I can't believe I've been so stupid...(long post)

Matsuba

Matsuba

Member
It is with great shame and my tail firmly between my legs that I confess to my latest co%k-up. Here goes...

I've had my petrol A2 FSI for 8 months and the garage I bought it from did an oil change before I picked it up and because I don't have a flat drive I've been pushing my luck and relying on the warning system to tell me to top the oil up (I know...the shame...I'm cringing :eek:)

So the day before yesterday the waring light finally beeped which was a relief (or so I thought) because at least now I knew it worked and I had been lucky my engine hadn't blown up. So I went to halfords and bought a litre of the castrol oil for VW and Audi engines and it even mentioned FSI so I paid my £15 and topped it up. So far so good.

Today the light came on again. I'd still not checked the dipstick :)o)but I went and bought another litre and topped it up again...this just goes from bad to worse. So driving home from Halfords tonight and the light made another appearence. Oh dear I thought. Best check the manual when I get home.

So I looked up the warning light diagram and I was informed it was a COOLANT warning light!!!!!(I told you it got better). I've always thought the temp guage was OIL temp (the shame :eek:). My lord, now what? The book says I've probably got a leak because if the coolant level is low the only other way it can happen is by overheating and as we know, my temp guage hasn't moved from normal.

I've checked the dipstick level and I'm pretty sure its overfilled though by how much I'm uncertain. Bloody stupid black dipstick. I reckon the coolant leak problem will have to sorted by an Audi garage which is approx 15 miles away. This would be bad enough (money wise) but I daren't drive it there with an almost certainly overfilled oil level and risk damaging the engine and end up with a car I can't afford to fix.

HELP!!! What would you do? I've thought about looking in the yellow pages for a mobile mechanic to come and have a look, that way I wouldn't have to drive it anywhere. Does anyone know of any reliable ones in the North-East area?

Feel free to mock in any replies...I deserve it :eek:
 
I don't get how you confused the two, but hey....

you probably have a minor leak somewhere. You can read the oil level out via VAGCOM and this would be a good idea. Check the coolant level, though, as the warning really ought not to come on - but rubber perishes over time and gets eaten by wee beasties.

how much oil did you add?

Bret
 
You can sort the oil levels out by buying something like this:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/21663/Van-Car-Accessories/Mechanics-Tools/Laser-Fluid-Extractor

Or, just get a length of clear tubing and pass it into the pipe where the dipstick runs and suck it out yourself (be careful not to get a mouthfull of oil!!).

The coolant shouldn't have dropped, but as Bretti says, leaks and splits can cause the level to fall (ask Deseli, who has had the mother of all leaks for most of 2009).

Cheers,

Mike

PS Don't panic overly!
 
To be honest (insert relevant disclaimer) if you have already driven it with that amount of oil in with no problems, then it ought to be fine for a run to the garage. As for the coolant, I assume you know that you can often spot a leak by looking for salty/whiteish deposits around the engine bay.
 
I had a small water leak a while ago, put some good rad weld stuff in = fine ever since, only used rad weld tho because I couldnt find the leak.
 
Well thanks for the kind replies...I expected a lynching!

I've added 2 litres of oil in total and I'm going to take the bonnet off (for the first time) tomorrow and check the coolant level. I'll keep my eye out for those white deposits too. If there is little or no coolant in there then can I just top it up with plain tap water to get me to the Audi garage?

Looks like I'm walking to the hardware store for some tubing in the morning then! I remember my ex-step dad siphoning petrol when I was a lot younger...will the oil act in the same way i.e start draining out once you get it going? Won't it be too thick?
 
It'll be a lot harder to syphon the oil, as it will be thicker, but as long as you get the drain tray below the level of the sump, you'll be fine - this is how syphoning works, on relative levels.

As you've added 2 litres in total, this is approching 50% of the entire capacity of the system, so I wouldn't risk a trip to the dealers without getting the level down a bit.

If you've got any de-ionised water around the house (ironing water for instance), then use this in preference to tap water, as you may get deposits forming, depending on the hardness of your water.

