FSI owners - please check your pipes

A2Steve

A2OC Donor
Wales
I've just purchased my 5th FSI breaker in a row with headgasket failure as a result of a coolant leak.

Whilst we are all aware of the so called 'death-pipe', which was the cause of failure on one of the cars, the rest were all coolant pipes or joints that were left to get worse and eventually resulted in heavy coolant loss and overheating.

I think what i'm trying to say is, keep an eye on your coolant levels and check for any leaks with the car idling on the driveway. Some of these leaks will only show while the car is hot and running. Early detection could prevent a much bigger failure!!
 
Sound advice Steve. I'm still on my original 'death pipe' (low mileage) but Marcus at WOM has replaced a number of other pipes. I'm also running waterless coolant, although more expensive, it doesn't run as hot I am led to believe.
 
Wise advice but can't help thinking the ultimate cause of failure was the driver for not stopping. The temperature gauge would have crept above 90℃, a rare event, STOP! and investigate/top up coolant tank. Okay the dash high temperature might have not have been noticed but as matters got worse a huge red thermometer will appear on the dash with bongs of doom, unmissable, STOP!, meltdown not far off.

'Check it when I get home', 'not stopping here', 'it's raining', 'I am late already', 'I'm not dressed for this'. Have these and other such thoughts and fair enough it's your car you can write it off if you want to.

Andy
 
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Wasn't there a recommendation to replace the death pipe every ten years?

Plastic manifolds with multiple tappings are now very likely brittle due to age and the heat cycles. Very sad that items like these could render cars unuseable especially if no new replacement parts are produced. No offence meant to A2Steve or any of our other breakers in referencing new parts here as used plastics may be getting close to failure. A very difficult situation if all that is available is used.
 
Concerning waterless coolant (specificlly Evans) my experience has not been too good.

I first used it in my race Cortina, but quickly discarded it as it made the engine run at least 10c hotter, which is not what a race engine wants.

I believe this is due to the liquid being much more viscous, therefore penetrating into small gaps much less easily & also it's latent heat value is lower than water+ antifreeze.

It is true that in it'sfavour, there is no pressure build up in the cooling system & the rad cap can be removed immediately after stopping the engine. This means there is less pressure related stress on all parts of the cooling system.

I then ran it in my roadgoing Alfa 105 coupe, but after 6000km, it had a sudden headgasket failure & on dismantling, it was obvious that there had been areas where the gasket had separated - see below.
1656945323858.jpeg



In speaking to some race engine builders, it seems that any waterless coolant has this effect on composite gaskets - & is made worse in engines with wet liners, such as mine, as there are areas of the gasket that have no support from the block below & the lack of pressure build up actually promotes this type of failure.

I'm not saying don't use it ; I'm just giving a report of my 2 experiences with it.

Also, it is vital to remove all traces of water from the cooling system for it not to build pressure & getting water out of the heater matrix, unless removed from the car, is not at all easy.
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MartinH
 
Brass y piece connectors is an easy first replacement, but be super careful to not put any pressure on the small thermostat pipe, I was surprised how fragile they get..
 
Wise advice but can't help thinking the ultimate cause of failure was the driver for not stopping. The temperature gauge would have crept above 90℃, a rare event, STOP! and investigate/top up coolant tank. Okay the dash high temperature might have not have been noticed but as matters got worse a huge red thermometer will appear on the dash with bongs of doom, unmissable, STOP!, meltdown not far off.

'Check it when I get home', 'not stopping here', 'it's raining', 'I am late already', 'I'm not dressed for this'. Have these and other such thoughts and fair enough it's your car you can write it off if you want to.

Andy

PS. This thread is prompting me to start carrying some top up coolant, might not want a wee.

I've seen gaffa tape and cable ties over some coolant pipes on FSI breakers. The mind boggles.
 
