Question For The Mechanics On Here.

I have a 98 Audi A4 225xxx mile that i had to get towed home from work. We had a big snow storm this past week and at the end of my driveway is that hard packed ice snow from the snow plows. Well i didnt realize it but when i backed up out the driveway the snow/ice pushed up on my oil filter and oil cooler housing and broke the gasket on the oil cooler (I beleive) and all the oil spilled out right there in my driveway. (I didnt realize this until i got home and seen it) ...so as im driving into work ...about a 25 min drive.. my oil light starts flashing so i pull into the gas station and my engine is just rattling real loud and clucking....so i look under the car and see oil leaking bad...so i go inside and buy a quart of oil put it in and go to my job across the street from the gas station. I park the car and the rest of the oil comes out. I think its coming from the Oil cooler before the filter. I checked the oil pan and the valve cover gasket and didnt see any leaks but i beleive i can see it dripping from the cooler. So apperantly i drove the full 25 minutes with barley any oil in the car. Tomorrow im going to change the gasket on the oil cooler and get a new filter and oil and fill it up but with all that rattling and clanking how much damage could i have caused? I didnt hear it until i was pretty much at work. As i said driving from the gas station to my parking lot at work there was no loss of power or acceleration just a lot of noise. So how much damage could have happend during that 25 min drive.

Luckily it didn't seize up on you. No way to tell if you have lasting damage until repairs are done, if it still runs you could be ok. Maybe some warping. Good luck.

At 225k it could be a blessing in disguise. You probably are due for a new ride anyway.

Lathe Crasher said:

At 225k it could be a blessing in disguise. You probably are due for a new ride anyway.

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HaHa ya man ....but she is a beautiful ride well taken care of..until today

Honestly in a situation like this, I'd hard to say. How well have you taken care of it? Serviced regularly? If so chances are better then. I've heard worse with nothing happening. Tbh I'd just start looking for a new ride to have on hand just in case.

If the engine is rattling I would say irreparable harm has been done to it. That rattling was most likely connecting rods or crankshaft bearings getting pounded.

Skip Foursome said:

If the engine is rattling I would say irreparable harm has been done to it. That rattling was most likely connecting rods or crankshaft bearings getting pounded.

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Yep rattling is not good. It doesn't take long for an engine to shit the bed when low on oil. Especially one that is already worn at 225K on it.

Skip Foursome said:

If the engine is rattling I would say irreparable harm has been done to it. That rattling was most likely connecting rods or crankshaft bearings getting pounded.

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I agree, I've replaced several engines in my vehicles. Start calling junk yards to look for a used engine, you don't want rebuilt. 1000-2000 for engine, 500-1000 to put it in.

Bearings....
That oil cooler is way up there...how did you even manage that? I was intentionally driving through snow banks in my audi over the weekend..lol

Mine has over 200k but the top end is new (prenvious owner let a timing belt fly)
Shame ...
It may quiet down putting it back together but it won't be long for this world now- a high mileage oil or even a diesel oil like Rotella T will limp it along longer due to zinc additive.
Course I tried to kill a neon once and it took a cpl hrs of driving without oil (don't ask) before a rod finally shot out ND took the starter with it..lol
Kept quieting down when oil was out back in. Couldn't kill the little shit.

I hate a b5 tho

Sheriv said:

Bearings....
That oil cooler is way up there...how did you even manage that? I was intentionally driving through snow banks in my audi over the weekend..lol

Mine has over 200k but the top end is new (prenvious owner let a timing belt fly)
Shame ...
It may quiet down putting it back together but it won't be long for this world now- a high mileage oil or even a diesel oil like Rotella T will limp it along longer due to zinc additive.
Course I tried to kill a neon once and it took a cpl hrs of driving without oil (don't ask) before a rod finally shot out ND took the starter with it..lol
Kept quieting down when oil was out back in. Couldn't kill the little shit.

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you know the plastic shroud thing under the bumper? I took it off a few weeks ago because it was loose. The oil filter sits right above it.

