i have a 97 1.8t/q/auto, 180,000miles. when i start it up in the mornings or after it has cooled down it blows blue smoke for about ten seconds. and also the other day my girlfriend was driving behind me and she said that everytime i accelerated from a stop that it was blowing blue smoke. any ideas???? turbo??

 

Well you are burning oil. And if you are burning oil upon acceleration it is either your guides or rings I can't remember which.

 

Is there any rough idling, sputtering, hesitation or loss of power? Double check by checking the throttle body for oil and pull the sparkplugs for any oil deposits.

 

theres was another thread about the same thing last sometime last month. search it up, your answer is probably in that thread. if i remember right it had something to do with the turbo.

 

a buddy of mine had an MKIII, when he was blowing blue smoke he blew his head gasket. may want to look into taht

 

yeah it sputters for about five or six seconds when i start it up cold and then the blue smoke comes blowing out. it was especially bad this morning becasue i hadnt drove the car since wednesday afternoon so it sat for three days. if its not the turbo then how would i know if its the head gasket? are head gaskets a common problem in these cars?

 

If it's the head gasket, its white smoke because coolant gets in there and burns, and you'll often have misfires and a big loss of compression.
Sounds like blow by on the rings, but Im no expert. but oil isgetting into the cylinder one way or another.

 

i am also no expert, but if its blow by rings then does replacing the turbo correct this problem? also if i do replace the turbo does, i search on ebay and there is a company that is selling them new for $300, anybody now if these are any good??? dont know if this helps but the blue smoke is greater now in the summer time, its not as bad in the winter time when its cold here in Rhode Island.

 

A new turbo probably won't help - do a compression check and if that's good do a leakdown test. Maybe try some AutoRX...

 

valve stem oil seals most likely