No need for a torching here - we've all made silly errors in the past, I'm sure.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Get a larger diameter hose (large hose because oil is thick and you'll have a hard time taking it out through narrow ones) and take out 1.8 - 2 liters of oil. Top up the coolant using demineralized water (ironing stuff like Skipton said). Then go to the mechanics and let them sort out the coolant problem. Even if you find the leak yourself, chances are you won't be able to fix it yourself. Fingers crossed it's not a head gasket problem.
 
Trex, there's going to be a limit to the hose size that can be used to syphon, due to the diameter of the tube which takes the dipstick.

Also, don't put the fear of god into Deerfoot - there are loads of causes of a coolant level drop apart from a head gasket, in fact head gasket failure is very rare on the A2.

Cheers,

Mike
 
We have all done something stupid at some point with our cars, even if fairly knowledgeable ( after 20+ years of running diesels I put petrol in my A2 last year......:eek:) If you haven't got any de-mineralized water then use boiled and cooled water from the kettle as next best.
 
Matsuba said:
Well thanks for the kind replies...I expected a lynching!

If there is little or no coolant in there then can I just top it up with plain tap water to get me to the Audi garage?
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Hey dont' worry, this forum is all about helping people :)

You can top up the coolant with some boiled water from your kettle, or if you're popping out you can get some pre-mixed coolant from Halfords which has antifreeze in it too.

Do you know the procedure for taking off the bonnet by the way? You release the service flap as usual, then you see on each side two big plastic thumb screws. Just turn these 90 degrees and they spring forward, then you manually lift the whole bonnet off. It's very light as it's made of aluminium :)
 
Ok so I've got the bonnet off (thanks dan). The coolant level is about 2" from the min mark. However this is a COLD engine. Do you read the coolant level with a warm engine as it will be pressurised and the level will go up and give a true reading?

The oil level also looks like it goes about 1" over the black bit and onto the actual dipstick! I'm going out now to try and get some tubing to siphon out some oil and also get some de-ionised water (hopefully they'll have some with anti-freeze in it) to top up the coolant.

In the cold light of day I'm not panicking anymore. As I've never checked these levels since I bought the car then I don't know what they were when I got it. Maybe the coolant has been low all along? So I'm thinking that if I top it up myself and keep a close eye on it then I'll know for sure if there is a leak.
 
Sorry, just read the manual. It says when engine is cold the level should be between the min and max mark. When hot it may be slightly above the max mark.
 
Yes it sounds like the coolant is slightly low and the oil is definitely high. Both are easily fixed, good luck :)
 
If you have a dehumidifier the water from this will be equivalent to distilled water. Boiled water will still have permanent hardness (sulphates); boiling water only removes temporary hardness (carbonates).

RAB
 
OOppps :eek:

I think i have also done the same

Could anyone kindly post up a picture of what the oil warning light looks like please my car bleeped yesterday showing a picture which i think is the oil light and i also done the same and put some oil in the car :confused:

I cant find my manuel to the car so i cant check myself

Please, Please , Please can i have a picture as i dont want to destroy my engine
 
I don't have a picture of the warning light, but it will look like an oil can. I found a link for the A2 Quick Reference Guide - below:

http://www.audi-s.net/tips/BOOK/PDF/Quick Reference Guide/A2.pdf

Be aware that if the oil level in an engine is overfilled there is a possibility of blowing various engine oil seals as the internal pressure will have increased.

If you have to drive a vehicle with it over filled with oil, drive with the engine revs as low as you can - it's not the road speed that will blow the oil seals but high rpm.

Good luck

Jeff
 
Many thanks Mustang owner, It did look like what you described so thats good

I will check the level to make sure

God Bless this A2 Forum :)

Mustang-owner said:
I don't have a picture of the warning light, but it will look like an oil can. I found a link for the A2 Quick Reference Guide - below:

http://www.audi-s.net/tips/BOOK/PDF/Quick Reference Guide/A2.pdf

Be aware that if the oil level in an engine is overfilled there is a possibility of blowing various engine oil seals as the internal pressure will have increased.

If you have to drive a vehicle with it over filled with oil, drive with the engine revs as low as you can - it's not the road speed that will blow the oil seals but high rpm.

Good luck

Jeff
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