Overheating problem with Audi??

[hotrodhendrix]

Audi A6 quattro with 2.7 bi turbo

The overheating came on kinda slow. It would over heat a bit then it would go back down to normal. Over a week it just slowly got worse until it would never cool back down.

The car had 100k miles and still hadnt had the 75k service.

Things done~
Water pump
thermostate
t bet and all that stuff

The car slowly over heats in about 5 min.. When it does over heat there is no boiling,steam, or even the engine feeling that hot. The radiator, radiator hoses and the collant itself never get hot. When the radiator was out I put a hose up to it and it flowed right out the other side so its not clogged.

Side note~ The last time I drove it the temp gauge pegged red and the check engine light came on. I havnt checked it because I cant make it out to where I can get it checked. Also there is a bit of smoke coming from the passanger side exhaust manifold area. At first I thought it was just fluid burning off but it never stopped.

Oil looks normal
coolant has no oil in it


What should I try now?
~James

[wraith]

bad headgasket? are you losing coolant? if its not even hot maybe your coolant temp sensor is bad and its not really overheating. I am not really a fan of German cars because they are not built in a simple manner. They are so concerned about exacting tolerance and precision, they put too many failure points into a system which ultimately make them too complicated and too difficult to diagnose except by people who have alot of experience with them.

[hotrodhendrix]

Good guess! Turns out its just the fing temp sensor for the gauge. All that work for nothing.

[blusilvr]

do the fans sound and work normally? I had a dying fan clutch on a V8 audi caused me to overheat a bit... required the entire timing belt job to get to that clutch FTL

[pearlstealth]

There is a recall on the Audi a6 2.7t engine temperature sensor. I did mine myself, cost me $8.00 from Carquest and 5 minutes of my time. Stealer normally would charge about $300.
Make sure you get the GREEN one and get a new O ring,too. $1.50 at the dealer.
The smoke from the passenger area on audi a6 2.7T = bad cam seals. I wonder why they didn't do them while doing the tbelt.

[hotrodhendrix]

I did them lol. No point in having the dealer ship rape me.

The smoke turned out to be coolant or something that got spilled on the exhaust and just didnt want to burn off I guess. All gone now.