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!

[Yevmeister]

well does your coolant level stays the same

it's most likely turbo, when you start the car in the first gear, car throws a cloud of white smoke

Yev

[1827planes]

well does your coolant level stays the same

it's most likely turbo, when you start the car in the first gear, car throws a cloud of white smoke

Yev

seems to me that the coolant level dropped quite a bit. what does that suggest?


but anyways this happened after my engine died due to the fxxking faulty timing belt.......and up till that point the turbo was working fine. my mechanic replaced the entire engine and assembled everything back, just to find that this smoke issue after SEVERAL test drives....my question is....if the turbo has something wrong, shouldnt it give that white smoke at the first test drive?

thanks anyways

[t1demont1]

the coolant level probably dropped because they didnt add more after the car was started. Im guessing your turbo has a bad seal. Is it making boost, or any wierd noises?

[1827planes]

the coolant level probably dropped because they didnt add more after the car was started. Im guessing your turbo has a bad seal. Is it making boost, or any wierd noises?

No, i didnt hear anything like the "dentist drill" sound.
what should i do with a bad seal?

thanks so much!!

[t1demont1]

if it is the seals in the turbo, then its time for a new turbo. However the smoking problem could be engine related. another user on here has smoking issues with his car becuase the shop that rebuilt his motor didnt use the right piston rings. I would do several things
1) make sure the turbo creating boost
2) check compression level
3) ask what pistons and rings they used
4) ask what they gapped the piston rings at

answeres to these 4 things can help our more experienced members chime in.

[cityfox]

It's the Turbo.

I had the exact same issue with my 01 1.8T. When the car idles, it'll produce little to a lot of white smoke. And if you give it some gas, it'll look like an early morning in San Francisco Bay area covered with fog. Since you replaced the engine already, you can rule that out. I am pretty sure it's the turbo. The reason why you see white smoke is that the coolant seals inside the Turbo unit is busted and leaking into the exhaust system and the heat from the engine is burning up the liquid, thus producing white smoke.

I had my K03s Turbo unit rebuilt, essentially all the components inside the unit is new and the only thing old was the housing. So far it has clocked 3k miles on it....no more white smoke.

[1827planes]

It's the Turbo.

I had the exact same issue with my 01 1.8T. When the car idles, it'll produce little to a lot of white smoke. And if you give it some gas, it'll look like an early morning in San Francisco Bay area covered with fog. Since you replaced the engine already, you can rule that out. I am pretty sure it's the turbo. The reason why you see white smoke is that the coolant seals inside the Turbo unit is busted and leaking into the exhaust system and the heat from the engine is burning up the liquid, thus producing white smoke.

I had my K03s Turbo unit rebuilt, essentially all the components inside the unit is new and the only thing old was the housing. So far it has clocked 3k miles on it....no more white smoke.

Thanks. How much did you pay for the turbo rebuilt?

[docurley]

D`ef dead turbo 9 time out of 10 white smoke = dead turbo.

Have a look in the classifieds B6 section there was a K03s up for sale

[MultiAudis]

Well I know everyone is pointing towards the turbo, and that certainly could be the culprit... but lets trouble shoot a bit...

A bad head gasket could be allowing coolant seepage and burnoff (burning coolant is white and typically has a unique semi-sweet smell). You mentioned a low coolant level, so I would check this as well.

During the test drives, was there any loss of power? You mentioned that there was no smoke at idle, which a blown turbo I would assume would blow smoke during idle as well just as cityfox noted.

I know the engine was just replaced, but gaskets can still go bad or be inproperly installed creating premature failure.

Just some thoughts to try and help get it resolved!

[Junaid]

Well my car used to give a tremendous amount of white smoke but ever since i replaced the secondary air injection hose it magically went away and hasn't smoked in 2 weeks so hopfully that fixed it and see if your hose is ripped i would check that first. Good luck to you sir.

[cityfox]

Thanks. How much did you pay for the turbo rebuilt?