Yeah..I fix about 5-8 audis a month of various varieties..it's still higher than the lowest control arms

The one I drive ..I bought because the oil cooler rotted out leading the last owners to believe it popped a headgaskets or a brand new head. I tried to explain that oil gets into the coolant but not vice versa at the oil cooler and it had to do with higher pressure of the oil vs coolant. They were convinced it needed a head or at the least a head gasket. So they sold it to me for a song. Then I spent the next 6mths after clearing out the contaminated coolant going through the car with vcds (audi software) fixing it's 9 million electrical quirks.

Sheriv said:

Yeah..I fix about 5-8 audis a month of various varieties..it's still higher than the lowest control arms

The one I drive ..I bought because the oil cooler rotted out leading the last owners to believe it popped a headgaskets or a brand new head. I tried to explain that oil gets into the coolant but not vice versa at the oil cooler and it had to do with higher pressure of the oil vs coolant. They were convinced it needed a head or at the least a head gasket. So they sold it to me for a song. Then I spent the next 6mths after clearing out the contaminated coolant going through the car with vcds (audi software) fixing it's 9 million electrical quirks.

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Vcds...The good ole vagcom...I had jetta 1.9 tdi that always had electrical problems and codes. Car ran like a champ though for over 500k (still running when sold too). Finally got sick of being on forums researching, trouble shooting, and using vagcom on a weekly basis. Mechanically excellent, but I'll never own a vw/audi again because of the electrical issues...which has long been a problem with them both.

You didnt just damage a gasket ...you cracked or broke something ......rattle is most likely a rod knock ....it wont get better when you repair the leak ...I wouldnt worry to much about a huge loss , you had a ton of miles on it ......hope this helped you

No report today....Wonder how the oil change went

thewaterboy said:

Vcds...The good ole vagcom...I had jetta 1.9 tdi that always had electrical problems and codes. Car ran like a champ though for over 500k (still running when sold too). Finally got sick of being on forums researching, trouble shooting, and using vagcom on a weekly basis. Mechanically excellent, but I'll never own a vw/audi again because of the electrical issues...which has long been a problem with them both.

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.
vag-com jokes never get old for me

Rattle doesnt neccesarliy meen a rod knock the valve lash caps are hydrolic and without oil pressure and will clatter like hell if you fix the cooler ( witch is a bitch on the 2.0l) the hoses are a pain too get off and it shuts up your ok . And Im a technician and also specialise on euro

REHH said:

No report today....Wonder how the oil change went

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Im going to get to it Monday when the dealer opens. I took off the old gasket and it was in two pieces and about quart of oil came out. Im still wishful thinking but i only paid $2700 for it and ive had it three years so ive got my money worth if anything.

a lot of dealers will be having sales after new years to clear old inventory, some offer 3K for your old trade no matter what the value is. I would look for that rather than sink a heap of money into a car with over 200k on it

johnny0utlaw said:

Im going to get to it Monday when the dealer opens. I took off the old gasket and it was in two pieces and about quart of oil came out. Im still wishful thinking but i only paid $2700 for it and ive had it three years so ive got my money worth if anything.

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Maybe you'll get lucky, definitely worth a try.

You could always drop in a supercharged big block Chevy and make a drag car out of it.

Quick update. I changed the oil cooler seal and filled it back up took about 15 minutes. Autozone had 5 quart full synthetic on sale for $10 hell ya. There is no engine knock and no loss of power no check engine light its running really smooth. Im going to see how much longer i can get out of this car but i think it might be time to trade it in. Thanks for the help guys.




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johnny0utlaw said:

Quick update. I changed the oil cooler seal and filled it back up took about 15 minutes. Autozone had 5 quart full synthetic on sale for $10 hell ya. There is no engine knock and no loss of power no check engine light its running really smooth. Im going to see how much longer i can get out of this car but i think it might be time to trade it in. Thanks for the help guys.


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Glad it's worked out so far!

It was probably just the lifters. If it still had oil running out you still had some in there. The pumps are right off the bottom of the pan. If you got off the road pretty fast when the pressure light came on, and after filling with oil it quieted down, it's more than likely fine. Not saying it's good for it, but should be fine.