A LOT of smoke

[CELWarrior]

ive noticed lately that when its below 10 degrees my car smokes seafoam style at idle and then a big ploom when i take off but then is fine when driving. if i let off then go back on the gas it will make a big ploom again then be fine.I notice no lose of power and oil isnt mixing w/ coolant, and it seems to be burning oil when it does it. Any opinions would be great.

2000 A4 1.8T, gutted cat......woohoo

[PreLunatic]

ive noticed lately that when its below 10 degrees my car smokes seafoam style at idle and then a big ploom when i take off but then is fine when driving. if i let off then go back on the gas it will make a big ploom again then be fine.I notice no lose of power and oil isnt mixing w/ coolant, and it seems to be burning oil when it does it. Any opinions would be great.

2000 A4 1.8T, gutted cat......woohoo

turbo seals???? idk....

[ghost6303]

good thing the cat is gutted because you would be clogging it up now. could be turbo seals or valve guides. is your turbo oil return line clogged up? when the oil is cold it may be having a hard time getting thru the lines, and the only other way is past the seals.

[CELWarrior]

if my valve guides were worn wouldn't my vacuum gauge fluctuate at idle? Is checking the oil line a pain cus I could probably check the oil line at work.

[B5A4Kevin]

i vote turbo seals.

does it do it on warm starts too, or just cold starts? have you had any recent engine work or any mods recently? how long has it been doing this (just this winter, previous winters, all of last year, etc)

[CELWarrior]

It only started to do this this winter and only during real cold temps. There has been no recent mods done to the car.

[erikas3]

I am having the exact same problem and I only noticed it when the temps dropped. I also did not notice any drop in coolant/oil level. My turbo has been replaced in the past 10k miles so I do not think it may be turbo seals. Could a bad puck valve cause this?

[jrock]

Piston rings can do it too. Thats what i think it is on my car atleast.

[CELWarrior]

yeah when my car acts up it goes through alot of oil, but after like 20-30 min. of driving it, it calms down and doesn't do it. My car is a major problem child.

[B5A4Kevin]

yea now that erikas3 chimed in, it sounds like the piston rings (or piston shape) are the problem. this will cause excessive oil consumption, as well as smoke from the exhaust, until the engine warms up. this is a result of it being just to fuggin' cold out...

[T3hD0gg]

What engine oil are you using?

[CELWarrior]

this probably doesn't make things any better, i use mobile 1 synthetic 5W-30

[Siena]

A 30 weight oil's a bit on the thin side for a tuned car, I'd run min. 5W-40.

I suspect valve stem seals, and no, worn valve guides or stem seals won't affect vacuum or power delivery.

Worn piston compression rings on the other hand would.

[baboom]

well if it smokes due to a drop in temp there is nothing wrong as long as it stops after the car has reached up to full operating temp.. when it smokes in the cold it is just the pcm giving a rich a/f mixture. due to the fact that we have galvanic o2 sensors that dont work till they heat up, and with cold coolant it forces it to run rich.. if it was the valve seats you vacumm gauge would bounce and flutter if it was a restriction in you oil lines you would see your oil temp go above normal and if you beat on it, your turbo would look white from the excess heat..

[v1nyd]

I'm having the same problem...my post is actually a couple down from yours lol and I got more answers from this thread. However I didn't like them because my turbo is brand new and I really hope that's not the problem and the Piston rings or any internal engine problems = money to take apart the motor =[

[erikas3]

Haven't posted in this thread for a while.. I did not mention that I don't burn any fluids but the car still smokes a bit. On a cold start (in the cold weather) it smokes bad for about the first minute. It pretty much goes away until you are accelerating from a light and notice it again.
Edit: Mobil 1 5w30 Synt. here too

[AudiA4_20T]

your PCV system might be clogged. Clean the crap out of it

[latinlovr_ny]

The best oil for a a4 is 0-40 or 5-40 mobil 1 makes it syntetic on the bottle it says for european cars. But work well on German cars

[latinlovr_ny]

The best oil for a a4 is 0-40 or 5-40 mobile 1 makes it synt on the bottle it says for european cars. But work well on German cars

[CELWarrior]

no, its deffinatly the turbo, i pulled off an ic pipe today at work and it just pucked out oil