4 2.0T
***If you're reading this it was probably sent via TapTalk while driving my B7***

[mec]

Ok guys, I checked out several possible issues with that may possibly cause this coolant leak. What I did notice is that it's not warming up unless I drive it. Just idling in the garage or driveway doesn't allow the gauge to move in anyway.

Someone want to throw out something I'm not getting?



-Steve G - 2005.5 A4 2.0T
***If you're reading this it was probably sent via TapTalk while driving my B7***

idling never warms it up unless you idle for half an hour. Do you actually have a coolant leak? I mean can you see that your tank is depleting, if so it should be super easy to find, when coolant leaks out it leaves a heavy white trail

[Mister W]

check the thermostat flange and the surrounding gaskets. Changed mine last year and it's leaking again.

[vce1232000]

Also check the coolant flange in the rear of cylinder head. When its defective,it leaks more when [drive]

[stevengrande]

I checked the coolant flange at the head. No leakage there. Has anyone ever heard of a leak from the pet-cock on the bottom of the reservoir?


-Steve G - 2005.5 A4 2.0T
***If you're reading this it was probably sent via TapTalk while driving my B7***

[Charles.waite]

I checked the coolant flange at the head. No leakage there. Has anyone ever heard of a leak from the pet-cock on the bottom of the reservoir?


-Steve G - 2005.5 A4 2.0T
***If you're reading this it was probably sent via TapTalk while driving my B7***

if the petcock is open, yea it can leak.

x2 about idling not warming the car up. You have to drive it to warm it up, idling won't do shit for hours...

Why do you think you have a leak again? Coolant leaks are usually quite obvious. The coolant flows pink and dries a crusty white so its not hard to spot...

[PDX04a4]

if the petcock is open, yea it can leak.

x2 about idling not warming the car up. You have to drive it to warm it up, idling won't do shit for hours...

Why do you think you have a leak again? Coolant leaks are usually quite obvious. The coolant flows pink and dries a crusty white so its not hard to spot...

Yeeeaaahhhh, letting your car idle waiting for the gauge needle to move (especially during the cold winter months) and using that as a determinant for a coolant leak is about as useless a test you can have. Nevermind the fact that it's really not good for the engine, especially on cold starts. Actually looking in your engine bay with a flashlight is an infinitely better way of finding out if you have a coolant leak, look for the crusty white/pink spots. Also, if you have a belly pan you can pull that off and see if there are any dried/fresh drips on it (or if you don't, put a piece of cardboard under your engine bay).

[Charles.waite]

Yeeeaaahhhh, letting your car idle waiting for the gauge needle to move (especially during the cold winter months) and using that as a determinant for a coolant leak is about as useless a test you can have. Nevermind the fact that it's really not good for the engine, especially on cold starts. Actually looking in your engine bay with a flashlight is an infinitely better way of finding out if you have a coolant leak, look for the crusty white/pink spots. Also, if you have a belly pan you can pull that off and see if there are any dried/fresh drips on it (or if you don't, put a piece of cardboard under your engine bay).

But that would require, you know, popping the hood or *gasp* putting your car on ramps!

[stevengrande]

if the petcock is open, yea it can leak.

x2 about idling not warming the car up. You have to drive it to warm it up, idling won't do shit for hours...

Why do you think you have a leak again? Coolant leaks are usually quite obvious. The coolant flows pink and dries a crusty white so its not hard to spot...

I assumed I had a leak due to the small puddle of coolant on the floor of my garage under my car appeared and my reservoir was down to the "MIN" line after I had just replaced the thermostat and filled it. I don't have a belly pan on the car right now and with the poor weather and salty roads here in NH, EVERYTHING under there is white and crusty.


Yeeeaaahhhh, letting your car idle waiting for the gauge needle to move (especially during the cold winter months) and using that as a determinant for a coolant leak is about as useless a test you can have. Nevermind the fact that it's really not good for the engine, especially on cold starts. Actually looking in your engine bay with a flashlight is an infinitely better way of finding out if you have a coolant leak, look for the crusty white/pink spots. Also, if you have a belly pan you can pull that off and see if there are any dried/fresh drips on it (or if you don't, put a piece of cardboard under your engine bay).

Wait...starting my car and allowing it to heat up is bad for my engine in cold weather? I have looked in the engine bay for a leak and as I mentioned in the reply above, with the belly pan off and poor NH weather and salty roads, everything under there is white and crusty. That is why I was possibly thinking the issue was a faulty pet cock, it looks like there may be a bit of crust on some lines just beneath it.


