"NinetyQ" (NinetyQ)
08/24/2013 at 02:19 • Filed to: A90Q20V
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"NinetyQ" (NinetyQ)
08/24/2013 at 02:19 • Filed to: A90Q20V | 0
| 8 |
My Audi: a machine of weirdness, splendor, and failure all wrapped into one. When I left it last weekend, I noticed a few drops of power steering fluid dripping off again. I thought it was a new leak, but I ran the car tonight for about 15 minutes and couldn't get it to leak at all. There seemed to be a little bit of bubbling around one of the PS pump seals, but that was it.
But when I looked further back underneath the car, the entire underside of the transmission and front diff seemed pretty moist with oil. So now the question is, is the transmission leaking or is the engine leaking from the back someplace I haven't spotted yet, or when the front was leaking, did the oil spray back and down as I was driving along?
Tomorrow I'm going to wipe down every little crevice I can get into and then take it for a drive. Hopefully I'll have some answers then.
desertdog5051
> NinetyQ
08/24/2013 at 03:15 |
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Engine oil, transmission oil (manual or automatic) have distinct odors, you should be able to determine the source based on that alone.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> NinetyQ
08/24/2013 at 05:28 |
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Is it an auto or manual. If it's a manual and the oil smells horrific then it's gearbox oil.
You could also lay a square of kitchen towel underneath it. If it's an auto, the fluid should look pinkish and smell faintly of urine (actually, not quite like urine but that's the closest thing I can think of).
If it's a manual and it's that colour, then it might be the PS pump again.
You might know all this already, but if not it might help :)
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NinetyQ
> desertdog5051
08/24/2013 at 10:48 |
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Right, I know, but I was working on it at night and didn't want to get into it at that point. I'll work on it today.
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NinetyQ
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/24/2013 at 10:50 |
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Haha, actually most of your advice is wrong given this car's specialties. It is a manual, but I think the fluid is reddish. I have some waiting to go into it if I ever decide to change it. The PS fluid is green (the coolant was blue, and is now pink), so that makes figuring out those leaks a little easier. I just haven't had a chance to get under the car yet. Yesterday the garage floor was pretty dirty and I was wearing non-work clothes, so I'll do it today.
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> NinetyQ
08/24/2013 at 12:51 |
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Drat. Weird German cars :)
Have you checked that it's alright with modern coolant? It's probably fine as it's quite a modern car, but there are chemicals in the pink stuff that can eat through the rubber on old coolant hoses. I think that's only for cars from the 70s, but it'd be worth checking out.
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NinetyQ
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/24/2013 at 13:10 |
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The blue coolant was the Audi/VW-specific coolant for the '80s and early '90s. The pink coolant is also Audi/VW-specific and replaced the blue coolant. The blue isn't even manufactured now, so when I flushed my coolant a couple weeks ago, I had to put the pink in as recommended by Audi and the coolant manufacturers. So I'm assuming it'll be okay.
Are you thinking of the other red/pink coolant that is branded, at least in the States, as being for RVs?
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BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> NinetyQ
08/24/2013 at 15:10 |
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Interesting. Here in the UK you can get two types of coolant/antifreeze. The blue stuff has chemicals in it for preserving old types of rubber, whereas the more modern pink stuff doesn't.
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NinetyQ
> BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/24/2013 at 15:20 |
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Those are the only two types? Wow. Yeah, here in the states, the common coolants are traditional green coolant, orange '90s GM crap coolant (I've replaced it with green in my Grand Prix), and red/pink RV coolant. The Audi/VW coolants I have can only been obtained from specialty retailers or the Audi/VW dealerships themselves.