Collant leak on passenger side, ? coming from Secondary Air Pump emission system??

[Aronis]

Hi All,

I just notice a small puddle of red water (antifreeze) under the passenger side of my car. When I looked I could see some red water pooling under the larger hose on the secondary emissions air pump and some red crusting. It was dry the next day but this am I looked again and could no see any puddling on the frame but could feel some moisture on the under side of that pipe. There is red crusting there also and when I peal back the outer casing of that rubber hose (proctive wrap) I can see more crusting and moisture.

So why would antifreeze be coming out of this pipe?

I thought it was running down from the antifreeze overflow tank but could not find a clear sourse YET.

Thank you,

Mike

[ben916]

it is the BUFKIN pipe time...

That is the infamous oil cooler coolant line that is cracked.
$20 plastic part = $5000 engine drop

This happened to me in April 2012.

[mik15]

if i remember well, it can also be done without removing the engine!?? or was it the oil cooler?

[ben916]

if i remember well, it can also be done without removing the engine!?? or was it the oil cooler?

I think it has been done with the engine in and someone else that has this experience could speak up.
When mine crapped the bed, I tried my favorite shop but they were not answering the phone calls, so I called the dealership, they got the job (I was moving from CA to WA and new job at the same time)

[SteveKen]

If you're dealing with the SAI piping, that's in the rear of the engine. Therefore I'd say to pull the cowl/battery cover and start at the top down. Look at all the hoses coming to/from the heater core and reservoir. It's nearly impossible to easily visually verify that the aux water pump is leaking, but that's another possibility.

As for replacing the coolant pipe with the Bufkin piece, I did it without dropping the engine on my S6, but not on my RS6. I'll shake your hand if you can do it on the RS6, as I don't think it's possible without removing the engine subframe, motor mount bracket and possibly the exhaust manifold. The manifold can't be removed with the engine in its normal position, either. It would be easier to just drop the motor. The socket head cap screws that fasten teh oil cooler assembly to the block have shallow heads on them and strip out very easily. Major PITA when the engine isn't sitting on the bench.

[Aronis]

How does the fluid get up as high as the top of the wheel well where the secondary air pump is? Its the emissions system air pump that injects air into the exhaust manifold.....

I thought that $20 pipe was in the cooling line for the OIL and thus leaked OIL???

Mike

[Aronis]

How far can I safely drive if this is indeed the oil coolant pipe issue???

Thanks in advance.....


Mike

[ben916]

How does the fluid get up as high as the top of the wheel well where the secondary air pump is? Its the emissions system air pump that injects air into the exhaust manifold.....

I thought that $20 pipe was in the cooling line for the OIL and thus leaked OIL???

Mike

I have no idea on this one. Maybe windage?


How far can I safely drive if this is indeed the oil coolant pipe issue???


I was told to check the coolant level before starting up the car (mine was about an inch lower than the MINIMUM!)
I was then instructed to add water to bring the level up to the MAX, as if it truly was the Oil Cooler Coolant line, they were going to flush the system anyway during the pressure test.
I drove mine like a baby for 35 highway miles to the dealer, I watched the temp gauges like a hawk.

What was worse? There was also a hole in the radiator...

Good luck

[905084]

How far can I safely drive if this is indeed the oil coolant pipe issue???

I wouldn't be concerned about driving it at all. I drove my A6 for 6 months with the pipe leaking. The pipe usually cracks around the o-ring seal and there really isn't a big chance of catastrophic failure as it is stuck between the block and the cooler. The Audi will tell you when the coolant gets low. Just keep an eye on the gauges as always.

[Chung]

I drove mine for a while to and just made sure that the coolant levels were ok.

Mine was $20 + $1100 in labor at a local shop. Audi Dealer quoted me $1500 to fix.

It could also be the aux radiator as well but my money is on the oil cooler pipe.

[Spidercat]

I wouldn't be concerned about driving it at all. I drove my A6 for 6 months with the pipe leaking. The pipe usually cracks around the o-ring seal and there really isn't a big chance of catastrophic failure as it is stuck between the block and the cooler. The Audi will tell you when the coolant gets low. Just keep an eye on the gauges as always.


Totally agree!
I had the coolant pipe leak for about 6 months that the tech had found when my suction jet pump went. It was a very slow leak. So slow that the level didn't change and they were no drips on the garage floor. I bought the Bufkin pipe and squirreled it away. When I finally noticed a leak on the ground, it took about 3 months to go from a few drips to a few tablespoons, and I just checked the level daily and topped off if needed.
I finally got sick of it and just had it done.

I also agree that there is no practical way to do it on this engine without a pull. This was all out-of-pocket for me, since it's not covered under Fidelity Gold-Plus, so that's why I waited so long. I hope you have the Platinum. I also had the tech pull off the downpipes for me and I had my way with them overnight for a pre-cat delete. Took about an hour each. Not difficult at all.
Highly recommend the Bufkin part, if the oil cooler pipe is the culprit. If the warranty pays for it, they may insist on the OEM part, however.
Let us know what the source is when you find out.

[Aronis]

Thanks for all the input.

I found the leak.

There is a small tube (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch size) which goes from the side of the reservoir tank back to the top of the radiator. This tubing runs right over the top of the Secondary Air Pump. The leak was coming from the union at the firewall. The tubing turns a right angle to go through the firewall at a grommet and then turns about 45 degrees to join the longer tube with a flexible section about 2 inches long. The two clamps were a 1/2 to 3/4 turn loose. There was dry red antifreeze residue at this junction and the tubing in on the firewall side was clean.

The leak ran down the longer tube toward the front of the car and dripped onto the tube for the Secondary Air Pump and then onto the frame.

So that's all set, happily.

The next problem is which car get kicked to the outside? Not my RS6, probably not the Sienna, so the A4 Cab gets put outside to make room for my new Twin Turbo. Black with black interior....

Mike

[Spidercat]

Whew! Great news.
Gotta love it when it's easy!

A new black on black twin turbo? What did you get?! I must have missed that on another thread.

[Aronis]

A8L 4.0 Phantom Black.

[Spidercat]

Nice!
Pix are an absolute necessity!

With that and the RS6, which will be your daily driver? I presume you're keeping both.

[Aronis]

Keeping RS6. A8 should take over as daily drive.

The RS6 is paid off, high mileage, but in great shape. It's coming due for new rotors and brake pads.

The A8 has four years of full maintenance included. It has all season tires so I was not planning on getting snow tires. I will be putting the snows on the RS. So I plan on driving the RS on bad snowy days.

Photos will follow.