But that would require, you know, popping the hood or *gasp* putting your car on ramps!

My car spends plenty of time with the hood up and on ramps or even better, on a lift when I get to my buddy's shop. Oil changes, cam followers, etc...all done in the friendly confines of my garage with the help of various 'ziners. 135k miles and this is the legit first time I have had any kind of an issue with her that I can't put my finger on. Ya' know...just in case you thought I was a noob at working with her.

[PDX04a4]

Wait...starting my car and allowing it to heat up is bad for my engine in cold weather? I have looked in the engine bay for a leak and as I mentioned in the reply above, with the belly pan off and poor NH weather and salty roads, everything under there is white and crusty. That is why I was possibly thinking the issue was a faulty pet cock, it looks like there may be a bit of crust on some lines just beneath it.




It's generally not a good thing to cold start your car and let it idle as a means to warm up the engine, you should start and go and let the engine warm up while driving "cautiously" (ie staying out of boost/below 3k rpm's). Your engine is not going to warm up and any appreciable way (that you can see on your coolant temp gauge) just by letting the car idle in the driveway, especially during the winter.

As for the coolant leak, maybe try not driving it for a couple days, putting a fresh piece of cardboard and see if anything drips on to it. If nothing then the only way your going to tell is with a fresh leak. What makes you think you have a coolant leak? Do you notice the coolant level dropping in the expansion tank? If you are having problems with temp readings I would look at the thermostat or CTS as the source of your problem, not a coolant leak.

[stevengrande]

It's generally not a good thing to cold start your car and let it idle as a means to warm up the engine, you should start and go and let the engine warm up while driving "cautiously" (ie staying out of boost/below 3k rpm's). Your engine is not going to warm up and any appreciable way (that you can see on your coolant temp gauge) just by letting the car idle in the driveway, especially during the winter.

As for the coolant leak, maybe try not driving it for a couple days, putting a fresh piece of cardboard and see if anything drips on to it. If nothing then the only way your going to tell is with a fresh leak. What makes you think you have a coolant leak? Do you notice the coolant level dropping in the expansion tank? If you are having problems with temp readings I would look at the thermostat or CTS as the source of your problem, not a coolant leak.

I've always started the car in the morning to "warm it up". I never thought I was doing something wrong. Thank you to you and the other posters here for telling me. I will cease doing it from here on out.

What makes me think there's a coolant leak is the small puddle of coolant on my garage floor after driving it for a bit or after I "warm it up" first thing in the AM. The coolant level in the tank is showing that there is a leak somewhere due to it being at the MIN level after I filled it to MAX just thee other day.

I'm not getting bad temp readings, it stays at 1/2 way when it heats up and never higher. Also, my heat is hot as it ever has been on the coldest of days.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[PDX04a4]

I've always started the car in the morning to "warm it up". I never thought I was doing something wrong. Thank you to you and the other posters here for telling me. I will cease doing it from here on out.

What makes me think there's a coolant leak is the small puddle of coolant on my garage floor after driving it for a bit or after I "warm it up" first thing in the AM. The coolant level in the tank is showing that there is a leak somewhere due to it being at the MIN level after I filled it to MAX just thee other day.

I'm not getting bad temp readings, it stays at 1/2 way when it heats up and never higher. Also, my heat is hot as it ever has been on the coldest of days.

Sent from my Nexus 7

Ok, well I would try and line up the spot on the floor with the approximate area it's dripping from, give yourself an area to start looking in the engine bay and go from there. Again, it might just be easier to put a clean piece of cardboard under the engine bay and try to spot/line up the coolant drip from that. If it's leaking enough to give a small puddle at any one time you should be able to notice it right away inside the engine bay itself. Maybe get under there with a rag/towel and wipe down as much of a gunk/oil/dirt as you possibly can and that will give you an idea of where the fresh stuff is coming from when it appears. Until you have at least an approximate location in the engine bay for where it's coming from you're just going to be throwing darts at a dart board in terms of trying to find the culprit.

[Jeller]

Sounds like the coolant flange on the back of the motor. Mine did this and would only leak after driving the car and getting it fully warmed up. I could see it on the back corner of the block/head when it was. Mine was fixed by dealer under warranty a while back.