# 3.2l quattro coolant leak



## Anotherbarry (May 27, 2019)

Hey guys

My 2008 mk2 3.2l TT has sprung a pretty rapid coolant leak, the expansion tank empties after around 30minutes of idle.

I thought it might be the head gasket but it passed a few sniff tests so crossed that off. Then checked the oil cooler and radiator, all looked well there. Then I noticed a small puddle forming on the gravel below the car..

It's between the engine and expansion tank, but I can't for the life of me find the exact location of the leak. Could it be the waterpump? I don't know which side of the engine it's on but it would make sense as it's not been changed. Also, theres some wierd jelly on the oil cap, but the car has been sitting and only used for short journeys for a year or two so I'm hoping it's nothing to do with the head?

I've uploaded some pictures, though theyre not that good. Any ideas?

Cheers


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## Anotherbarry (May 27, 2019)

Setting up ELSAwin now, in the meantime does anyone have a diagram showing the cooling system on the 3.2l v6?

Cheers


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## MT-V6 (Jan 11, 2015)

If you haven't already is take the engine underway off as it might make the location more obvious if looking from below


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

+1 for MT-V6 recommendation for pulling the underbody panel. A leak will be hard to detect since it will drip onto the panel first and then run out. Making pin pointing the leak very difficult.

There may be something on the cooling system in the KB but not sure that it's specific to the 3.2 engine -

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=1833827

Just wondering if you could do the Forum a favor.... if you pull the 3.2 workshop manual from ErWin, it would make a great addition to our current collection. If the file is too large, you can email it to me at my nickname at yahoo dot com and I can upload it. Thanks!

Just curious, if you said the coolant bottle is emptying out, does it still do that when it's cold? The bottles fail from time to time as well, in which case it might be a relatively easy DIY to replace it.


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## Wolvez (Jun 22, 2018)

It's probably coming from the water pump and oil cooler leaking internally.


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## Anotherbarry (May 27, 2019)

SwissJetPilot said:


> +1 Just wondering if you could do the Forum a favor.... if you pull the 3.2 workshop manual from ErWin, it would make a great addition to our current collection. If the file is too large, you can email it to me at my nickname at yahoo dot com and I can upload it.


I'll try! Gave up last night after eventually installing in English and winding up with Elsawin in german and the contents missing!



MT-V6 said:


> If you haven't already is take the engine underway off as it might make the location more obvious if looking from below


Already off I'm afraid, no ramps so I can't get a view from directly below but using my phone I've... not really found out much else. All I know is it's definetely coming from the engine's offside. Between the belts and the expansion tank.



Wolvez said:


> It's probably coming from the water pump and oil cooler


Do you know where the waterpump is situated in the engine bay? Is it near the oil cooler?

The leak is deffo offside

If you do know where abouts the waterpump is mounted please do let me know!


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

Here I've highlighted in red the coolant related components viewed from the front. Without the other stuff that convolutes seeing said components.









Then the same pic for reference. You can just see the water pump's wheel to the left of the accessories bracket. Oil cooler the silver thing more 5 o clock on the block and main water pipe the silver pipe across the block, rising toward the thermostat housing. 









As you can see, because of how the piping is set up the coolant may actually be travelling from one side of the engine to the other and then dripping to where you see it.

Hope that helps!


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## Anotherbarry (May 27, 2019)

ianpgonzaga said:


> As you can see, because of how the piping is set up the coolant may actually be travelling from one side of the engine to the other and then dripping to where you see it.
> 
> Hope that helps!


Dang, so it could be coming from just about any location :facepalm:

Thanks for the pictures! Is this the water pump?


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

the wheel you see on the left there - is part of the water pump. The rest of it is inside the block so you can't see it....

I've highlighted the wheel in red in my first pic


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## Anotherbarry (May 27, 2019)

ianpgonzaga said:


> the wheel you see on the left there - is part of the water pump. The rest of it is inside the block so you can't see it....
> 
> I've highlighted the wheel in red in my first pic


Much appreciated, if I'm taking it to pieces anyway I may as well change the pump which I suspect has gone. Hopefully that does it and I won't need to touch the rest


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

While you're at it, this might be a good time to change the accessory belt and the idler pulley. I would argue replacing both at the same time is money well spent. Sort of like replacing your oil and the oil filter, they're a matched set.

A bit more info on the topic here -

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=1886959


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

@ ianpgonzaga - That is a great picture and really helps explain where things are located on the 3.2 VR-6. Do you have any from the sides and back? That would be a nice addition to the forum knowledge base.


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

Here we go.


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## Anotherbarry (May 27, 2019)

SwissJetPilot said:


> While you're at it, this might be a good time to change the accessory belt and the idler pulley. I would argue replacing both at the same time is money well spent.


For sure! Once it's open I'll likely replace the hoses well.

@ ianpgonzaga Thanks for all your help, do you think it's possible to replace the waterpump without removing the engine? I don't mind removing panels and disconnecting the surrounding hoses etc but without a proper lift I don't think full removal of the engine is a good idea.

I could unbolt the the offside mount for more clearance


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## SwissJetPilot (Apr 27, 2014)

Ah, fantastic, thanks!! 

When you get around to re-installing the intake manifold, I would be VERY interested in how you do that. There'a a CCV Diaphragm inside the head cover that is stupid expensive to replace. It's a $5 part, but of course Audi wants to sell the entire head cover as there's no OEM replacement part available. However there is an aftermarket part which is very simple to replace.

Problem is , getting to it is a major PITA. Here's the DIY I started, but your pictures and instructions would be very beneficial, engine in or out. Please keep this in mind when you get around to it.

https://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtop ... &t=1876243


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## IPG3.6 (Sep 5, 2015)

Anotherbarry said:


> SwissJetPilot said:
> 
> 
> > While you're at it, this might be a good time to change the accessory belt and the idler pulley. I would argue replacing both at the same time is money well spent.
> ...


Yes that exactly what you would need to do then you want to be able to raise that side of the engine so you have the room to get your tools in to 
- 1 counterhold the pump wheel
- 2 remove the 3 wheel bolts
- 3 finally gain access to the 3 water pump bolts
- 4 pry it out


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