My '98 A4 quattro (102,000 miles) recently developed a minor coolant leak as evidenced by the coolant light illuminating every couple of weeks or so following coolant top-off. Took it to my independent Audi service facility where they pressure tested and found several leaks including the water pump (which had only been replaced 4 yr and 30,000 mile ago). They recommended and performed a BG coolant system flush in addition to the various component replacements. I picked up the car Thursday. They suggested after driving for a couple of days, I recheck and top off the coolant if necessary. So I checked the coolant and it's down a bit but the color is green. I was under the impression that only the pink VW/Audi coolant was to be used in this car and indeed, until now, that's all that's been used.
I will be contacting the service shop on Monday but want to be prepared. Is pink coolant absolutely required for the car or is there some green version that is also compatible?
Hmm .. pink/red, it should be. The standard green one, if not an reinvention with compatible chemicals (silica based), should be used only to limp back home .. and should *never* be mixed with the pink/red[/purple].
My service book then tells to drain, flush/rinse well and refill [with pink/red/purple] longlife fluid.
Your car should have pink/red coolant, the G12 stuff, I suspect the garage has put the wrong type in, if it was a genuine Audi dealer they would never use anything but G12.
My old Audi A4 V6 used to leak too, the first place it went was the pipe that comes from the front of the engine and is connected to a metal pipe that distributes the coolant round the engine, the tube is welded into the head and the weld gives after a few years. I also noticed it leaking from a thick pipe that runs underneath the radiator, it runs the width of the front of the car and is prone to rusting as it not protected by the plastic floor pan. Mine had loads of stone chips in it and had rusted away :)
BLUE Color Audi Coolant: Make sure you use the correct color Audi coolant! Audi models manufactured before 1997 used blue coolant. The Audi part number is G011000. Other part numbers have been used for the G11 coolant, such as VwW043611. Blue G11 Audi coolant should not be mixed with red, pink, purple G12 Audi coolant or the early ZVw 237 105 green coolant. Dealer prices are often for a pre-mixed bottle of coolant. Our prices reflect a concentrated 1.5L bottle, meaning more for your money.
RED or PINK Audi Coolant: Make sure you use the correct color Audi coolant! Audi models manufactured in 1997-on use this red or pink coolant. The part numbers are G012A8D and ZVw 237 G12. This G12 Audi coolant is still available from us, but when our current stock is depleted it'll be replaced by the below G 012 A8F G12+ purple coolant. This pink and the below purple Audi coolant are interchangeable and can be mixed. However, this coolant should not be mixed with blue or green colored coolant. Dealer prices are often for a pre-mixed bottle of coolant. Our prices reflect a concentrated 1.5L bottle, meaning more for your money.
PURPLE Audi Coolant: Make sure you use the correct color Audi coolant! This coolant cannot be mixed with blue or green colored Audi coolant. Audi models began using this purple coolant in 2003. The different part numbers are G 012 A8FM, G 012 A8F A1, or G 012 A8F A4. This Audi coolant has recently been introduced as a replacement (and is the same as) for the earlier red or pink G 012A8D Audi coolant. The purple and above pink Audi coolant are interchangeable and can be mixed. This is the updated G12+ Audi coolant. Dealer prices are often for a pre-mixed bottle of coolant. Our prices reflect a concentrated 1.5L bottle, meaning more for your money.
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