Please forgive my ignorance of cars here but this is a sad story! I have an Audi A4 1.8SE (pertrol) with 87K miles on the clock. I have had this car from new and it has not given me any problems whatsoever until 3 weeks ago. First oil light came on whilst I was on a motorway...drove for 5 miles to nearest garage and topped up oil. All seemed OK for approx 3 miles until water warning light came on. Stopped at Audi garage and they kindly filled up water level but I noticed that cover of expansion tank was 'gungy' and recognised that there was oil in the expansion tank. Despite garage assuring me that I would be able to drive home (some 15 miles away) car began to overheat and water light came on again after only a couple of miles. Was unceremoniously towed home....and so to mechanic. As I have previously mentioned I know nothing about cars so forgive this next piece...mechanic advised me that he had head gasket reskimmed, tried to flush out system (which he described as totally blocked with mixture of oil and water that looked like treacle), eventually replaced radiator because he could not flush out the original one and still there were problems. He has certified my beloved car as 'dead'. £500 bill and no car!!! I am gutted about this and just seem unable to accept that my trusty steed is no more. Mechanic drove car for approximately 5 miles to my home and told me that the heating system isn't working, that it is still overheating and that there is no more that he can do. He suggests it needs a new engine and that it is not worth doing this. My son had a look at it too after it was brought home and advised that expansiontank was full of oil again despite system being flushed at garage. He also declared my car 'dead'. Anyone out there have any better news for me in the form of suggestions before I scrap my favourite car? All suggestions would be gratefully received.

Favaudi

 

sounds like a water pump problem ( didn't he even consider that?? ) also thermostat/ cooling fans working??

 

I'm not sure what exactly your mechanic did when you stated he "had head gasket reskimmed" - my first thought was that you had a headgasket leak that could be fixed by simply replacing the headgasket (not cheap, but much less than a new engine). On the other hand, a leaking headgasket would usually just allow coolant to bleed into the cylinders (producing lots of white smoke out the tail pipe) and/or coolant in the crankcase (the cooling system is pressurized higher than the oiling system, so usually coolant is pushed into the crankcase rather than oil being pushed into the cooling system). This sounds more like head or block failure of some kind creating a fissure between the two systems allowing the fluids to mix.

Do you have excessive smoke coming out the tailpipe (the cars, not yours )? If so, what color is it? White? Blue? Black?

If you do indeed have a cracked block, itprobably is best to plan on replacing the motor than to try to repair this one. Thatbeing said, it may becheaper to sell the car for salvage and buy another. Another option is to try to find a salvage motor, but you don't have any guarantees that the salvage motor you get is in good enough health to make that a worthwhile option either.

Yes, we do find our cars endearing, but the truth be told, they are just tools of conveyance. I find I can't resist babying them while I have them, but I have learned that when it comes time to walk away, it's usually best to not try to hold on or look back. Thank your "trusty steed" for its years of good service, and go find another.

IMHO, FWIW...

 

Many thanks for your replies. I will check with mechanic for ideas/suggestions from Avant80. poms...you guessed it...I really was serious when Isaid I knew zilch about cars! Anyway, mechanic did tell me that after he had done all that he could, if he left the engine running for a while then black smoke came from tailpipe. Now I do know that that does mean that the car is burning oil so I guess that answers that one. However, does the phrase 'a crack in the block' mean anything to you geniuses? Someone else has diagnosed this as the problem. Not good I suspect! Looks like I will have to bite the bullet on this one and get a new car. I feel like a traitor to my old Audi though. I just needed another death certificate before I could put it to rest!! I know you will understand this. Many thanks again folks.