I paid $595 out the door including tax and the shop was local in Oakland. They warranty the rebuilt job for one year with unlimited miles that's the only reason why I chose to rebuild it. I called Kinetic Motorsport and they only offered 30 days warranty. So i figured the only difference between a new turbo unit and a rebuild is the turbine components, I'll just rebuild it since the shop is local and has unlimited warranty for one year.

OH the turbo had 113k miles before it was DOA...how much mileage is on your car?

I was calling around for a K04 turbo since it needed a new, no one has it...and if they did, they wanted almost $1000. A lot of people here on the forum said there were no major difference between the K03s and K04 units..and that was the other reason why i rebuild it as well.

[1827planes]

I paid $595 out the door including tax and the shop was local in Oakland. They warranty the rebuilt job for one year with unlimited miles that's the only reason why I chose to rebuild it. I called Kinetic Motorsport and they only offered 30 days warranty. So i figured the only difference between a new turbo unit and a rebuild is the turbine components, I'll just rebuild it since the shop is local and has unlimited warranty for one year.

OH the turbo had 113k miles before it was DOA...how much mileage is on your car?

I was calling around for a K04 turbo since it needed a new, no one has it...and if they did, they wanted almost $1000. A lot of people here on the forum said there were no major difference between the K03s and K04 units..and that was the other reason why i rebuild it as well.

mine has only 86k miles

[1827planes]

Well I know everyone is pointing towards the turbo, and that certainly could be the culprit... but lets trouble shoot a bit...

A bad head gasket could be allowing coolant seepage and burnoff (burning coolant is white and typically has a unique semi-sweet smell). You mentioned a low coolant level, so I would check this as well.

During the test drives, was there any loss of power? You mentioned that there was no smoke at idle, which a blown turbo I would assume would blow smoke during idle as well just as cityfox noted.

I know the engine was just replaced, but gaskets can still go bad or be inproperly installed creating premature failure.

Just some thoughts to try and help get it resolved!

Thanks!
i also doubt if it's the head gasket, but one member here previously mentioned that if it's the head gasket then the coolant would mix with the engine oil and produce some 'choco milk' like mixture, which then gives out not only white smoke. i am not sure what all this is about coz i know really very little about things under the hood. anyways what's your thought on that? thanks very much once again!

[cityfox]

mine has only 86k miles

Audi just released an extended warranty coverage, although it only covers A4 from 2000-2003 or 2004 on the timming belt. Some lady filed a class action law suit against Audi. I'm not sure if you are aware of it. If your timming belt broke under 105k miles, and it ruin your engine, Audi has to fix it under the law suit. So you may want to call and ask your local Audi dealer and they might try to deny your claim too.. those bastards~!

MultiAudis suggest it was a crack head gasket...the white smoke would also suggest a bad head gasket..if this is the case I would bring it back to the shop that installed your engine and have them fix since it's still under warranty.

I would check the turbine for shaft play...just take off the inlet hoses and you'll be able to reach it. not hard.

What year is your A4?

[1827planes]

Audi just released an extended warranty coverage, although it only covers A4 from 2000-2003 or 2004 on the timming belt. Some lady filed a class action law suit against Audi. I'm not sure if you are aware of it. If your timming belt broke under 105k miles, and it ruin your engine, Audi has to fix it under the law suit. So you may want to call and ask your local Audi dealer and they might try to deny your claim too.. those bastards~!

MultiAudis suggest it was a crack head gasket...the white smoke would also suggest a bad head gasket..if this is the case I would bring it back to the shop that installed your engine and have them fix since it's still under warranty.

I would check the turbine for shaft play...just take off the inlet hoses and you'll be able to reach it. not hard.

What year is your A4?

mine is a 2000 A4 1.8T
i guess i am included in the class
but seems that there's certain requirements to fulfill in order to be considered for the reimbursement...i am not 100% sure if i would be able to get back my money but i will file that to see what's gonna happen. thanks!

[1827planes]

It's the Turbo.

