2001 A4 2.8 Quattro

Over the past several weeks I noticed a stain on the driveway. After closer inspection I found my car was leaking "something". I originally thought it was oil. I was due for a oil change so I figured I would look for the leak at the same time.

I found the leak coming from the heater core coolant pipe where it connects to the engine. It should have been a simple replacement job. Little did I know the heater core nipples were so corroded it would crumble when the pipe was taken off. OUCH!

I could have rigged it where I cut it back and pushed the pipe over what was left of the nipple. There wasn't much there and I don't like rigging anything on my car so a new heater core it is!

I have the Bentley manual on CD. I've noticed the manual is about 80% correct. First, it appeared for my year, you didn't have to fully remove the dash. Wrong! Or at least I couldn't get it done that way. I also noticed there were many brackets and bolts never mentioned in the manual.

One of the gotchas I found was around physically taking the dash out. I had all bolts off and was pulling the dash and found there was one wire under the dash all the way at the windshield area going to the defrost vent?? For the next 10 minutes, I was trying to figure out why a wire was going there and how the hell it got there? Well, there is a plastic cap piece on the top of the dash in the defrost vent that pops off. Under it is some sort of sensor unit that you can take out with one screw. Fun Fun.

At this point the entire dash is broken down. I have to find parts on Monday. Every time I look at the mess in the car and parts everywhere, I think about forgetting how it all goes back. Not a good though.

I was wondering if anyone has an opinion about using Audi parts or after market parts

Parts from places like ECS Tuning will probably be a bit cheaper. However, it took me all day to get to the heater core and I never, ever want to do this again, so I only want the best parts in there. Any opinions?

I'm attaching some pictures so you can see the pain

 

wow dude, hope you aren't biting off more than you can chew. Hopefully you get everything sorted and back the way it belongs. It's only when someone steps up, that others can try it on their own.

Not sure where ECS gets their parts but if they are cheaper, I see no reason why you couldn't save a buck or two. It's not like the original parts didn't or won't breakdown....so....

 

There's no doubt, it's a big job. But with the manual, I think I can get it back together (eventhough the manual is about 80% accurate).

I'll price out the parts from Audi tomorrow and see what the disparity is.

 

Cool, I'd like to know just for ***** and giggles. Keep posting with photos.....this could help someone out in the future.

Again, Good Luck!

 

I'll try to take some more shots. The one's I posted are just from my iPhone. I was thinking of documenting it more but since it's my first time, I wanted to have at least one cycle through it before I tell others how to do it. However, I have no problem answering questions. I'll try to remember

 

I completely understand. I'm not sure if there is a writeup besides using a manual anywhere, and pictures definitely help someone understand things a little more completely. Wouldn't blame you though if you skipped on the photos, stopping everytime to document what you have been doing can be a pain in the ***.

 

I did see a write up or two on the forums. I believe it was Audi World. However, it was like a 1998 or something. And the writer positioned it as a "check-list" style write up. Not intended for much details. It was enough to scare anyone away from such a job. It's just time consuming.

It was my first time ripping into the dash and it took me about 10 hours. I think I started about 11am and finished around 11pm'ish. I made a trip or two to the local Sears for tools and such. I'm sure the professional who has done it a few times can knock it out in 4-6 hours (roundtrip)

 

yeah well i need to do my heater core too i have 207k on the core and have never replaced the heater core its 40' degree's every morning out here i have no heat at all not even warm air just a nice coolent smell i think the core from ecstunning is like $30 i know you haft to haft the whole ac system drained. i will be doing this soon

 

That is the reason I decided to just replace the core. I saw the nipples were crumbling and figured the inside of the core couldn't be much further behind.

I decided to just order all Audi parts from the dealership. The pricing wasn't too far off the aftermarket stuff from ECS and others. The only part that was way more was the heater core itself. Something like $39 at aftermarket places and $180 from the dealership. And they don't even include the foam gasket material that goes around the core.

I ordered:
heater core 180
Both gaskets 3.30, 6.60
Both hoses 51.90 each
A/C Evap Orings 1 buck each
G12 coolant 22.95

Total: $346.54 OUCH!

 

Looks like the dealer mark-up snagged you on that heater core. Thanks for the heads up on pricing. I'll know what to do when it comes time to tackle this project.