I am trying to determine the source of a significant coolant leak on the left hand side of the engine block on a 1990 V-8 quattro. The leak is to the rear of the last (rearmost) exhaust port, on the block, below the top surface. It leaks enough to drain the radiator in 15 miles. I can't get an eyeball on this thing to figure out what is leaking. If I can find that out, then I can get what I need and fix it. Any info would be appreciated.
Coolant leak on block - V-8 Quattro
May 31, 2007
4 Replies
The coolant lines the go the the heater core are on the back of the block and 'could' be leaking a lot and the coolant moving to the location that you wee it. I hope that this is the case.
However, the first thing that comes to mind id a blown head gasket which would be a much bigger job. Try a compression / leak-down test. Also pull the plugs by the leak and see if they are discolored from coolant. If coolant is leaking into the cylinders you might be experiencing poor starting and rough idle but might not be an issue when driving over twenty mph or so.
If it iw a head gasket, take this opportunity to change the timing belt, thermostat, water pump and tensioner as they will be part of getting to the head gasket.
Let us know what you f> I am trying to determine the source of a significant coolant leak on the
The heater hoses (or couplings thereto) is a theory that makes more sense than the head gasket - assuming he's not being hyperbolic about how long it takes to drain the radiator while driving. I don't think that much coolant could push out of the failed head gasket that quickly, but otoh, a broken hose could do it...
/daytripper '00 s4 6spd
If the coolant leak was coming at the fitting or hose for the heater core, it would be leaking at the back of the block. It's not. It's leaking on the upper left side, and the coolant pours down that side as well, not dowm the trans bellhousing. From what I can see, the source of the leak it appears to be a black or dark projection coming out of the upper back left side of the block. If I could get this up on a lift and pull the left side exhaust header, I could see where the leak is and know what it takes to fix it. But this is a driveway repair, so knowing in advance what the leak origination point could be would save a lot of grunts and banged up knuckles. I could save them for the actual repair.
I sold this V8-Quattro six years ago, and I'm still dealing with it because the owner is an old friend. Always sell a V8 Quat to an out of town stranger (though I had six perfect years with it).
daytripper wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
If you don't get the answer here try the T44 forum on AudiWorld (lots of knowledge there)
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