1.8t burning plastic smell, puffs of white smoke from passenger side engine

[tagga4]

I have a 2004 audi a4 1.8t avant and here is my problem:

EDIT: Video showing puffs of smoke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZL...ature=youtu.be

READ THIS BEFORE POSTING: My brother and I noticed my car was puffing white smoke and after a little research we realized a common issue is the Valve Cover Gasket + half moon and cam tensioner gasket. We replaced ALL OF THESE recently (Annoying job to replace lol)

The problem persists however.

the exact problem I have is this: After driving for a little while, once the engine is warmed up, when stopped / parked afterwards there will be puffs of white smoke popping out from under the hood on the right side of the hood (Passenger side), I can also smell it through the vents if theyre on and it smells a lot like burning plastic which I assume is what burnt oil smells like. Sometimes its worse and sometimes it barely happens after driving, but if I stop and idle long enough it will happen almost 100% of the time, some times are worse than others but I suppose that could be from how hot the engine is at the given time. This morning when I arrived at school it was slowly shooting out puffs of lazy white smoke that just kind of fades. I will update this thread with pictures and videos later today when i drive home from class.

I've opened the hood while idling and noticed the smoke coming from behind the area where the half moon was replaced, I'm not the mechanically inclined one (my brother does that mostly) but I will show where with pics and videos in about 6 hours.

I assume what is happening is that oil is dropping onto the exhaust manifold and burning off, creating these puffs of white smoke and this gross burnt plastic smell. The problem is, I cannot figure out what else could be causing it, most of the advice from other threads is about replacing vgc and associated parts. Looking to see if anyone else has had this problem, or any advice. I'll say it again so that it's clear: WE REPLACED VGC + half moon + cam tensioner gasket



Has anyone else run into this, or have any ideas / advice?


For information's sake: There's no check engine lights or warnings of any kind, got the oil changed about 1000 miles ago and it was happening before, and has happened after the oil change as well.

car has about 85,000 miles and I bought it used at about 80,800, but it only started happening around 83000

[Captain_Panic]

Is it possible that the gasket to the head has blown out for the sai? I can't remember what it is called at the moment. Burning plastic is vastly different than oil. I would assume it is oil as plastic would eventually stop as it shrinks away from the heat source. I can't think of anything else that would be back there that could leak air or oil.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine mobile app

[eljay]

White smoke = coolant
Blue/dark smoke = oil

You are burning coolant. How is your coolant level? Do you notice a drop?
If it is coming from the area around the CCA/half moon gasket, it's your rear coolant flange that has failed. And since you just replaced VC and CCA gaskets, you likely had a slight oil leak in that area, which is known to kill the o-ring seal on the coolant flange.

If there is no white smoke coming out of the exahust pipes in the rear, my bet is on the coolant flange. Take a flashlight and see if you can see some pinkish crust in that area to confirm burnt coolant.

[tagga4]

Hey thanks for the quick reply, When i said it smells like burnt plastic, I dont think it's actually burning any plastic hoses or anything I was just trying to describe the smell. I think the smell is oil being burned off though, I just dont know where it could possibly be dripping oil

[tagga4]

@eljay Im gonna update with pics / videos of the exact color and area its coming from. I've heard that burnt coolant smells sweet though? Also: my coolant levels are as fine as ever and my temp gauge never goes out of normal ranges. Is it an extremely minor coolant leak? I feel like I'd notice a change in coolant level.

[Furly]

If coolant is burning, it will smell like maple syrup. Very sweet funk.
Its possible you ran over a plastic bag on the road and it got stuck to your exhaust and melted. Take a look underneath the car.

[tagga4]

Hey so I took a video and some pictures, you can see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZL...ature=youtu.be

Pardon me sounding like an idiot while taking the video.

Some pictures of what Im talking about
The circle is the general area the puffs of smoke come from, They come from somewhere down beneath it, Not sure that matters though as I'm assuming its just burning off the exhaust manifold. Doesnt exactly help to figure out whats leaking/dripping on to it, But i figured id point it out anyway.

http://imgur.com/yJmqwDy


http://imgur.com/WCQVvm0

[5ktq]

Yeah coolant smells sickly sweet, and oil smells like.. burning oil. If it really smells like plastic I'm going with the plastic bag theory.

Either oil or coolant could be leaking onto the exhaust there, so doesn't narrow it down much..

could be that coolant flange, or the cam tensioner seal / valve cover etc leaking oil.

[Captain_Panic]

Ever get the chance to look into this any further? I am curios to know the actual cause.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine mobile app