Hello all,

this is my first post here as i only three weeks ago bought my first Audi, (A6, 2000, 1.8T). I have been totally in love with the car, but it has already started to give me trouble.

A week ago, after only a few minutes of driving from a cold start (-19) the car started belching out a bluish/white smoke and gave a terrible smell. It was difficult to see the rear wheels as they were completely covered in smoke whilst driving. Naturally i took it straight to the workshop fearing the worst.The oil was white and contaminated) They changed the oil cooler and said the head gasket was fine. Two days later, today, the car has done exactly the same thing. (this time the oil seems fine)

Things i have noticed. There was ALOT of smoke.
Both times after a cold start.
Smoking started after driving about 1km.
I popped up the hood and the engine seemed very warm, abnormally so for such as short distance, in cold temperatures and easy driving.

On Monday i will take it back to the workshop but wondered if you guys had any suggestions?

thanks for reading

Will

 

sounds to me like your turbos letting go. is there any oil coming out of the exhaust?

i think there are 2 possibilities one assuming the worst is blown turbo.
2nd can be the pcv pipes are frozen because of the cold. (by frozen i mean blocked usually happens in the cold)

do you have any unsual sound from the turbos? like a dentis drill or siren noise?

continue to monitor your oil. usually if its the turbos it will burn all of your oil in mins.

i remember reading that to find out if the problem is with the pcv pipes you can remove the oil cap which vents the pressure off and see if your problem persists. if the problem has been reduced or gone its probably pcv.

good luck.

 

Thankyou for the advice Budhani786, i look forward to testing out the removing of the oil filler cap to see what happens.

There are no funny noises that i am aware of from the turbo and the car drives great. There are no warning lights, and that i have noticed (yet) any oil or coolant levels going down.

I will keep you posted.

thanks again.

 

has the smoking problem persisted since the oil cooler change? or did it just happen that first drive after they changed it out and has since gone away? is the smoke coming from the exhaust outlet or is is coming from somewhere else under the back of the car?

I am interested to hear what the shop says this time.

good luck

 

The smoke is definitely coming from the exhaust. I took the car for a very short drive today to test out what Budhani786 said with removing the oil filler cap.

Budhani786 you were absolutely correct, upon removing the filler cap there is a woosh sound of pressure being released and the exhaust smoke begins to clear until it goes back to normal.

02A6Beau, after the oil cooler change on wednesday i have not driven more than 30km but all seemed fine until yesterday when after driving the car for maybe 1km the smoke thing started again. Talk about disappointment..

What are PCV pipes, what do they do? and do they need to be replaced? Is that an expensive job?

Thanks again guys i really appreciate your interest and help.

 

first, are your sure that's a A6? 2000 A6 does not come with 1.8T. A4 does.
2nd. Check your PCV breath hoses, just diconnect one, if you find lot oil in it, the PCV(crankcase vent valve), got problem, you'll need chage it and the hoses around it. this valve is on top rear of the 1.8T engine, this is very common problem, very easy to replace. Also you'll need check your tubro.

 

The a6 did come with a 1.8T but not here in the USA.

OP yay correct diagnostic!

the pvc pipes are not very hard to replace and should not be expensive.
these pcv pipes build up with crud and sludge and ive noticed it happens most often in the cold weather.

VWVortex.com - DIY - 1.8t Lower PCV Hose install, pics!!

good luck! glad to know its not the turbo lady giving you a visit.

ALSO there is a NEW updated oil cap out that releases some pressure off the pcv and engine. that should help a tad bit so this does not happen in the future.

it is a oil cap with ORANGE drawing of the oil logo instead of the black drawing.

 

yeah, u r right. just checked EKTA/Elsawin, 2000 a6 has 1.8/1.9/2.4/2.5/2.7/2.8/4.2 engines. only 2.7T/2.8/4.2 available in north america.

 

The workshop guy said there was nothing wrong with it, that cars do smoke more in the cold winters like we get here in Norway. I KNOW it's not normal. I may change out those pipes myself and buy a new oil filler cap to see if that helps.
OR try another workshop. I will have a closer look at those instructions you linked me too first.

Thanks :-)

 

hrmm. smoke more in the cold winters? sounds a bit off to me too. i was considering, at first, that the smoke you were seeing may just be some residual "stuff" cooking off that was in there before they changed our the oil cooler.

can you describe the smoke a bit more? white? bluish? does it have a distinctive odor? try putting your hand lightly over the exhaust outlet when the car is running. keep it there for about a minute. then see what, if any, kind of residue comes back on your hand. what does it smell like? (i'd ask you to taste it too but most people give me a weird look when I suggest that).

good luck