I suspect that, many A2 owners, do not see their cars as we, A2OC members see them. We, largely via this forum, understand our cars, and want them to be, (very), long term possessions.
Many non members/enthusiasts buy an A2, because they are cheap to buy, (even good ones on here), and run them as cheaply as possible, often of necessity. We A2OC'ers, by and large, try to, (and are able to), take a longer view.
As someone mentioned in another thread, in the not too distant future, the majority of A2s will be owned by Club members, even without those with a stable full.
For now, we can recycle many of those A2s that had less fortunate owners, to the benefit of A2OC'ers.
Mac.
 
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Concerning waterless coolant (specificlly Evans) my experience has not been too good.

I first used it in my race Cortina, but quickly discarded it as it made the engine run at least 10c hotter, which is not what a race engine wants.

I believe this is due to the liquid being much more viscous, therefore penetrating into small gaps much less easily & also it's latent heat value is lower than water+ antifreeze.

It is true that in it'sfavour, there is no pressure build up in the cooling system & the rad cap can be removed immediately after stopping the engine. This means there is less pressure related stress on all parts of the cooling system.

I then ran it in my roadgoing Alfa 105 coupe, but after 6000km, it had a sudden headgasket failure & on dismantling, it was obvious that there had been areas where the gasket had separated - see below.
View attachment 96589


In speaking to some race engine builders, it seems that any waterless coolant has this effect on composite gaskets - & is made worse in engines with wet liners, such as mine, as there are areas of the gasket that have no support from the block below & the lack of pressure build up actually promotes this type of failure.

I'm not saying don't use it ; I'm just giving a report of my 2 experiences with it.

Also, it is vital to remove all traces of water from the cooling system for it not to build pressure & getting water out of the heater matrix, unless removed from the car, is not at all easy.View attachment 96589View attachment 96590

MartinH
About using Evans Waterless Coolant, brilliant, but, this is what happened to my new (comline) waterpump after 3000 miles...(see pics)
It took out (bent) all 16 valves, resulting in £1500+ repair bill! Now wondering , should I go back to normal Anti-freeze?..
 

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I would think a water pump designed to pump a water based coolant, would struggle to move anything more viscous. The resistance presented to a more viscous "liquid" by the cooling circuit would result in a much reduced flow rate.
A lot of thought, and calculations, will have gone into the design of the cooling circuit, based on water/af mix. Doesn't seem a good idea, to me anyway, to fill it with something very. different.
Mac.
 
Whilst waterless coolant has and does work well in some applications and claims to be suitable for all engines I am not so sure. Audi who have very clever and qualified engineers spend considerable time and money on their products, so if after all this time they are sticking with diluted antifreeze for their current products I for one see no reason to go against this. I can not find any information where Audi even mention waterless coolant let alone say it is compatible in the A2 much less the more complex cooling system that is the FSI.

We check our oil at least meets VW spec so why risk anything other than "G" coolant.
 
Whilst waterless coolant has and does work well in some applications and claims to be suitable for all engines I am not so sure. Audi who have very clever and qualified engineers spend considerable time and money on their products, so if after all this time they are sticking with diluted antifreeze for their current products I for one see no reason to go against this. I can not find any information where Audi even mention waterless coolant let alone say it is compatible in the A2 much less the more complex cooling system that is the FSI.

We check our oil at least meets VW spec so why risk anything other than "G" coolant.
If Audi have " very clever and qualified engineers, why did they design and fit the death pipe to an FSI?
 
As already discussed the death pipe had been previously used in other models using the BAD engine. Audi may have also thought that the death pipe would be replaced when the cooling pump is replaced and not manufactured the part to work much beyond that, like many parts that are classed as service items. Problem is when those genuine parts become discontinued and the cars they are fitted to are still reasonably common.
 
If Audi have " very clever and qualified engineers, why did they design and fit the death pipe to an FSI?
We all, whatever engine we have, need to accept that all A2s have long since passed their design life. If any part, plastic or not is failing, it's not fair, or reasonable, to blame the designers, or manufacturers. Had the body shell not been aluminium, there'd (probably) be very few A2s, and no A2OC.
Mac.
 
You may find some suitable diameter silicone pipes available but few will be shaped for the A2. Audi never offered genuine silicone hoses.
 
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