white smoke?! help!

[1827planes]

so recently i replaced my engine after the fxxking timing belt broke and killed it.
today when the mechanics called and said the car was almost ready, i arrived at the shop to find a bad news--- the car is emitting hell lot of WHITE SMOKE when they try to accelerate; there isnt smoke when the engine is left idle though.

they said something about the turbo...maybe a broken seal or something? I don't really know. the dead engine has already tortured me for 3+ weeks and also cost me so much $$$$$. now that when the car is almost ready to come back to me here comes another problem. Help!

p.s. my friend said the white smoke is prolly something related to coolant/water? i have no idea. thanks!

[gointoscott]

We need more info. Did they replace the entire engine? or did they just rebuild the heads and put the original engine in?

White smoke can be antifreeze burning from maybe a bad head gasket.

But our cars are also known for blowing the turbo's and the white smoke can be from oil burning. Do the turbo's make a dentist drill sound when it spools? What does the exhaust smell like? If its sweet I would lean to antifreeze.

If the mechanic says seals for the turbo, and knowing the history of our turbo's I would lean more to turbo problems. But if the engine was out, I cant believe they didnt inspect the turbo's. How many miles were on the car when it happened?

With what ever it is, It doesnt look good. If its the turbo's the engine will have to come back out unless its just left over from the previous problem.

[The_Jerbel]

I'm gonna guess that a turbo is dead.

[1827planes]

the car was at 86.1k miles when the engine died (and i bought it at 85.8kmiles 6 days previous to that!)

they replaced the entire engine..

i didnt recall hearing the drill sound and for the smell of the exhaust, there wasnt exactly any strong smell actually

if the turbo is really dead (but how come? coz it was working fine all the way until the engine died and i had not experienced those dentist drill sound or smoke up till that point), how much should i expect for a replacement? I have already paid like 5.5k for the whole engine replacement and 700 for tow....considering i just bought the car at 8k, the whole thing is getting ridiculous.

thanks for the input anyways!

[The_Jerbel]

It depends what happened in the engine when the TB broke. If the exhaust valves were open, debris could have been sucked through a turbo and blown it.

[MacDaddy]

is the coolant bubbling? if it isn't, its a turbo, if it is, they screwed up and owe you head gaskets... i'm willing to bet its the latter.

[1827planes]

is the coolant bubbling? if it isn't, its a turbo, if it is, they screwed up and owe you head gaskets... i'm willing to bet its the latter.

i wasnt aware of the bubbling, i will check that out tomorrow. but i did notice that the coolant level went down quite quickly if i am not mistaken
how's the head gasket related to the problem anyways? sorry i know very very little about cars and its components.
thanks anyways!

[1827planes]

It depends what happened in the engine when the TB broke. If the exhaust valves were open, debris could have been sucked through a turbo and blown it.

Thanks! but if the turbo is dead, would it necessarily give that 'dentist drill sound'? Coz i didnt recall hearing that.

[GramCracker]

Do the turbo's make a dentist drill sound when it spools?

Would this happen in vacuum (from 20-10 hg) or under boost?

[slideitsidewayz]

at least your engine starts

[1827planes]

at least your engine starts

haha, well, it only starts after i spent 5.5k on replacing it with a new one, and it happened ONLY 6 days after i bought the car for 8k

[slideitsidewayz]

haha, well, it only starts after i spent 5.5k on replacing it with a new one, and it happened ONLY 6 days after i bought the car for 8k

ouch...yeah...well that does really suck alot of camel dicks...sorry bro. i thought i was bad with my engine swap that cost me 3k and was quoted for $900...and the car still doesnt even start

[The_Jerbel]

i wasnt aware of the bubbling, i will check that out tomorrow. but i did notice that the coolant level went down quite quickly if i am not mistaken
how's the head gasket related to the problem anyways? sorry i know very very little about cars and its components.
thanks anyways!

If the head gasket blew, usually what happens is your oil will mix with your coolant inside the engine. This will look like chocolate milk. It depends on where in the gasket the leak developed, but it usually doesn't go inside the cylinders, so you wouldn't see it coming out of he exhaust.

I'm guessing blown turbo.

[The_Jerbel]

Thanks! but if the turbo is dead, would it necessarily give that 'dentist drill sound'? Coz i didnt recall hearing that.

No, you won't always get a dentist drill sound when the turbos blow. Especially if the engine blew, threw some debris in the turbo, blowing it as well before you had a chance to run the engine any longer.

[1827planes]

No, you won't always get a dentist drill sound when the turbos blow. Especially if the engine blew, threw some debris in the turbo, blowing it as well before you had a chance to run the engine any longer.

Thanks. I think i got 2 more questions regarding that.

1. the mechanic replaced the engine and according to him the engine is in very good condition. assuming that he's right, can we rule out the head gasket being the source of the problem? and if it's really the "chocolate milk", would the color of that smoke not purely white? coz i didnt really smell anything strange in particular.

2. the smoke problem happened not right after they installed the engine. they in fact test drove it for i guess 3 miles or something like that. it was the 2nd attempt when the car gave out that white smoke. so if the turbo was damaged while my previous engine was blown, would it still be able to run, or would have already emitted that smoke during their first test drive?


Thanks so much!

