jennyafrank

I've searched forums and the internet in general and can't find an answer because everyone seems to notice leaks only when the car overheats or they've recently driven it.

I noticed my 2003 Audi 3.0 was losing coolant and I had topped it off after the low coolant warning went off. It seemed to fine as I was periodically checking it. The other day I went out started the engine and I got the warning immediately. It was very low on coolant but my boyfriend pointed out I had been looking at from the front, not the side. (From the front it looked like it had plenty of coolant but from the side, you can see the level much better, oops my bad but now I know.) Point being I might not have completely filled it before.

One other thing.... Yes, I have the G12 coolant from the dealer. But right after I bought the car (used) I didn't know about the coolant type difference. My boyfriend added one "glub" (maybe 1/2 cup to full cup) of "regular" coolant before he stopped remembering that Audi takes a special coolant. I asked a few friends who said that it wouldn't hurt it provided it was really only a cup or less, and then it was filled with G12 and distilled water. (I used a little tap water with the G12 because I needed to drive to the store to get distilled water. I read that tap water was better than nothing, so I filled it up enough to get to the market then filled the coolant immediately with distilled and G12.)

Besides about a zillion other problems relating to the transmission and emissions, the car has run fine for the last 4 months. (There is a pending court case against the guy who sold me the car, so I'm trying not to spend a lot of money on it until the judge decides if I can give the car back and get my money returned.) No overheating (always runs right in the middle of the gauge.) No coolant leaks that I could tell. Although there was hot air blowing into the driver side under the steering wheel even when the AC/Heater is off. It only happened twice after I had been driving for awhile. I've had to add oil periodically as well -- in total 2qts over the past 4 months (before I bought it the car had sat for almost 2 yrs due to an emission issue the previous owner didn't want to pay to have fixed. I figured the car needed oil. An oil change was on my radar, along with coolant flush but court case and all.....)

Flash forward.... I filled up the coolant, looking at the side so I know it was between min and max. I used G12 mixed 50/50 with distilled water. The oil level is where it should be, but the engine looks WAY oiler/dirtier than it was just a month or two earlier. The bolt hole, second back on driver side, has wet oil inside/crude inside it. The other bolt holes are a little dirty but not wet. (Previously I cleaned this out. I wanted to see if oil dampened that area again.) If I look down the front, behind the radiator, by the timing belt covers, I notice it is REALLY oily and dirty.

I didn't drive very far yesterday and had made 2 or 3 stops but hadn't noticed anything unusual about how the car was running. When I got home coolant was pouring out from the front of the car...not the radiator front, a little farther back but not as far back as the oil pan. I collected the coolant in a pot overnight.

This morning when I looked at my coolant level it was the exact same as it had been when I had filled it up two days earlier. I put the coolant from the pot back into the coolant tank, believing it would only leak when the car had been/was running. I went back inside. It was too hot outside this afternoon to be looking at car engines. When I went back out this evening, I noticed coolant underneath my car again. About the same amount I dumped in the coolant tank, and that the coolant tank was again at the same low level it had been before.

I checked the oil cap, no milky residue so I didn't think it was a head gasket. Originally I thought it could be a valve gasket. I have Metromile insurance so I get my OBDII codes emailed to me... they are P0492 P0706 P0421 P0441 P0431. These codes happened before the coolant issue so I don't believe they are related. I think mostly they have to do with my tranny and emissions issues which is why I'm going to court. But I also can't be without a car....and I don't, can't spend a lot of money fixing this one.

Thoughts on what I should look at? Could this just be a hose? Could it be something that one of those fix fluids could temporarily fix until my court date, which is in 3 weeks? (I'm not a fan of using fix fluids but in this instance...)