I had the exact same issue with my 01 1.8T. When the car idles, it'll produce little to a lot of white smoke. And if you give it some gas, it'll look like an early morning in San Francisco Bay area covered with fog. Since you replaced the engine already, you can rule that out. I am pretty sure it's the turbo. The reason why you see white smoke is that the coolant seals inside the Turbo unit is busted and leaking into the exhaust system and the heat from the engine is burning up the liquid, thus producing white smoke.

I had my K03s Turbo unit rebuilt, essentially all the components inside the unit is new and the only thing old was the housing. So far it has clocked 3k miles on it....no more white smoke.

i dropped by the mechanics today and u know, even when the engine is idle there's hell lot of smoke too...there wasnt any while at idle the day before. looks horrible. as far as a rebuilt turbo i am also looking into the aftermarket ones....what is your opinion on those? thanks!

[1827planes]

I paid $595 out the door including tax and the shop was local in Oakland. They warranty the rebuilt job for one year with unlimited miles that's the only reason why I chose to rebuild it. I called Kinetic Motorsport and they only offered 30 days warranty. So i figured the only difference between a new turbo unit and a rebuild is the turbine components, I'll just rebuild it since the shop is local and has unlimited warranty for one year.

OH the turbo had 113k miles before it was DOA...how much mileage is on your car?

I was calling around for a K04 turbo since it needed a new, no one has it...and if they did, they wanted almost $1000. A lot of people here on the forum said there were no major difference between the K03s and K04 units..and that was the other reason why i rebuild it as well.

hey did you experience any Smoke problem after you installed your new turbo?

my mechanic just replaced the turbo but then it started giving out white smoke, less this time though, but it smells kinda bad.
they said they poured some wd-40 when installing and it's now burning the rest of the oil in the system.

i don't know exactly what this is, but they are trying to start the engine and leave it idle for 5-6hours a day to burn the remaining oil, and it's still there after two days. he said he didnt drive it yet coz of the smoke, but he said once he drives it on the freeway tonight for half an hour the smoke will be gone. i am puzzled by all these and i just wonder if it's normal, and i wonder if it would cause damages to other parts.


please help

[docurley]

Look up sp51 on here as a possible upgrade.

[1827planes]

Look up sp51 on here as a possible upgrade.

sorry for being ignorant..new A4 owner here...
what what exactly is sp51? thanks!

[andyrew]

Its larger turbo internal pieces. Do a search.

[turboquattro]

If its still smoking it sounds like piston rings. Or maybe the mechanic made a mistake and put to much oil in cause thats what happened with my car. just my $.02

[1827planes]

If its still smoking it sounds like piston rings. Or maybe the mechanic made a mistake and put to much oil in cause thats what happened with my car. just my $.02

i also doubt if there's too much oil in the system. he said he seemed to find oil everywhere when he told me about the situation. even there's oil in the exhaust when he put his fingers and felt it. what did you do to fix the excessive oil problem? thanks for your help!!!!!

[turboquattro]

well our cars take 4.5 quarts sometimes people accidently put 5 in there because it can hold way more than 4.5 quarts. So if thats the case just get the oil changed (just drain it and put 4.5 quarts in). But again that is probably not the problem but you never know.

[1827planes]

well our cars take 4.5 quarts sometimes people accidently put 5 in there because it can hold way more than 4.5 quarts. So if thats the case just get the oil changed (just drain it and put 4.5 quarts in). But again that is probably not the problem but you never know.

Thanks. but my situation is a bit unique....i think my friend has added more than enough oil into the engine before the engine broke down in the middle of nowhere (in response to the low engine oil pressure light).
afterwards the mechanics certified that the engine was gone and therefore he replaced the engine. so supposedly the "new" engine should have a normal oil level. is there a chance that the excessive oil that he poured into the engine (before the engine replacement) has already gone into the system and still remains there? if this is the case, is there a way to solve this problem?


thanks again
you've been very helpful!

thanks