[1827planes]

If the head gasket blew, usually what happens is your oil will mix with your coolant inside the engine. This will look like chocolate milk. It depends on where in the gasket the leak developed, but it usually doesn't go inside the cylinders, so you wouldn't see it coming out of he exhaust.

I'm guessing blown turbo.

Oh i forget to mention...seems that my coolant stays fine...i mean at least they are not like the chocolate milk thing...so i guess it's really the turbo? or is there any other possible cause? damn! how much are we talking about for a turbo replacement?

[The_Jerbel]

Oh i forget to mention...seems that my coolant stays fine...i mean at least they are not like the chocolate milk thing...so i guess it's really the turbo? or is there any other possible cause? damn! how much are we talking about for a turbo replacement?

Yeah, that definitely sounds like a turbo. I bet the turbo was damaged when the engine blew, and the moment they tried running the car, it shrapneled and started burning coolant.

email me and I can help you price out a turbo kit.

[xx_s4quattro_xx]

Are you sure the smoke is white and not blue? Cuz when i blew my turbo on a4 that thing was smoking up a storm white and bluish smoke.

[andru1313]

I feel your pain... I also thought that the smoke would be bluish.. Does the car drive different? You would also feel the turbo is blown. It would just not boost right. If the Head gasket is blown you may see smoke coming from the head.

I am going to assume that the turbo is the culprit and if you do need to replace take out your wallet. You are going to need to pull the motor again...

[GramCracker]

Would the noise happen in vacuum (from 20-10 hg) or under boost?

[JDM EJ1 95]

Would the noise happen in vacuum (from 20-10 hg) or under boost?

Thats normal as long as its not BLARING..

my brand new k04s whine a little bit in vac.. esp when the oil is cold

[GramCracker]

Thats normal as long as its not BLARING..

my brand new k04s whine a little bit in vac.. esp when the oil is cold

Perfect. I knew it was normal, I just get so paranoid about this car lol

[JDM EJ1 95]

Perfect. I knew it was normal, I just get so paranoid about this car lol

im the same way..


ive been told its normal.. but i still worry about it ahhaha..

i never come close to boost until the oil is 180degrees or better

[GramCracker]

im the same way..


ive been told its normal.. but i still worry about it ahhaha..

i never come close to boost until the oil is 180degrees or better

Same. I wait till 200ish

[Quattrocket]

In February my car blew a shitload of white smoke on my way to work one day. I took it to the mechanic thinking it was the head gasket. He cleaned the combustion chambers by pouring wd-40 in through the spark plug holes and let it sit over the weekend. On the monday he drained out the WD-40 which was coal black with carbon and the car ran beautifully after that. unfortunately/fortunately my turbos blew a couple months later.

[1827planes]

is the coolant bubbling? if it isn't, its a turbo, if it is, they screwed up and owe you head gaskets... i'm willing to bet its the latter.

There is no bubbling of the coolant according to the mechanics; worse thing happened today....the white smoke comes as soon as the engine starts...i mean even when it's idle..

[AAAA]

There is no bubbling of the coolant according to the mechanics; worse thing happened today....the white smoke comes as soon as the engine starts...i mean even when it's idle..

was the car pressure tested at all? if so, or even if it wasn't, the pcv may be bad. If the crank case is pressurized, oil comes through the one way pcv where it shouldn't, and it sucked in through the turbos and pushed out through the engine and into the exhaust. This can also cause a turbo seals to go, yielding the white smoke as well

[andru1313]

x2 I would do a compression leakdown test to rule out the head gasket. If the head gasket is blown it could be sitting in the oil pan as well.

[1827planes]

x2 I would do a compression leakdown test to rule out the head gasket. If the head gasket is blown it could be sitting in the oil pan as well.

but if it keeps emitting hell lot of smoke right now...can i still ask the mechanics to run a compression leakdown test? thanks!

[1827planes]

I feel your pain... I also thought that the smoke would be bluish.. Does the car drive different? You would also feel the turbo is blown. It would just not boost right. If the Head gasket is blown you may see smoke coming from the head.

I am going to assume that the turbo is the culprit and if you do need to replace take out your wallet. You are going to need to pull the motor again...

the smoke is mostly white...not quite bluish....and as far as i observed there isnt smoke coming from the head....so it's the turbo, right? damn it sucks....any idea on the cost of a turbo replacement/rebuilt? and i wonder if aftermarket ones are ok? coz they seem to cost so much cheaper (like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AUDI-...mZ220269747343)

Thanks again!!

[andru1313]

but if it keeps emitting hell lot of smoke right now...can i still ask the mechanics to run a compression leakdown test? thanks!

Compression test is easy. Sure you can ask them to do it. At least you will be able to rule one thing out if the Head gasket is ok..

As far as a turbo replacement. The turbos are expensive if you go K04 with all the hardware. But it's the labor as well. YOu need to pull the motor to replace them. It really is a catch 22. Either you save money by rebuilding the k03 and risk the failure of the turbo or you spend the money and do the upgrade..

[RogueStatus]

white smoke FTL. blown turbos i'd assume.

[The_Jerbel]

DO NOT GET AN EBAY TURBO!

They are made in China and will blow very shortly after they're installed. In the case of turbos, you DO get exactly what you pay for.

[xx_s4quattro_xx]

There is a guy on this forum selling 2 used k03 with 75k miles on them for only 300 bucks. Get those rebuild it and you would be set. Remember when replacing your turbo you should replace your oil feed lines too.