And it was all going so well....

[Grandadg90]

It looks like your black oil cooler pipe is cracked and corroded. Best check to see where it runs. If it runs above the oil cooler towards the offside then yes it is the oil cooler pipe. From the cooler it should be black, then become a flexi.

[mikep99]

Thanks..
Yep, I'm sure its the oil cooler pipe..

Thanks for everyones help.

Mike

[Rick_RS4]

Yes oil pipes

[MikeFish]

Assuming your pipes have corroded onto your cooler, then the way I see it there are 3 options:
OEM
Forge kit
JHM pipes with OEM cooler

With the OEM kit I think it comes to a little over £800 but you will potentially have the same problem in a few years.

The Forge kit is about the same price as OEM, was readily available (I had mine from site Sponsor Revolution with next day delivery) and will not suffer from the same issue again as the pipes are made better and will not fuse to the cooler. Downside is that some people don't like the thought of having the lil cooler in a higher position.

The JHM pipes are made better than OEM so won't suffer from the same issue but if you do habe to remove them later you may find they have fixed to the cooler as they are still made from dissimilar metals. Also this is normally the moat expensive option and slowest to get the parts from the US, but I noticed grandadg has a St for sale in the parts section so you could get them fairly quickly and cheaply should you choose this route.

I went for the forge option as it have the best long term solution and was the quickest to get hold of. The fact it worked out cheaper than both other options was a bonus.
I've heard the Forge takes a bit longer to get hold of nowadays though (maybe an old temporary issue though) and I recall OEM prices going up too I think.

I haven't mentioned prices for fitting as this will be similar for whichever option you pick bit probably a bit more for the forge as it involves a bit more work.

[mikep99]

Thanks Mike.
Yep, after some consideration, I've decided to go with the forge kit. Like you say, the other 2 options could well result in the same issue again in a few years.
As I'm intending to keep the car for a while, I think the sensible thing would be to go with forge.
Did you fit the forge kit yourself? Any problems/additional bits required?
There's a number of places advertising the kits online & in stock for circa £880 so hopefully availability won't be an issue.
Thanks again
Mike

[geordie jay]

Assuming your pipes have corroded onto your cooler, then the way I see it there are 3 options:
OEM
Forge kit
JHM pipes with OEM cooler

With the OEM kit I think it comes to a little over £800 but you will potentially have the same problem in a few years.

The Forge kit is about the same price as OEM, was readily available (I had mine from site sponsor Revolution with next day delivery) and will not suffer from the same issue again as the pipes are made better and will not fuse to the cooler. Downside is that some people don't like the thought of having the lil cooler in a higher position.


The JHM pipes are made better than OEM so won't suffer from the same issue but if you do habe to remove them later you may find they have fixed to the cooler as they are still made from dissimilar metals. Also this is normally the moat expensive option and slowest to get the parts from the US, but I noticed grandadg has a St for sale in the parts section so you could get them fairly quickly and cheaply should you choose this route.

I went for the forge option as it have the best long term solution and was the quickest to get hold of. The fact it worked out cheaper than both other options was a bonus.
I've heard the Forge takes a bit longer to get hold of nowadays though (maybe an old temporary issue though) and I recall OEM prices going up too I think.

I haven't mentioned prices for fitting as this will be similar for whichever option you pick bit probably a bit more for the forge as it involves a bit more work.

nice write up mike ....i would go for forge aswell when the time arises

[mikep99]

Forge oil cooler kit on its way.
Big thanks to Little Glen @revolution for sorting it out top man.
See how I get on at the weekend installing it..
Ta

[geordie jay]

little glen top bloke!! you a Geordie mike?

[mikep99]

Hi Jay, nope not a Geordie. I'm from the North West so more of a Manc if anything....unfortunately!!
Spoke to Glen via PM & phone earlier so all sorted and happy.
The kit should arrive tomorrow so I can get a plan together for the weekend
Cheers

Mike

[Sonnyjim]

Just went through the same scenario today! Oil leak from the pipes, called Audi for price on parts. £800 for the cooler and nearly £280 for the pipes.

I too went for the Forge, no brainier really as its £200 cheaper and should last longer.

Rear discs and pads this weekend too, not the cheapest of weeks for me.

Sonnyjim

[mikep99]

I feel your pain!!
I've got some front discs coming tomorrow as well hopefully. The car doesn't need them yet but I managed to pick them up for a good price. I'm trying to prepare for the future...

Mike

[Sonnyjim]

I feel your pain!!
I've got some front discs coming tomorrow as well hopefully. The car doesn't need them yet but I managed to pick them up for a good price. I'm trying to prepare for the future...

Mike

Lucky you, I missed out on 2 sets in the classifieds yesterday by dithering about! Looks like full whack from Audi steelers for me

Sonnyjim

[mikep99]

@Sonnyjim - you have PM

[MikeFish]

Just went through the same scenario today! Oil leak from the pipes, called Audi for price on parts. £800 for the cooler and nearly £280 for the pipes.

I too went for the Forge, no brainier really as its £200 cheaper and should last longer.

Rear discs and pads this weekend too, not the cheapest of weeks for me.

Sonnyjim

I seem to recall you can get the OEM kit somewhere in the £800 region from Aberdeen Audi using their eBay store.

But as I said earlier, it was Forge for me and excellent service from the Revolution lads.
They come with good instructions on a Forge memory stick and a Forge bottle opener. Nice touch to what is a well made and crafted bit of kit. Looks impressive in the flesh.
The garage fitting mine said they had some bolts missing so had to use some they had in the garage with a load of washers and I think this has given me the vibration noise issue that the early kits had but was resolved with a different lenght bolts. I'm pretty sure they were all in the kit when I opened the box so I think the garage may have misplaced them.
However, it's not annoying enough for me to take the bumper off though, and with my noisier exhaust I can't hear it anymore anyway. And credit to the Revolution crew as they offered to send me the right bolts over a year later when I mentioned it at AITP last month.

[mikep99]

For info..

Aberdeen Audi are advertising the oil cooler for £650 & the pipes for £270 on their ebay Shop, so £920 all in...

And like what has been said, there's nothing to say that the OEM pipes wont split again in the next few years so the same issue will reoccur...

Oh, and yep, I've been more than happy with Glen's/Revolution's service today!

Mike