I am in my 4 month of my ownership of my first car and I have noticed a burning smell coming from around the turbo. Its a 2001 TT quattro with about 60000 miles on it. It previous owner was a 50 year old woman that never actually used the car to its full potential. The burning smell is noticeable when the turbo is working and is very minimal when at an idol. I figured that its just a little oil dripping on to the exhaust manifold, nothing too serious. I first noticed this after driving the car for the first time in about 10 days (due to weather)and it has been consistent ever since.
Q: Is this just a simple gasket repairor is this something more serious like a impending turbo failure? Is it ok to drive until it warms up to fix myself?

 

Turbo is fine. Check around the valve cover because it sounds like its leaking. Its a simple fix and the gaskets are about $45 shipped from ecstuning.

 

Is it ok to keep driving? I really don't feel like working on it in freezing Wisconsin weather. I would like to wait till it warms up.

 

Just keep an eye on the oil levels. My brother waited about 2 weeks before doing his and he got down about 1/2qt of oil/week. Also make sure thats the problem before just pushing it off

 

Thanks for the info, i'm getting an oil change very soon so that should help. Also, the water pump is orgional and i've been reading that those can be a problem. On the basic fact sheet, it says that it should be replaced around 60k just to prevent any damage. Is this a good idea, and how much does this cost?

 

Generally talking timing belt change and water pump. Kit from www.dieselgeek.com is $260, changes the timing belt, serpentine belt, timing belt tensioner, water pump, and some other stuff. The water pump and timing belt tensioner are known to go as early as 60K miles, the belt itself is rated to something like 120K, which is what Audi recommends as the timing service interval.

 

You are going to need a whole timing belt done, it includes water pump. The kit is about $250 from ecstuning and the labor is about another $500 from agood shop. You want the ultimate tb kit from them. It comes with everything you need to replace